Following the Commanders’ 28-20 road loss to the Rams in Week 15, head coach Ron Rivera was asked why he decided to sit quarterback Sam Howell.
Rivera responded, “He’s our starting quarterback,” Rivera said. Rivera noted that removing Howell from the game was more about protecting him than benching him.
Yet Howell was actually only sacked once against the Rams, and he was noticeably not getting beat around as he has in many other games. In fact, the record clearly displays that Howell has been sacked at least three times in 12 of his 14 games this season.
Also clear is this was not a knee-jerk decision or an overreaction by Rivera. Sam Howell’s play, unfortunately, has bottomed out in the last month.
Coming into the Rams game, Howell had been sacked some 17 times in the last five Commanders games. In his last three games before Sunday, Howell had disappointingly offered up a pick-six against the Giants, Cowboys and Dolphins.
In four games this season, Howell had registered a passer rating of over 100 (Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle). However, in his last four contests, Howell has not only not reached a passer rating of 100, he has recorded some of his worst numbers of the season.
Against the Giants, his passer rating was 62.8, 74.1 (Dallas), 50.5 (Miami) and 50.3 (Los Angeles Rams). Of particular note, his last two games are only surpassed by the Buffalo game in how bad his performance was.
When he was pulled from the game, the interception was the last straw. Howell needed to sit and watch during a game, seeing how Jacoby Brissett operates. On the play, Howell had Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson open. No, they were both, not one, but both WIDE open initially.
Do you know what made it even worse? It was a first down play. Yet, there was Howell staring down McLaurin well after his route, then forcing it to him, and it was intercepted. Good grief, the play easily gains 5-10 yards (on first down, no less) if he simply takes what was open.
Sam Howell has been pressing, and as a result, he is not seeing the field well. And that is the real reason Howell was pulled for Brissett Sunday against the Rams.