Mike Florio, Peter King Weigh in on Ron Rivera's Postgame Outburst

Mike Florio, Peter King weigh in on Ron Rivera’s postgame outburst originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Mike Florio has news for Commanders head coach Ron Rivera: the franchise’s behind-the-scenes drama is one of the biggest stories in the NFL. 

The host of “PFT Live” weighed in on Rivera’s Thursday night postgame tirade, acknowledging the heightened emotions of the evening but reminding the head coach of the bigger picture. 

Florio was joined by Peter King of NBC Sports on Friday to discuss the past week for Washington, starting with its Thursday night win over the Chicago Bears. Continuing a trend of less-than-inspiring Thursday Night Football matchups, the Commanders grinded out a 12-7 win at Soldier Field to stop a four-game losing streak. 

The most positive takeaway for Washington was Brian Robinson Jr. The rookie running back made his first career start – less than seven weeks after being shot in the leg multiple times during an attempted robbery – and ultimately delivered the go-ahead touchdown to secure the Washington win. King described Robinson Jr. as the “hero” and said his feel-good story goes back further than the shooting. 

“His story was incredible because he was never a No. 1 back until all the other backs left town in Alabama. He stayed home to play for the hometown university in Tuscaloosa and he never really got the kind of chance that he wished that he did.”

King said that perseverance paid off last night in what turned out to be an “absolute … death march” for a “flawed” Washington offense. 

“[Robinson Jr.] still was able to get the one yard that was most needed in this game to put Washington ahead and they never lost the lead,” King said.

But – as King and Florio quickly pointed out– the behind-the-scenes drama that’s plagued the Commanders all season, specifically this past week, continues to overshadow Robinson Jr. heroics. 

On Monday, when asked why his team was so far behind the other three teams in the NFC East in the rebuilding process, Rivera deadpanned – “quarterback.” Ouch. 

He quickly backtracked and defended quarterback Carson Wentz, arguing that his comments were misconstrued and it was simply a commentary on the relatively new addition of Wentz compared to other quarterbacks in the division. 

An ESPN report on Thursday only added fuel to the fire. The primary objective of the report was to detail a well-documented toxic work culture perpetuated by owner Dan Snyder, rife with allegations of sexual harrassment, financial misteps and even blackmail of fellow owners and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. However, the story also refuted claims that Snyder abided and remained under an unofficial suspension that essentially forbids him from being involved with the team’s day-to-day operations. Specifically, sources claimed that Snyder was a catalyst for the team landing Wentz, even actively imploring Rivera and others in football operations to trade for the then-Indianapolis Colts quarterback. 

Rivera was questioned following Thursday’s game about his supposed lack of involvement in acquiring Wentz, an accusation he did not take kindly to. 

"Everybody keeps wanting to say I didn't want anything to do with Carson," Rivera said. "Well, bull----. I'm the [expletive] guy that pulled out the sheets of paper, that looked at the analytics, that watched the tape when we were in Indianapolis. That's what pisses me off, because the young man doesn't deserve to have that all the time."

He then ended the press conference with a simple, “I’m sorry, I’m done.”

On the one hand, Florio seemed to admire Rivera’s candidness, an old school trait that he harkened back to Dennis Green’s famous 2006 “We are who we thought they were” outburst. 

“You rarely see a coach nowadays launch into that kind of a tirade,” Florio said of Rivera’s comments.

Florio went on to say that he understood the potential for heightened emotions. Thursday’s game was a sort of homecoming for Rivera, who spent his entire playing career with the Bears and even served as defensive coordinator from 2004 through 2006, before contract negotiations ended his time in Chicago. But Florio said the head coach should be prepared for these questions going forward.

“An emotional night for him to get that win, to get to 2-4 but what do you expect? It’s the biggest story regarding the team, it’s one of the biggest stories in the sport for a team that we would otherwise be ignoring – the Wentz factor, the Snyder factor – of course he’s going to be asked about it right after the game in his first media availability since he's the one who made the comment about quarterback is the reason why they’re in last place, well behind the other three teams in their division.”