Commanders News: Ron Rivera, Quan Martin, Terry McLaurin and Sam Howell

Commanders QB Sam Howell's preparation

The last few days have been another big challenge for Sam Howell. This is the first time he's dealt with a short week in his NFL career, but the quarterback has plenty of confidence after bouncing back positively against a formidable Philadelphia Eagles defense in Week 4.

That's in the rearview mirror for Howell now. Much like the team overall, the former fifth-round selection needs to build on the recent adulation with another assured display versus the Chicago Bears despite some differences in terms of preparation.

These alterations were something Howell discussed recently via Sports Illustrated. But the one-time North Carolina stud seemed happy enough that everything was in place for himself and the Commanders to give a good account of themselves.

"Yeah, it's a little different. You don't have all the practices that you usually have in a normal week. But yeah, just being here last year, I kind of got a good sense of what it's like. We had some Thursday night games in college as well, but yeah, I mean, it's different. You don't have near as much time to prepare, but you just got to put a little more time in you might have some later nights than you usually would on a normal week, but you just got to do whatever it takes to make sure you're go into the game fully prepared. I think we've done a really good job of that so far."

- Sam Howell via Sports Illustrated

Considering the opposition and the fact this game is on primetime, it's the perfect chance for Howell to formally announce himself on the national NFL stage. He's taken everything in his stride up to now, so it would be a surprise to see the signal-caller fall flat on his face.