Sam Howell of the Commanders has thrown for 300 yards in three straight games, the first time a Washington quarterback has done so since Kirk Cousins in 2015. Alex Smith has thrown for 300 yards three times in 18 games since Cousins’ departure, Case Keenum twice in ten games, Dwayne Haskins once in 16 games, Taylor Heinicke once in 26 games, and Carson Wentz three times in eight games.
There have only been 10 games where a quarterback has thrown for 300 yards in the 98 games (pre-2023 season) that Washington has played since Cousins left for Minnesota. Howell, on the other hand, has thrown for 300 yards four times in the first ten games of the season. As the weeks pass, Howell’s development has become the only storyline, and his leadership and poise on the Commanders’ last two drives, both of which resulted in touchdowns, were big-time, must-have moments for a young quarterback who has never played in a massive road game at Lumen Field (formerly known as Century Link).
Howell became the eighth player in NFL history to have four games of 300-plus passing yards in their first 11 career games, and the first since Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert in 2020, according to Washington public relations.
Obviously, Eric Bieneimy’s tendencies allow Howell to drop back as many times as he does, as he currently averages 39 pass attempts per game, but an offensive coordinator will not put that type of workload on a quarterback who is incapable of moving the football through the air like Howell is. Let’s go back to the list of quarterbacks since Cousins left to show that 300-yard passing games are difficult to come by for any quarterback, so what Howell is doing in Bieniemy’s offense is noteworthy.
The Commanders fell short in a tough road battle against the Seattle Seahawks, losing 29-26. Check out the latest Trap or Dive post-game recap, in which AJ, Dre, and I go over everything that happened in the game, from Howell to the second-half defensive letdown.
