Commanders News: Chase Young, Sam Howell, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Emmanuel Forbes

Commanders QB Sam Howell on his next big test

It was a mixed bag for Sam Howell in Week 1. There were obvious signs of additional nerves and adrenaline in front of a packed FedEx Field to begin his time as Washington Commanders quarterback, but he did just enough to get his team over the finish line thanks in no small part to a sterling defensive effort.

That's now in the past for Howell based on his presser comments via the team's website. His attention is firmly focused on preparing for the Denver Broncos, which is another significant milestone as the first road game of his NFL career.

"At this point none of my thoughts are about the previous game. It's all about what's our new game plan and what's our mindset going into Denver this week and how can I attack that and get to know the plan and get to know the defense as best as I can going into Sunday. So, I'm really not focused on anything really that happened in the game. Obviously, there's some things throughout the week that we know that came up in the game that we'd like to do a better job of, but all my focus on the game plan for Denver."

- Sam Howell via Commanders.com

Howell did some nice things and kept swinging when things weren't necessarily going his way. Protecting the football must improve - especially in a hostile atmosphere - but getting the opening game nervousness over with could lead to the North Carolina product settling down moving forward.

And if Howell can propel the Commanders to victory, he'll have everyone believing.