Commanders News: Sam Howell, Brian Robinson Jr., Ron Rivera and rebrand drama

Exploring the latest Commanders news and rumors from around the media.

Brian Robinson Jr.
Brian Robinson Jr. | Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
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Commanders QB Sam Howell's performance

Sam Howell's production was nowhere near the required standard against the Buffalo Bills. He wasn't helped by the offensive line, but some severe individual mistakes and failing to protect the football contributed significantly to the Washington Commanders' eventual demise.

Nobody thought it was going to be completely smooth sailing for Howell during his first season as an NFL starting quarterback. The Bills defense made life extremely uncomfortable and is one of the league's most underrated units, which was a wake-up call for the signal-caller in no uncertain terms.

Howell's performance was unsurprisingly listed among the top five worst of the week by Vincent Frank from Sportsnaut. The writer also criticized head coach Ron Rivera for leaving the former fifth-round selection in the game when all hope seemed lost.

"Young quarterbacks are going to take their lumps in the NFL. That much is already known. For some reason, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera thought it made sense to act the part of a masochist when it came to keeping his second-year signal caller in the game. We wonder how this will impact Howell moving forward as a sophomore."
Vincent Frank, Sportsnaut

We'll find out more about what Howell is made of when he takes the field this weekend against a Philadelphia Eagles defense that will be relishing the chance of sticking it to a divisional rival. Another error-prone outing won't be well received in such a hostile environment.

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