The Washington Commanders (2-0) host the Buffalo Bills (1-1) on Sunday at FedEx Field in a pivotal Week 3 matchup.
Heading into the 2023 season, the Bills were widely considered a Super Bowl contender, while the Commanders were a team many projected to pick in the top five of the 2024 NFL draft.
Buy Commanders TicketsThrough two weeks, Washington looks like it may have a franchise quarterback in Sam Howell, and the return of defensive end Chase Young made a top-10 defense even better.
As for the Bills, after a Week 1 loss, they got back on track with a Week 2 blowout win over the Raiders.
Here’s a look at six key stats and facts to know for this weekend’s matchup.
A chance at history for Sam Howell
Sam Howell has won the first three starts of his NFL career. That’s a significant achievement, particularly for a franchise that has struggled to find a franchise quarterback. While it’s too soon to crown Howell as the guy right now, the more he wins, it will be difficult to deny that the Commanders have finally found their franchise QB.
Courtesy of Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, if Howell leads the Commanders to a win over the Bills Sunday, he’d be only the second quarterback in franchise history to win his first four NFL starts, joining the legendary Billy Kilmer (1971).
If the Commanders beat the Bills on Sunday, Sam Howell will become the second Washington player in the Super Bowl era to win each of his first four starts in the NFL. Billy Kilmer did it in 1971.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) September 20, 2023
Josh Allen continues to break records
Allen won the AFC offensive player of the week award for the 11th time in his career after his performance in Sunday’s win over the Raiders. That’s impressive since Allen entered the NFL in 2018.
Allen surpassed Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly for the most AFC offensive player of the week awards.
Josh Allen has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Allen's now earned the honor 11 times, surpassing Jim Kelly (10) for the most player of the week awards in team history. pic.twitter.com/bDWhDbRbfy
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) September 20, 2023
Allen has been flawless vs. Washington
Allen has played Washington twice in his career and holds a 2-0 record against the Commanders. In those two starts, Allen has completed 46 of 63 passes (73%) against Washington, with 518 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has two rushing touchdowns.
The Commanders have their hands full on Sunday.
17th all-time meeting
These two franchises have met 16 times, with the Bills leading the series, 10-6. Buffalo has dominated the series since Washington’s blowout win in Super Bowl XXVI in Jan. 1992. Beginning in 1993, the Bills have won eight of the nine meetings between the two teams. Washington’s only win during that time came in 2015 when quarterback Kirk Cousins passed for 319 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-25 win.
Bills WR Stefon Diggs is outstanding vs. the NFC
Bills star wide receiver Stefon Diggs will be a big challenge for Washington’s secondary. Since coming to Buffalo, Diggs has only played his hometown team once, in 2021, where he caught six passes for 62 yards. He did play against Washington three times while he was with the Minnesota Vikings. He had 13 receptions for 164 yards in a game vs. Washington in 2016. In the four games, he has 30 receptions for 447 yards and one touchdown.
In his last 14 games against NFC teams, Diggs has 136 receptions for 1,110 yards in seven touchdowns.
Sam Howell has been clutch in the 2-minute drill
One of the concerns with a young quarterback is how they’ll operate the two-minute offense. That’s not been an issue for Sam Howell thus far. Through two games, the Commanders rank No. 3 in the NFL — behind the Bills and Vikings — averaging 65 yards per game with two or fewer minutes remaining in the first half.
Furthermore, the Commanders rank No. 2 in passing yards with two or fewer minutes remaining in the first half — behind only the Vikings. That’s a positive sign for Howell operating Eric Bieniemy’s offense.
