Despite Washington Commanders' 1-4 start, Ron Rivera has 'no regrets' with adding Carson Wentz

ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera said he had no regrets about trading for quarterback Carson Wentz, adding that now they need to keep building around him.

Rivera said the difference between his 1-4 Commanders and the rest of the NFC East teams, who are all 4-1 or better, came down to quarterback.

«The truth is that this is a quarterback driven league,» Rivera said. «And if you look at the teams that have been able to sustain success, they've been able to build it around a specific quarterback.»

Washington traded two draft picks in the offseason to acquire Wentz, giving up a second-round pick this past draft and a conditional pick in 2023 that could become a second based on play time.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia (Jalen Hurts), New York (Daniel Jones) and Dallas (Dak Prescott) all entered the season with the same starting quarterback as 2021. Washington has started six quarterbacks in Rivera's two-plus seasons. The Commanders are 15-21 under Rivera.

Rivera said his point was that the other teams in the division all have built around their quarterbacks. Dallas, though, has won four in a row with Cooper Rush starting for the injured Prescott. Rivera said Rush, who has been with Dallas since 2020, plays well within what the Cowboys want to run offensively.

The Giants, who went a combined 10-23 the past two years, have a new coach in Brian Daboll and declined to pick up Jones' fifth-year option. They also were widely considered the worst team in the division entering the season — and rallied to beat Green Bay Sunday despite missing its top receivers.

The Eagles have gone from 6-10 in 2020 to 9-8 last season and 5-0 this year. Hurts has been the full-time starter the past two seasons.

Wentz hasn't been the