NFC Notes: Daniel Jones, Ron Rivera, Darren Waller, Commanders, Giants

Commanders

Commanders HC Ron Rivera took the blame for the team’s loss to Chicago on Thursday.

“It starts at the top. We’ve got to do better and that’s on me,” Rivera said, via PFT.

When asked what specifically could be fixed, Rivera didn’t immediately have an answer.

“We’ll see,” Rivera said. “I’m not going to sit up here and talk about those things until we get an opportunity to break the tape down, go through the tape, sit down and talk about the tape as a staff, and go from there.”

• Rivera said the team made the decision to bench first-round rookie CB Emmanuel Forbes after lackluster play in back-to-back weeks: “The thought process was he was struggling. We were hoping he would bounce back from last week and, you know, we felt it was time to make a move.” (Nicki Jhabvala)
• Rivera does not have any plans to make changes to the staff at this point. (Jhabvala)

Giants

Giants TE Darren Waller feels like he’s been underutilized as a playmaker after finishing Monday Night’s loss to the Seahawks with just three receptions for 21 yards. 

“As a playmaker that is a tough pill to swallow,” Waller said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN. “Like I said, all I can do is go out there and execute the game plan that they put in front of us. But, yeah, as a playmaker I can’t just go home and go to sleep knowing what I’ve done in this league and knowing what I’m capable of. It’s tough.”

Giants QB Daniel Jones thinks he needs to do a better job of getting Waller involved. 

“I think it’s important [he’s a bigger part of offense],” Jones said. “He’s a talented player and poses a big threat for defenses. I have to do a better job of finding him and getting him the ball. I think there are just some opportunities that I have to get him the ball and give him a chance to make plays.”

New York’s offensive line struggles in Week 4 resulted in Waller contributing more as a blocker. He commented on how he didn’t have a lot of opportunities to make plays. 

“I was just doing a lot of chipping and helping out with the protection most of the time,” Waller said. “Not really a lot of chances to go out there to make a lot of plays. Like I said, all I can do is what the coaches ask me to do.”

Giants

Giants OC Mike Kafka said the team’s injury situation along the offensive line means that they’ll need to be taking the next man up approach to hopefully find a solution.

“I think right now it’s just part of being in the National Football League,” Kafka said, via Giants Wire. “There’s injuries everywhere, we have to be able to adjust and have the next man up mentality and our guys have been great. That’s why we’ve kept them all through offseason, OTA’s, training camp and building that foundation with the guys so the next guy who’s up, he’s ready to rock and roll and that’s who we give our trust into.”

Kafka is taking the challenge in stride and called on the players to respond in the same manner.

“I think as a competitor you’re always looking within. I know for me, personally, I’m always looking from within. How can I do a better job? How can I do a better job when I was a player? How can I do a better job as a coach? And always be hypocritical on all those little things I can improve on,” he said.