4 major observations from Sam Howell's performance at the Seahawks in Week 10

What were some major observations from Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell's performance at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10?

After another polished display from Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell at the New England Patriots last time out, the former fifth-round pick faced what's arguably the toughest environment of his professional career to date. While Lincoln Financial Field was as hostile as it gets, the noise generated at Lumen Field represented another significant obstacle to overcome.

Howell's gaining some real traction at the moment. He's been eager to make the most out of his exceptional opportunity to lead the Commanders in 2023, which can hopefully turn into a long-term arrangement and allow those in power to focus on improving other areas around the signal-caller in pursuit of sustained success.

The Seattle Seahawks weren't going to make things easy for Howell, that's for sure. As it turned out, the Commanders and Howell were edged out at the death despite a tremendous effort from the signal-caller.

With this in mind, here are four major observations from Howell's performance in Week 10.

Sam Howell's early statement

If Sam Howell and the Washington Commanders wanted to set an early tone, they achieved it emphatically. The signal-caller conjured up a moment of pure magic to evade pressure before hitting running back Brian Robinson Jr. in stride for a 51-yard touchdown.

This silenced the crowd at Lumen Field - albeit briefly - and let Pete Carroll's men know that the Commanders wouldn't be going down without a fight with Howell under center. It was only the game's first drive, but it's another example of no moment being too big for the gunslinger.

Howell is becoming more creative in the pocket and trusts his feet much more than earlier in the campaign. Something that continues to bear fruit with plays like this.

Sam Howell's methodical first half

It was a methodical first half for Sam Howell. There weren't many opportunities to take shots downfield, which was thanks to some smothering coverage from two exceptional cornerbacks and the rainy conditions, forcing the signal-caller into short-to-intermediate throws in pursuit of moving the chains.

The Washington Commanders once again couldn't - or wouldn't - get anything going in the run game. This put the onus squarely on Howell, who did a nice job of finding the check-down and getting the football out quickly when pressure arrived.

This wasn't the highlight-reel production we've come to expect from Howell. However, the statistics are reflective of Washington's quarterback taking what the defense gave him and keeping mistakes to a minimum.

• 71.42 percent completion (15/21)
• 133 passing yards
• 1 touchdown
• 0 interceptions
• 1 sack against
• 103.9 passer rating (ESPN)

It was a pretty tight first half between two teams that looked evenly matched. Howell did a good job of going toe-to-toe with Geno Smith, coping well with a deafening noise coming from the stands, and more importantly, keeping his eyes downfield at all times.

If it wasn't there at the first or second read, Howell was looking for any completion. That was the smart approach early on, which gave the Commanders a fighting chance tied up 9-9 at the half-time break.

Sam Howell had to fight for every yard

The Seattle Seahawks defense was giving up 232.1 passing yards per game on average heading into their game against the Washington Commanders. However, it was evident from early on that the secondary was in no mood to mess around.

Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woollen seemed to have the Commanders' wide receivers locked up almost constantly. This made it incredibly difficult for them to create separation and forced Sam Howell to fight for every yard.

Even when he had an opportunity to load up and try a deep attempt, the offensive line couldn't hold up for long enough. Howell's best success came when he improvised from in and out of the pocket, but the Seahawks pressed tight at the line of scrimmage and had the physicality to knock the pass-catchers off their routes consistently.

Howell did an admirable job of moving the chains, but it seemed exhausting. With almost no help from the running game, Washington's momentum slowly started to turn in the third quarter.

Of course, Howell giving up costly fumble didn't help matters. The ex-Tar Heel was working for extra yardage when Witherspoon popped it out, which was almost a microcosm of how difficult things were for the quarterback versus a defense that came into the game with added purpose after getting thumped by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.

Howell rose to the challenge and matched them for effort. And this sort of never-back-down mentality is something that his teammates fed off throughout.

Sam Howell couldn't have done much more

Aside from the third-quarter fumble, Sam Howell turned in another quality performance. He did everything possible to get the Washington Commanders over the line, but the defense just didn't have enough in their arsenal to prevent a walk-off field goal to condemn them to their sixth loss of the campaign.

Howell looks to have sent the game into overtime by leading a tunning final drive that resulted in Dyami Brown going over for a touchdown. This capped off another 300-yard passing day for the signal-caller, which came without an interception, three scores through the air, and a passer rating of 109.3 as a result of his efforts.

The Commanders didn't come away with what would have been a crucial win, but this performance did nothing to suggest Howell isn't the quarterback to lead this franchise moving forward. They might be in a transition year, but even the likes of Josh Harris and Magic Johnson from the new ownership group must acknowledge Washington could have something special on their hands.

It didn't go the Commanders' way and their slim chances of reaching the wild card places suffered a blow. However, if Howell can enhance his credentials during what looks like a daunting run of games down the stretch, building around the gunslinger is an easy decision.

This was another so near yet so far moment from Howell. But the team's eventual loss wasn't on him by any stretch.