What would have happened if Sam Howell had started for the Commanders earlier?
Howell got his long-awaited opportunity to start for his new NFL team. And his performance bodes well for Washington having a new QB1 for the 2023 season.
It was a meaningless game for the Commanders, who had been eliminated from the playoffs late in the season. But one has to wonder if Howell could have kept them alive longer, or gotten them in, had his number been called weeks ago by coach Ron Rivera.
May be apples to oranges, but Howell started his first college game as a true freshman and led the Tar Heels to an upset of South Carolina and went on to be a record-breaking quarterback for three seasons under Mack Brown.
Howell threw for one touchdown and ran for another against the Cowboys, who entered the game with a reason to win if the Giants upset the Eagles in their regular season finale. That did not happen, but by the time their game was decided Howell had made his mark against a very good Dallas defense.
FOX color commentator Greg Olsen, the former Panthers tight end, sang Howell’s praises for most of the game, especially how he bounced back from throwing a poor pass that was intercepted in the end zone.
Howell finished with a decent 83 QB rating after completing 11 of 19, including a touchdown toss on his first throw of the game to give the Commanders an early lead they expanded as the game went on.
FOX was clearly rooting for Howell because the former Redskins had mostly losing records when they have started 27 different quarterbacks since being a consistent playoff team. Carson Wentz’s erratic, injury-prone play and Taylor Heinicke’s inability to get his team across the playoff finish line should have forced Rivera to go to Howell before the last week.
Howell looked like his Tar Heel days when he ended a six-play drive by running 9 yards for a TD to give his team a two-touchdown lead. The Cowboys might have mailed it in after the Eagles were beating the Giants badly, but that is no excuse for the poor play of Dak Prescott, who has to go against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in their wildcard game next week.
Meanwhile, Howell’s 204 total yards when his team ran the ball 41 times to milk the clock will give him the off-season buzz. It is a small sample size, but that and his college career should mean that he deserves the chance to start when training camp begins again this summer.
Featured image via Associated Press/Nick Wass
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