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Ron Rivera fights tears after Commanders' upset win over Eagles: 'My mother would have been proud'

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was extremely emotional Monday night. Not only did his team hand the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the season, he is still grieving the loss of his mother, who died several weeks ago.

In the locker room following Washington's 32-21 win over the Eagles, Rivera was fighting back tears, so overwhelmed with emotion that he could barely speak. He was able to get one sentence out before he had to stop, but it's all he needed to say.

"My mother would have been proud," Rivera said before wide receiver Terry McLaurin, one of the shining stars of the game, took over for him.

“You can see how much that means to him. It means a lot to everyone in this locker room,” McLaurin said as the entire locker room continued to rally around Rivera.

Rivera's mother, Delores Rivera-Munoz, died peacefully on Oct. 31 with her husband and family by her side. Rivera went to visit her in California just days before she passed.

Rivera has posted about her on social media several times since she passed.

This is Rivera's third season with the Commanders, and he has an 19-24 record so far with a 5-5 record this season. In his first two seasons, Rivera went 7-9 and 7-10, and he's trying to steer the team toward their first winning record since 2016, when they went 8-7-1 under Jay Gruden.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 14: Head Coach Ron Rivera of the Washington Commanders looks on before kickoff against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on November 14, 2022 in Philadelphia. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, who is still grieving his mother's recent death, got emotional after his team handed the Eagles their first loss of the season. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)