Commanders keeping faith with Sam Howell
Last weekend was Sam Howell's worst nightmare. Turnovers galore and countless sacks against were just two contributing factors to a miserable afternoon at the office versus the Buffalo Bills, which is a far cry from the impressive performances displayed by the quarterback over his previous three career NFL starts.
Howell's been quick to hold himself accountable during media availability this week. He knows better than anyone how much things need to improve, which is a sentiment echoed by Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera based on his thoughts via USA Today Sports.
"I think that’s what you do, is you look at other teams that have had young quarterbacks come in and do the things that they’ve done. There’s a lot of good young quarterbacks that have come in and have done really well, and there’s been some that have struggled. But you’ll never know unless you play him, and that’s what we’re trying to do right now: see what kind of growth we’re going to get out of Sam. He had a tough week last week, and we’ll see what he learned from it."Ron Rivera via USA Today Sports
The Commanders are right to keep faith with Howell. Whether they'll be tempted to throw Jacoby Brissett into the mix if the same fate befalls the former fifth-round pick at the Philadelphia Eagles is another matter.
For now, Howell gets the benefit of the doubt. The talent is there, it's just a case of brushing up on his progressions and drilling into the North Carolina product that it's okay to throw the football away when things aren't developing as expected.