Washington Commanders: Grading Sam Howell’s first start

The Washington Commanders were officially eliminated from the playoffs following their Week 17 loss dropping them to 7-8-1 on the season. Due to that, they decided to go to fifth-round rookie quarterback Sam Howell for the season finale.

This was no easy task for Howell either. The Commanders were facing off with the 12-4 Dallas Cowboys. A team that still had a chance to win the NFC East if they beat Washington and the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the New York Giants.

With that in mind, the Cowboys weren’t going to be coasting into the week. They were doing everything they could to win.

Due to that, this was the perfect type of game to see what Howell could do. He wasn’t going to be getting a preseason roster going up against him, this was a legitimate playoff team.

Washington ended up with a surprisingly dominant 26-6 win, with the defense torturing Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott the entire night. Dallas had two special teams fumbles that set up the Commanders in good field position, and Kendall Fuller took an interception to the house.

But what about Sam Howell and the offense? Things certainly started great. The rookie’s first NFL passing attempt was a completion to wide receiver Terry McLaurin on a short slant, McLaurin did what he does, and it ended up being a 16-yard touchdown.

We saw a dip from there for a while though. Howell and the offense couldn’t get anything going in the next two drives. After finally putting together a long possession, Howell made a rookie mistake. The QB tried to make a throw off of his back foot into the end zone (into multi-man coverage) and gift-wrapped an interception for Malik Hooker.

Howell stayed out of trouble after that though. He made a few not-great throws, and there was one sack that probably didn’t need to be a sack. Overall though, it was hard to argue with the results.

The rookie threw an absolute dime to McLaurin later in the game for a 52-yard reception. He connected with Jahan Dotson for three receptions of 20-plus yards as well. Meanwhile, his running prowess was shown with a few nice runs, including an impressive move on an option for his first career rushing touchdown. He finished with 35 yards and that touchdown on five carries.

The final numbers were nothing to go crazy over. Accompanying those rushing stats was a passing line of 11-for-19 for 169 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Overall, the performance was strong though. We saw arm strength and deep ball accuracy that we haven’t seen from a Washington quarterback all year. Howell’s legs created plays, and he seemed ready for the spotlight.

It wasn’t a “perfect” debut, but the positives heavily outweigh the negatives. There was definitely enough on Sunday to make you believe that Sam Howell at least deserves a chance to be the Washington Commanders’ quarterback next season.

Final Grade: B+