Ron Rivera absent from Commanders practice for personal matter; Jack Del Rio fills in ahead of Week 8

Rivera is expected back Wednesday night

The Commanders are looking to win their third straight game on Sunday against the Colts, but they were without their head coach for the first practice of the week. Ron Rivera has been excused from work while tending to a personal matter, the team told reporters, with defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio filling in to oversee Wednesday's preparations. Rivera is in California, specifically, for a matter concerning his mother, per NFL Media, but is expected back Wednesday night.

This isn't the first time Del Rio has temporarily taken over on a game week. During Rivera's first season as Commanders coach in 2020, he missed the first practice leading up to Washington's season opener against the Eagles while undergoing cancer treatment. That absence was planned, and Rivera returned the next day.

His latest absence comes at maybe the most optimistic time of the Commanders' 2022 season. Since starting 1-4, enduring both mercurial play from new quarterback Carson Wentz and a litany of off-field drama related to team ownership, Washington has beaten the Bears and Packers in back-to-back weeks. Replacement QB Taylor Heinicke, meanwhile, appeared to invigorate teammates in Sunday's upset of Green Bay. 

With a win against the Colts, who are replacing Matt Ryan with unproven second-year QB Sam Ehlinger, the Commanders would return to .500 and potentially pull within one game of the third-place Cowboys.