The Washington Commanders haven’t exactly had the most stable of quarterback situations over the past few seasons. That’s probably why mock drafters keep slotting a quarterback to them this spring. The Carson Wentz experiment didn’t quite work out (yes, it is groundhog day), and when the Commanders had to fall back on Taylor Heinicke for more of the same Taylor Heinicke. They drafted Sam Howell all the way deep into the 5th round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and with nothing to play for in the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, Commanders coaches wanted to get a look at just what the young man might be able to bring to the table.
I was a huge fan of Howell leading up to last year’s draft. As a matter of fact, he was my QB2, only behind Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral. Revisiting my evaluation from last draft season, I wrote that Howell “is being underrated in this draft because of the dip in production from 2020 to 2021, but he still has all the traits to succeed in the NFL. My favorite things about him are his mobility and the beautiful touch that he can throw a ball with.” I watched Howell at last year’s Senior Bowl, and it confused me deeply. All week long, I noticed his body language, and how he seemed a little disinterested in the drills. But, then on game day, he showed out as the best quarterback on the field. Considering his explosive, dynamic skill set, it was his demeanor during the practices that stood out to me as the only possible explanation for him to slide to the 5th round. Maybe teams just didn’t think he could be the leader that playing quarterback commands of a prospect? I don’t know.
But, when he stuck to the Commanders roster, I made a note of it because having watched Wentz these last couple of seasons, I thought he had an opportunity to work his way into a shot at the starting role. When things went south for Wentz, and Heinicke proved to still be Heinicke, I thought, “this is the moment.” So, when I saw the news that Howell was going to get the chance to start in Week 18, I was beyond excited. Now, here we are over a month later, and I’m just now getting the chance to sit down and watch the film on that start. What do you say we have ourselves a little film study, eh?
Film Study: Sam Howell vs Dallas
Howell’s final stat line from this game reads 11/19 for 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also had five rushing attempts that generated 35 yards and a score on the ground. To start, Howell and the Commanders offense got a couple of fortuitous bounces their way. On the first drive, the snap bounces off the punter’s hands and he’s taken down for a loss which sets Howell and company up in the red zone on what has to be one of the luckiest breaks for a first-time starting quarterback.
From the jump, the Commanders coaches showed they wanted to use his ability with his legs as a decoy to draw defenders away from the running back. On the second play on offense, Howell throws an absolute laser of a touchdown – he goes through his progressions, working his way from his right side inside, finds an open Terry McLaurin, delivers an accurate ball, and boom – easy touchdown.

Later on, the Cowboys later muff a punt that the Commanders recover, again setting the offense up in the red zone. Howell is now under center after being in shotgun on the two plays of the first drive. So, they’re going to try and mix it up. Howell does a nice job of using his mobility to get on the move, but needs to develop more of a sense of urgency in getting rid of the ball. On one play, he holds onto it and takes a sack instead of throwing the ball away. Pretty remedial rookie mistake.
The next drive gave us a chance to really evaluate whether or not Howell can engineer a drive. They started at their own 30 this time. We have the potential for a real drive here! Howell still seems to be going through his progressions well – no one is open down field so he hits his check down on a play. He put way too much zip on a screen pass and threw it way too high for it to have a shot….settle down, young fella. He then threw the ball deep with pressure coming down the barrel, but it was way short…luckily, it drew pass interference and, by good fortune, resulted in a huge gain. Howell looks decisive in tucking the ball and running. He takes a sack, but what’s concerning this time is how he damn near threw the ball. You don’t like him being a little too loose with that, as that’s how fumbles happen. He needs to learn when to just tuck it and take it. But, then this insane throw on the move happens:

Is that the best technique? Nah, probably not, but this is what we call flat out making a play. He rips it to McLaurin, who damn near takes it in for another touchdown. This drive, which was looking pretty damn good, ends when Howell tries to force a throw over triple coverage in the back corner of the end zone, but it’s picked off. It was just an ill-advised throw that looked like Howell was trying to make too much happen on one play.
The next drive starts from the 18 – this is where I started to notice his chemistry with Jahan Dotson. He had a nice accurate dart to Dotson that he took upfield for a big gain. It seems like he’s becoming more accurate and getting into a groove passing the ball here. The drive ends in a field goal.
Later on in the game, Washington started to run the ball more, and Dallas started bringing more pressure. Howell had a tough go of it, but he did sneak a really nice deep ball down the sideline to Dotson in there. Dotson was covered tightly – the ball was just slightly out of reach, but still catchable. Hell, the film is so grainy, it might’ve been broken up by the defensive back. I can’t tell for sure, but it was definitely a good throw.
Howell showed really good timing on a route that Dotson took up field and then sat on…Howell had the ball ready for him when he turned around, and Dotson was able to get a little extra yards after the catch for a big play. He was killin’ Dallas on those in-breaking routes to Dotson. Howell scores a touchdown rushing the ball after some tough running through traffic and taking a hit to get the ball in the end zone. Great drive.
Late in the game, there was another absolutely incredible deep shot to McLaurin, that showed Howell is absolutely capable of dropping it in the bucket. But, Dallas started to pull the starters, and Washington started running the ball to close it out. So, that’s about all of the evaluating there is to do at this point.
Conclusion: Is there enough to build on for 2023? It’s hard to chew on after one game. Howell undoubtedly had a little bit of luck starting this one off, I’ll admit, even as a huge Howell fan that wants to believe this guy has a chance. The interception was bad, and it made him look a little shaky, but he really settled in nicely later in the game.
His defense was playing well. The Commanders coaching staff was clearly unafraid to let him rip the ball, and they were more than willing to use his mobility to their advantage. As for what he showed me, well…Howell can scan the field and go through his progressions. He seemed to have a firm command of the offense, and could throw the ball on the move. As the game went on and he got more comfortable, he looked a lot better, and that connection between he and Dotson looked like it was capable of dropping bombs on defense. He needs to develop a little more consistent touch and finesse on short and intermediate passes, rein in the energy a bit, and learn to make better decisions to protect the ball more when he’s rushed. But, I watch this game and see a player that has a chance to play quarterback in this league.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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