Commanders key numbers: Reality check against the Bills in Week 3

Lows: Commanders turnovers galore

5: The Washington Commanders had five turnovers, not including an additional turnover on downs at their two-yard line. Sam Howell had a forgettable game, throwing four interceptions, including one directly to the defender that was returned for a pick-six.

Yes, it was sloppy, but don't write off Howell after only his fourth start.

Josh Allen threw two interceptions and was sacked seven times in a 22-0 shutout during his third career start. Washington's iconic Pro Football Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh even threw six picks in a game once.

It happens, learn from it and move on. How he responds next week at the Philadelphia Eagles will show more about him as a player than his performance versus the Buffalo Bills.

11: The metric keeps getting worse. The Commanders' defense gave up 11 explosive plays to the Bills on Sunday. The defense gave up passes of 35, 30, 30, and 20 yards, and rushes of 34, 23, 13, 10, 10, and 10 yards, while special teams allowed a 23-yard punt return.

19: Howell has now been sacked 19 times in the first three weeks of the season. The Bills sacked the signal-caller no fewer than nine times on Sunday.

Howell is the most-sacked quarterback this season and is on track to be the most-sacked in NFL history. The current record is 76 sacks across 16 games in 2022, held by David Carr.

How many times was he sacked in his first three games? 19! Not the best company to be in.

At this rate, Howell might not be able to withstand 17 games. Teams are pressuring him because they know the Commanders have one of the worst offensive lines in the league and they know he holds onto the ball too long.

26: The Commanders have continued their slow starts on offense and have been outscored by 26 points in the first half through the opening three games. The team entered halftime down 16-0 against the Bills.

Additionally, the Commanders only scored seven points across three contests on their first drive of each half. Those six ended in a punt, punt, missed field goal, touchdown, interception, and another interception.

60%: After being the best third-down defense last season and coming into the game with the longest active streak of holding opponents to less than five third-down conversations in a game (9), it all came to an end on Sunday.

The Commanders allowed the Bills to convert on 60 percent of their third downs (9/15). This included conversions of 10, 8, 8, and 7 yards.

59:14: The Commanders took 59 minutes and 14 seconds of game time to score their first points, narrowly avoiding the worst shutout loss since 2001.