The Commanders blew a lead against the Eagles in Week Eight and wide receiver Jahan Dotson said after the 38-31 loss that “we just flinch” in the biggest moments of a game.
Flinching was nowhere to be found in New England on Sunday, however. The Patriots led 17-10 in the third quarter, but quarterback Sam Howell led back-to-back scoring drives and the defense overwhelmed the Patriots offense in the fourth quarter to pave the way to a 20-17 Washington victory.
Howell threw an interception in the end zone to end the first half, but was 29-of-44 for 325 yards and a touchdown over the rest of the game. The first-year starter’s performance left defensive lineman Jonathan Allen convinced that the Commanders have the right guy leading their offense.
“Sam Howell is our future,” Allen said, via Ivan Lambert of USAToday.com. “He’s our quarterback. I feel like we found our quarterback for the next 5-10 years, and I truly believe that. When I look at the plays he makes on the field, and not only does he make great plays on the field, but his demeanor after bad plays and not playing well. He is always able to bounce back. . . . I’ve seen a lot of great quarterbacks in my time, played against a lot of them and feel he has the potential to be one of them. I can truly say this team is behind Sam Howell 100 percent.”
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has shared similar sentiments about Howell finally answering the quarterback question for the franchise and he’ll get a chance to continue staking his claim to a long run at the helm of the offense over the second half of the season.
