Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell was sacked five more times in Thursday’s 40-20 loss to the Chicago Bears, bringing the total number of sacks to 29 through five games.
The NFL record is 76, set by David Carr of the Houston Texans in 2002. At this rate, Howell is on pace to be sacked 99 times, shattering Carr’s record.
That’s not a good record to possess. And the long-term impact of being sacked that much is a concern. Throughout the NFL’s history, many young quarterbacks have been sacked so much that they begin seeing the pass rush and never recover.
Howell’s not there; in fact, it’s one of his best traits. He’s tough. He’s unflappable. But even if the sacks haven’t damaged Howell’s psyche, what about his body? In addition to the sacks, Howell has been hit even more, and that’s not even counting the scrambles from Howell as he tries to pick up extra yardage.
There is plenty of blame to go around regarding Howell’s sack numbers. First, he needs to get rid of the ball quicker. He understands that. Secondly, the offensive line needs to be better. Finally, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy must follow a similar game plan each week as he employed in Philadelphia, where the Commanders operated more in the quick game, lessening the number of deep drops for Howell.
Commanders veteran left tackle Charles Leno Jr. is concerned about the number of hits to the young quarterback.
“Yeah, I actually am worried, especially late in the game, when the game’s already out of hand,” Leno said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post when asked if he was concerned about the number of hits on Howell. “I feel like that shouldn’t happen. We should take a different route in that aspect. But that’s what the coaches want, and they want to show fight. We want to show fight and want to put some points on the board and show that we’re not quitting for anybody. But there does need to be a little bit of smarts in that. We need him for the whole season, not just for a game that’s out of hand already, in my opinion.”
Look, before anyone thinks Leno was criticizing the coaches, he wasn’t. He was explaining the specific moment in the game when Bears receiver D.J. Moore scored his third touchdown of the night, increasing Chicago’s lead to 20 points with around three minutes remaining.
At that point, everyone knew the game was over. Leno makes a good point.
In Washington’s loss to Buffalo in Week 3, Howell was sacked nine times. Many on the outside said the Commanders should have sat Howell for the final minutes to avoid more hits. Head coach Ron Rivera felt him playing through the tough times would be good experience moving forward.
Howell responded well with a strong performance in Week 4 at Philadelphia.
Howell has shown plenty of promise through five weeks. Sure, there is lots to improve upon, but you see the traits that has Washington excited it has finally found a quarterback.
But if Howell keeps taking these hits, a potential franchise quarterback could be ruined before you ever find out what you truly have.