The Washington Commanders ended the season on a positive note with Sunday’s 26-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
In rookie quarterback Sam Howell’s first career start, he completed 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception. However, Howell also impacted the game with his legs, rushing five times for 35 yards and another score.
While Howell was the story of the game for Washington, it was the defense who were the MVPs. The Commanders held the high-powered Cowboys to 182 total yards, including just 64 yards rushing on 24 attempts. And Washington did it without Jonathan Allen, Kam Curl, Jamin Davis and Benjamin St-Juste.
The Commanders finish the season with an 8-8-1 record.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s game.
As it turns out, Sam Howell was ready
Remember earlier in the week when former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen said Howell wasn’t ready? Paulsen is a fantastic analyst and knows what he was talking about, and he mentioned he’d heard Howell wasn’t ready. So who told Paulsen that Howell wasn’t ready?
Look, no one is saying that Howell should’ve been the quarterback all season. It was clear in the preseason, despite showing promise, that Howell had some work to do. He still has work to do, but he operated the offense efficiently, made really only one bad decision, and made some terrific throws. His legs were a weapon for Washington. There was nothing in that performance that made you believe he was not ready. Perhaps it was a coaching issue that Washington thought he wasn’t ready.
We shouldn’t be declaring Howell as the future right now. It’s one performance. But it is one to build from, and Howell certainly appeared ready for the moment.
Howell gave the offense a spark
Head coach Ron Rivera benched Taylor Heinicke ahead of Week 17 for Carson Wentz because he wanted to spark the offense. Well, Wentz was horrific and showed Washington why he will not be in the team’s plans in 2023. That decision cost the Commanders a playoff berth.
One week later, with Howell, the offense finally did receive that spark. Now that’s not to say turning to Howell while still in playoff contention would’ve been the right move, but isn’t it up to the coaches to know which quarterback offers the highest upside? They see these guys every day, and if they think someone is not ready and they have a performance like Howell, it’s fair to question the offensive coaching staff.
The defense was phenomenal
Considering how excellent the Dallas offense is, was this Washington’s best defensive performance of the season? When you consider that so many standouts, such as Allen and Curl, missed the game, it makes the performance even more remarkable. Dak Prescott completed 14 of 37 passing attempts. Yes, you read that correctly. Prescott was awful, and the Commanders should’ve had more than one interception. Jack Del Rio’s plan kept Prescott in the pocket, and the secondary was terrific in covering everything up. Rookie safety Percy Butler stood out, while multiple Washington defensive linemen were outstanding.
In addition, the Commanders slammed the door on the Cowboys’ running game. Dallas averaged 2.4 yards per rushing attempt.
A blowout for once
The Commanders finally blew someone out. Washington should have blown out Houston in Week 11, but Ron Rivera took his foot off the gas against his friend, Lovie Smith. Washington’s blowout of the Cowboys shows you how the NFL is truly a week-to-week league. The Commanders humbled Dallas on both sides of the ball. Far too often under Rivera has Washington gone down to the wire — win or lose. On Sunday, fans could finally enjoy soundly beating someone. That someone was your biggest rival, who many believe was a legit NFC contender.
All in all, a good day for the Commanders.
Coaching changes?
Rivera will be back as head coach in 2023. Washington’s struggles down the stretch would have made this situation one to watch if there wasn’t uncertainty surrounding the ownership situation. While Rivera will be back, could there be changes to his staff? Things didn’t look good for offensive coordinator Scott Turner leading into Week 18. The problem is it could be challenging to land a solid replacement with a new owner potentially coming on this year. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and his staff did a good job. The changes with the defensive line coach led to a breakout year from Daron Payne.
