Rivera insists his messaging this season has been 'consistent' originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Washington really needed to beat the Giants in Week 6, and Ron Rivera's tactics reflected that.
Even though his team left MetLife Stadium with their fifth defeat instead of their second victory, Rivera went for it on two fourth downs and then chose to go for two at the end in an effort to end the contest right there.
Plenty were dismayed by that choice, but it matched up with his lineup changes heading into the meeting and previous decisions during it in that it was made to try and secure the best result on Sunday and Sunday only.
And that's where another debate begins.
While Rivera was desperate to win in New York, he hasn't always coached like that. Whether it was his timeout management in Arizona and Cleveland or choosing to test Dwayne Haskins as opposed to kicking a field goal in the Baltimore matchup, he's justified past calls by explaining that he's taking a global view.
In other instances, however — like benching Haskins for Kyle Allen and the aforementioned two-point attempt — Rivera's brought up the NFC East standings and the need to keep up right now.
So, on Monday in a press conference, Rivera was asked directly if he believes he's remained uniform all season when it comes to what he's emphasizing to his team. His answer wasn't that long, but it was straightforward.
"I think my message has been consistent," he said.
Rivera then explained that he's "not worried about the timeout thing" that became a topic earlier in the schedule and, currently, he's mainly focused on "going forward." Then, the presser went in a different direction and that was that.
So, the quote above is really all he offered on the matter, and while it would've been useful to get more context on why he's so confident in his messaging, hearing him make that claim was still notable.
When Rivera's words circulated on Twitter, lots of people reacted negatively to them. If he truly thinks he's maintained consistency, however, and his players agree, that's the key.
Still, more afternoons like Sunday, where Rivera's actions line up with his remarks about them, will help quiet his critics. There'll always be a section of folks who disagree with what he does, but if what he does at least affirms what he's saying he wants to do instead of contradicts, that'll make a major difference.
