“I know what my goals are. I know what my vision is,” Rivera said in November. “But I’m not going to shake and waver on Sam [Howell] or this offense or what we’re doing.”
But in the fourth quarter of the Commanders’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday — right after Howell threw an interception — the young quarterback took a seat on the bench. Jacoby Brissett, an eight-year veteran who has been a starter and a backup throughout his career, took over and quickly threw a pair of touchdown passes to pull the Commanders within one score and give them a shred of hope, fleeting as it may have been.
In that short span, the offense was markedly more efficient, and the talk after was notable.
Terry McLaurin, who didn’t have a catch in the team’s previous game, a loss to the Miami Dolphins, finished Sunday with a career-high 141 receiving yards, 93 of which came on passes from Brissett.
“I think with myself being a vet, him being a vet, we just have one of those connections where he feels like he’s comfortable in knowing where I’m going to be, and I know how he’s going to place the ball up in the air,” McLaurin said. “… Football is still going to be football no matter what scheme you’re in. So [Brissett] understands leverages, he understands where he needs to release the ball. He put some great air under the ball for us receivers to track the ball.”
After the game, Rivera said he had pulled Howell “to protect him,” and he was still the starter. But unlike earlier in the season, Howell hadn’t gotten pummeled behind the line. He was sacked just once and took two hits against the Rams — a far cry from the nine sacks and 14 hits he took against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. Rivera was asked after that game whether he considered pulling Howell, and he said it was imperative that Howell “continue to learn and grow.”
“We want to see him handle this,” Rivera said at the time. “We want to see him do the things that he’s capable of, and there is a certain point that probably protecting him … would’ve been the next step.”
On Monday, Rivera didn’t offer much more about his decision against the Rams. And when asked whether he would be sticking with Howell if the team were in playoff contention, Rivera hedged.
“If this was about playoffs and we’re right in the middle of it … that’s something you have to most certainly consider,” he said. “Do we still have that opportunity to continue to win?”
What Rivera didn’t say was more significant.
Since training camp, when Howell won the team’s pseudo-quarterback battle (he took all of the first-team reps in camp, leaving little doubt he would be the Week 1 starter), Rivera has framed the season around the quarterback’s development and lauded his progress. He was the clear starter and a possible long-term solution.
But that Washington might have considered its options if it were clawing for a postseason berth indicates it’s not fully convinced Howell gives it the best chance to win.
In recent weeks, Howell’s play has declined statistically in numerous areas. He has tossed six interceptions (three were pick-sixes) in the past four games. His passer rating has dropped to 75.5, down from 90.1 in the first eight weeks, and his completion percentage has dipped to 61.7 percent, from 66.9 percent in Week 8. His 102 passing yards and 42.3 percent completion rate against the Rams were career lows.
Yet context matters. The Commanders are 1-5 over their past six games. The defense came unglued, and all five losses were against teams that have clinched or are still in the running for a playoff spot.
Continuing to play Howell now makes sense; Washington is eliminated from playoff contention, rendering the final three games as glorified tryouts for players and coaches. Howell can get more experience and more reps, and in most circumstances that’s a boon for young players. Benching him again might protect him physically but hurt him mentally.
Whether Howell remains the team’s quarterback of the future will be a decision for the next regime.
The Commanders currently own the fourth pick in the 2024 draft and have five selections in the first three rounds. Keeping Howell as the starter would allow them to build out the roster around him without allocating significant funds to the quarterback position; he has two years left on his rookie deal with salary cap hits of about $1.1 million and $1.2 million.
But passing on a quarterback in the draft when the team has a top-five pick and the means to move up higher to land a player it covets could be difficult if the staff isn’t fully in on Howell. His final few games could weigh heavily in the decision-making.
On Sunday, Howell will face the 5-9 New York Jets, who also have been knocked out of playoff contention but still pose a difficult challenge: Their defense is second in the NFL in passing yards allowed (170.4 per game), seventh in total yards allowed (298.4) and fifth in opponent red-zone touchdown rate (43.6 percent).
The Commanders then take on the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys at home to close the season.
“If we knew what the issue was, we’d fix it,” Howell said after the loss to the Rams. “But I think what it comes down to is we just got to execute better, and that starts with me. So it’s been an unfortunate couple weeks, [and I] obviously wish we could go back and do it again. But reality is we can’t, and all we can control is how we move on from this point and how we finish the year.”
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