It didn’t matter that they had to go down to the final week to finally clinch first place in a division derisively known as the NL Least. It didn’t matter that they were mired in mediocrity much of the season, finally climbing above. It didn’t matter that they won just 88 games during the regular season, fewer than every other playoff team and even two teams that didn’t make the postseason.
#Washington saw series#
Shaking off the disappointment of Game 5, when they squandered a 4-0 lead and a chance to celebrate in front of their home fans, these Braves romped past the Houston Astros 7-0 to finish off the World Series four games to two. To this day, it’s hard to fathom that a team assembled by a Hall of Fame general manager (John Schuerholz), guided by a Hall of Fame manager (Cox), led on the mound by three Hall of Fame pitchers (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz), with a lineup that included yet another Hall of Famer (Chipper Jones) and at least two other guys who can make a pretty good case for Cooperstown (Fred McGriff and Andruw Jones) contributed just one title to the franchise resume. The ‘95 Braves had been the only team to win it all during those 20 previous trips to the playoffs.Īnd even that victory, as glorious and satisfying as it was for a city that has known so much heartache, wound up feeling a bit hollow because of the four other times Atlanta lost the World Series during that single decade, a lone triumph nearly obscured by all the gut-wrenching disappointments. When you add it all up, that’s 21 postseason appearances in the last 30 completed seasons - a run that meets nearly every requirement to be called a dynasty except the only one that really matters. A painful rebuilding job came next, but it paid off with another streak of division titles that has grown to four. They claimed another wild card in 2012, followed by a return to the top of the NL East in 2013. They got back to the postseason as a wild card in 2010, Bobby Cox’s final season as manager. The Braves won 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005, a staggering streak that may never be eclipsed. If they were the least bit familiar with their team’s history, they had to know how fickle the baseball gods can be. These guys never stopped believing in themselves.” “We used a lot of guys, we lost a lot of pieces over the course of the summer. Next, Washington travels to Denver, and we’ll see if some of the positives Rivera noted from Week 7 carry into next week’s meeting against the Broncos.“These guys never gave up on themselves,” manager Brian Snitker said. But, according to the head coach, not all was lost. Washington had its chances to win on Sunday, and it failed.
But the head coach isn’t going to call his players out publicly. There are no moral victories in the NFL, especially when you are far from being a good team, like Washington. Look, some will criticize Rivera for his positive comments after Sunday’s game.
The officials ruled correctly, based on the NFL rulebook. On the controversial non-touchdown when Heinicke dove into the end zone, Rivera said he thought his quarterback was diving and did not give himself up. And now we, as a football team, we’ve just got to grow and get better.” But I have a lot of confidence that he’s going to be able to move us. “He did make a couple of mistakes, but he’s going to as a young guy gaining experience. “I thought Taylor was impressive,” he said. Then, Rivera talked about the up-and-down day from Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke. They played hard, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach, that the guys are going to come out and play hard and give themselves an opportunity.” “I’m seeing the growth that we’re looking for,” Rivera said, per Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Washington’s red-zone woes, which included three trips inside the red zone that resulted in zero points was a big reason it lost Sunday’s game.Īfter the game, head coach Ron Rivera saw some things he liked, despite the end result.