I know it’s been awhile since I wrote about our beloved Washington Commanders but I wanted to get on here today and discuss our QB 1, Sam Howell, after the week 3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Sam completed 19 of 29 passes for 170 yards, 0 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions, he gained 18 yards rushing on 1 attempt and he was sacked 9 times in the 37-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. It was not a great game, obviously, but this is what I would call Sam’s “Welcome to the NFL” moment. Each player in the NFL, especially quarterbacks, have that first big moment where things don’t go as planned.
But to hear fans say that we should draft Caleb Williams or that Jacoby Brissett should start is absolutely ludicrous. This was Sam’s 4th start in the NFL and although it was his worst start, I think he has already shown that he belongs in the league as a starter. Not to mention, that you would have to give up a lot to move up to number 1 in the draft for Caleb Williams ( that’s if he even decides to go pro). For the people that think Jacoby should start due to his experience, I have to ask you one question. How did Jacoby Brissett get all of his NFL experience? By playing! Sam needs to play this season to see all of the different looks NFL defenses are going to show him. Remember, Sam is basically a rookie QB and he’s probably seeing what NFL defenses are doing against him for the first time during the game.
For those who say he sat for a year and he isn’t a rookie, I remind you that he sat for almost an entire year in a different offensive scheme. That matters! EB’s offense is complicated and I think Sam has done a good job learning it and executing it on the field. All I am asking of our fanbase, is to give Sam Howell a legit chance to be our franchise QB. I am honestly tired of seeing all the so called “Redskins or Commanders” fans overreact to one game and start throwing Sam’s draft status around like it is a legitimate argument as to why he can’t be our franchise quarterback. For example, Josh Allen threw 3 picks in week 1 against the New York Jets and he was a first round pick. Not to mention the greatest QB of all-time, Tom Brady, was drafted in the 6th round and wasn’t the player we all eventually watched him become. I’m going to give you a hot take here. Sam Howell was drafted based off his college team’s overall performance, not his alone.
With that said, things just didn’t go our way today. We had multiple turnovers in the game, not only from the QB, and Buffalo had a good game plan where they appeared to be getting the ball out of Josh Allen’s hand fast so that our defensive line wasn’t a huge factor. All of these things combined led me to think of a scene from the movie The Replacements that I believe defines how today went for us. In this scene Gene Hackman asks his players “Anybody here afraid of anything other than insects?”. Keanu Reeves, who plays QB Shane Falco, answers by saying “quick sand”. When asked to explain why he said quick sand, Reeves says “You’re playing and you think everything’s going fine, but then one thing goes wrong and then another and another. And you try to fight back, but the harder you fight the deeper you sink, until you can’t move, can’t breathe, because you’re in over your head, like quick sand”.
This is a perfect depiction of what happened with us today but remember, it’s only one game. This loss will teach the team that we have to play our best football for 60 minutes and show them where they need to get better. Now, it’s up to the coaches and players to fix the issues we have and to execute the playbook better on the field so that we can beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
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