The erratic play of Sam Howell is finally catching up to the Washington Commanders, who fell to 3-4 after a 14-7 loss to the Giants in Week 7. Howell completed just 52.4 percent of his passes for 249 yards with zero touchdowns against one interception against New York’s defense, which has struggled mightily at times this season.
At times, Howell has shown glimpses of why he was once a highly-coveted quarterback prospect coming out of North Carolina. Unfortunately, he’s shown more signs of why he fell to the fifth round and was a Day 3 draft pick. Through seven games this season, he’s been sacked 40 times. The NFL record for a season is 76.
There have been questions regarding Howell’s hold on the quarterback position. They’re understandable considering his struggles, and the fact that the Commanders have a replacement-level backup in Jacoby Brissett.
“Well I will tell you this, I’m committed to him and we’ll see how things go,” Rivera said. “But I can’t predict the future and the only thing I’m going to do is, I’m going to focus in on one game at a time. Because the truth of the matter is, that’s the only thing that matters right now, and that’s getting ready for Philadelphia. Once I get done with this conversation with all you guys, it’ll be on to Philadelphia.”
How Howell performs against one of the NFL’s top defenses remains to be seen. If his struggles continue, perhaps Rivera will change his tune.
[PFT]
