With QB uncertainly ahead, Howell impresses in first NFL start originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
LANDOVER, Md. — Sam Howell’s first NFL start began about as well as it possibly could have.
On just his second professional snap, Howell fired a missile to Commanders’ star wideout Terry McLaurin, who proceeded to run untouched into the end zone for an early touchdown. That was just the start of a night Washington’s quarterback will never forget.
Howell was far from perfect on Sunday, but the fifth-round rookie showed off his potential in Washington’s dominating 26-6 victory over the Cowboys, Howell’s childhood favorite team, and thus preventing Dallas from having any chance at earning the NFC East title.
“He did things that we believe he can, he’s capable of,” head coach Ron Rivera said on Howell’s performance. “I thought he handled it very nicely, went out and did some really good things.”
The Howell-to-McLaurin touchdown gave the Commanders an early lead, but Washington blew multiple chances to extend that margin early on. The Commanders reached the red zone on two consecutive possessions later on in the first half but came away with zero points in both series. Joey Slye missed a short field goal on the first red-zone sequence, while Howell made an errant throw in the end zone that was intercepted on the second.
Washington’s offense sputtered to end the half, as their only other true scoring chance was ruined by another Slye miss. The Commanders were able to extend their lead to 13 after Kendall Fuller intercepted a poor Dak Prescott throw for a touchdown, but Dallas answered with a score of their own just before the break.
Midway through the third quarter, after both teams traded punts three times to begin the frame, Howell put together his best drive of the evening. The 22-year-old connected with fellow rookie Jahan Dotson on a pair of explosive plays down the field before calling his own number from nine yards out, breaking multiple tackles en route to extending Washington’s lead to 14.
Get off the tracks when @Sam7Howell is coming through 🚊
📺 #DALvsWAS FOX pic.twitter.com/9bKPjZF2kI
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 8, 2023
On Washington’s next drive, Howell showed off his elite arm strength with a 52-yard dime to McLaurin down the right sideline. The big play ultimately set up another Slye field goal to extend Washington’s lead even more.
This is a high, high quality throw from Sam Howell. Wow pic.twitter.com/5XPdaFYsIX
— Ethan Cadeaux (@Ethan_Cadeaux) January 8, 2023
“I saw Terry was 1-on-1. And, when Terry is 1-on-1, you have to give him a chance,” Howell said. That’s what I tried to go and Terry made a good play.”
“It’s fun being a receiver when you get to catch nine routes like that,” McLaurin added.
Howell’s final stat line — 11-for-19, 169 passing yards, 35 rushing yards, two total touchdowns and one interception — doesn’t nearly show how well he played. Rivera was especially pleased with the rookie’s decision-making, anticipation and precision he showed, as well as his understanding of the playbook.
“It is about the quarterback making the plays that he’s supposed to make [and] managing the game when he needs to manage a game,” Rivera said. ” And then every now and then you need a big play, make the big play. I’ve said that before and I really do believe that that’s a big part of what we need to get to.”
One year ago, Howell was in consideration to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. But on draft weekend, Howell fell to the fifth-round before Washington stopped his slide. In Howell’s first NFL action, he demonstrated why he deserved to be taken a lot earlier than he was.
“He’s worked hard all year,” quarterback Taylor Heinicke said. “He had a first or second-round draft grade and he fell to the fifth round. He’s one of those guys that takes that personally. … I’m really proud of Sam. He prepared really hard for this game. He’s a really good player and you saw it tonight.”
Howell offered a similar sentiment when asked about the draft process and how far he’s come since that weekend.
“I really don’t feel like I have to prove myself to anybody,” Howell said. “What I wanted to do tonight was prove who I am and who I am as a player to my teammates. And I wanted them to leave tonight confident in me and confident in who I am as a person. …. Obviously the draft was disappointing and a stressful process. But overall, I’m just happy to be here and be here on the Commanders.”
Entering the offseason, the Commanders are still in search of that franchise QB. Rivera wouldn’t commit to Howell being the guy next season, saying “I’ll definitely say he’ll be a QB. I won’t give you a number yet.” The head coach stressed they’ll go through the evaluation process over the next two weeks, then go from there.
Although he’s just a rookie, Howell has quickly learned how the NFL works. He’s not worried about whether he’ll be the starter or backup in Washington next season right now. Instead, he’s just focusing on what he can control and building on his first, promising NFL start.
“I’m just hungry out there and because I know there’s some things that I could’ve done better,” Howell said. “I’m eager to get out there and try to fix those things. But, this does give me some momentum and some motivation going into the offseason. … I don’t know what the situation will be, but, whatever it is, I’ll be ready for it and I’ll come back ready to play.”
While uncertainty at quarterback awaits, Howell’s performance earned the respect of Washington’s top two pass-catchers.
“You could just see the confidence in him,” McLaurin said. “I think he’s going to continue to grow and get better and really compete for that starting spot next year.”
“We knew he was capable of doing what he did today,” Dotson added. “[He] played a great game. [He] put [the ball] on the money. He played an awesome game. I’m just super happy for him that he got the opportunity and he came out on top.”
When Rivera named Howell the starter earlier this week, he admitted his instinct was to start Heinicke at first but decided to give the rookie the nod after conversations with multiple coaches and teammates.
After Sunday’s performance, the only question worth asking is this: why didn’t they turn to Howell sooner?
