Comment on this storyComment
Sam Howell sat on the bench, elbows on knees, as the final seconds ticked by and the weight of defeat was felt.
There were only a few words and fewer rays of hope to draw from such an idea. There was no way to escape the physical pain or mental anguish of such a profound loss.
After a 2-0 start to the season, the Commanders were beaten 37-3 by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at FedEx Field, amid the fanfare of new ownership and increased fan interest that was a painful reminder of their reality: They still need a lot of work and their 23-year-old quarterback is still a work in progress.
“We played as bad as we could,” Howell said after the game.
Howell was sacked nine times and intercepted four times. He didn’t throw a single touchdown pass and the Commanders didn’t get on the field until the final minute, when kicker Joey Slye hit a 51-yard field goal to spare them their first shutout loss since 2019.
In total, Washington committed five turnovers – running back Antonio Gibson added a fumble in the fourth quarter – which led to 17 points for the Bills.
Of Washington’s first 11 plays, three ended in sacks and another ended in an interception.
The Bills hit Howell 15 times and pressured him on a whopping 69.2 percent (27 of 39) of his dropbacks Next Generation Statistics. And Buffalo, which at times pushed back Washington’s offensive line with ease, also appeared to anticipate many of Howell’s throws, resulting in picks from four different defenders.
“There were situations where I was just trying to get the ball out of my hands and avoid a negative play and I just forced something,” Howell said.
The commanders have their reality check. What is important is their reaction.
After two weeks of second-half comeback victories against the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos, the Commanders’ offense was stymied from the start and couldn’t turn it around.
Washington moved into scoring position twice in the first half and missed both chances. Linebacker Terrel Bernard intercepted Howell at the Buffalo 16-yard line to end the Commanders’ opening drive. Early in the second quarter, Washington made it to Buffalo’s 1 and failed to inbound the ball; Running back Brian Robinson Jr. was returned a yard on third-and-1, and Howell failed to hit tight end Cole Turner on a fourth-down attempt from 2nd.
Coach Ron Rivera described Washington’s loss as a collection of missed opportunities.
“When you play such good teams, firstly you can’t turn the ball over,” he said. “You put yourself in the points, you have to put points on the board and we didn’t do that.”
Howell’s second pick, thrown deep into Washington territory late in the second quarter, wasn’t the most damaging; It resulted in just three points thanks to the powerful play of the Washington defense. But it was clear at the time that Buffalo’s defense had Howell’s number and perhaps had seen something on tape the week before that made their play easier on Sunday.
In a two-minute drill in which Howell usually performed well, he was pressured by edge rusher AJ Epenesa, who charged toward him untouched by the offensive line. Howell attempted to give Gibson a check-down pass, but safety Micah Hyde quickly jumped in front of Gibson and intercepted the ball.
Howell said it was a protection misunderstanding but took the blame.
“This is my fault,” he added. “I was just trying to avoid the bag and get him to check down, but [Hyde] covered the check-down well and made a good move.”
By the fourth quarter, the problems had worsened and the mistakes became more and more worrisome. Shortly after the Bills converted Gibson’s fumble into a score, Epenesa grabbed Howell and ran the ball back 32 yards for a touchdown, cutting Buffalo’s lead to 30-0.
Rivera said Howell’s youth would inevitably lead to mistakes and poor performances like those on Sunday. Howell’s difficulties almost caused him to quit early for his own protection. After his final interception, Howell was sacked four more times, raising questions on the Commanders’ sideline as to whether he should play through his problems and try to learn from them, or pull out to avoid further hits.
“We want him to deal with it. We want him to do the things he’s capable of,” Rivera said. “There was a certain point where protecting him probably would have been the next step. … He’s a young guy and he needs to play, and that’s what really matters: He learns and grows and gets better.”
Howell’s youth was clearly evident from Buffalo’s perspective, too.
“We were just really prepared for today,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “What we saw on film is what we saw on the field.”
Several Bills defenders said Howell showed on film a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long, particularly on third down.
“It’s like one in three has beaten them [were] “Holding the ball for three seconds, and I feel like that’s way too long,” edge rusher Leonard Floyd said. “With the guys we had up front… anything over 2.5 [seconds] and we’re going to have a party back there.”
Including Sunday’s game, Howell has averaged 2.81 seconds on dropbacks this season, according to TruMedia. However, on third down his average is 3.3 seconds. Three of his four interceptions on Sunday came on third down.
Buffalo also recognized that Washington’s offensive line was vulnerable, so it attempted to capitalize on that by exploiting the interior to generate pressure and create opportunities for edge runners. And the Bills remembered the Commanders’ reality: Howell is young and inexperienced as a starter in the NFL.
“We just gave him a different look,” defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said. “If he doesn’t see something, he usually just holds the ball or runs. But it wasn’t all bad; He had some nice problems today. Just growing pains.”
The Commanders’ O-line has a “razor-thin” margin for error
Bernard said he also noticed Howell didn’t always work through his progress patiently.
“Especially with our zone coverages, we knew he wanted to accomplish his goals early in his development, so we thought we could go in and steal some stuff, and it showed in the game,” Bernard said. “When…guys get in his face, he doesn’t have time to scare you off and go through a full development.”
Rivera spoke with Howell after the loss and gave him advice and encouragement. He told the team that everyone was guilty – coaches and players – and that the team’s true measure would come next week when they played the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.
“Now we have to find out how tough we really are,” Rivera said. “Are we mentally strong? Are we physically strong enough to get through this? When you win, a lot of things get covered up. The naked truth is currently out in the open and we know exactly what happened from the tape.”
Tramel Raggs contributed to this report.