By Adam Aniba
For the second week in a row the Commanders kept their fans on their toes with another come from behind victory. This time, it was the Broncos who gave Washington all they could handle in Denver.
Washington found themselves down 21-3 at the half in Denver. Once again, new OC Eric Bieniemy made the necessary 2nd half adjustments, despite his struggling offensive line.
Quarterback Sam Howell and the offense engineered 3 touchdown scoring drives in the second half (14 points in the 4th qtr). Although the run game with Brian Robinson Jr. was imperative to the win, Howell displayed pinpoint accuracy on multiple touchdown passes and played the best game as a pro with no turnovers.
Howell certainly spread the ball around against Denver, completing passes to 10 different pass catchers. His go-to receiver on the day was Terry McLaurin, who was targeted 6 times, making 5 receptions for 54 yards and a TD.
Although Jahan Dotson only had 22 receiving yards on 3 receptions, he made his presence known with a few key blocks in the run game.
Through 3 careers starts (1 game vs DAL Week 18) Howell has 2 second half comebacks, a completion percentage of 64%, 223.2 yards passing per game, 19.7 rush yards per game, 4 passing TDs, 2 rushing TDs, 7.5 yards per pass attempt, a 92,4 passer rating, a TD-Interception Ratio of 2.0, 10 twenty-plus yard completions, 3 turnovers lost (2 ints & 1 fumble) and sacked 13 times.
*Howell's Leagues Rankings
Although Howell was sacked 4 times vs Denver, these are the type of teaching moments that benefit young signal callers.
Fans will have to accept the good and the bad as Howell continues his maturation process, but it seems clear that the former 5th rounder signal caller is improving every week and has a bright future in Washington..