Sam Howell Praised by Commanders Insider amid Struggles: He Could Have 'Imploded'

Despite a recent decline in his performance, culminating with him being benched in last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Sam Howell still has plenty of supporters in the Washington Commanders organization.

One Commanders source told ESPN's John Keim that Howell "could have easily imploded" based on how this season has gone for the team, but he was able to overcome some of those issues to have strong moments.

Howell beat out Jacoby Brissett to be Washington's starting quarterback coming into this season. He frequently looked overmatched in the first half of the year when he was on pace to be sacked at a historic rate.

Through the first seven weeks of the season, Howell had been taken down 40 times. That pace would have resulted in him being sacked 97 times. David Carr holds the single-season record when he was sacked 76 times in 2002 with the Houston Texans.

There was a three-week stretch after that start to the season when Howell looked like he figured things out. He threw for 1,034 yards with eight touchdowns, two interceptions and a 68.8 completion percentage from Weeks 8 through 10.

Since Week 11, though, Howell's performance has reverted back to where it was at the beginning of the season. He has 785 yards, two touchdowns, six interceptions and a 59.4 completion percentage in the past four games.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera benched Howell for Brissett in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was 11-of-26 for 102 yards with one touchdown and one interception when he was pulled from the game.

Even though Brissett went 8-of-10 for 124 yards and two touchdowns after entering the game, Rivera has said Howell will be Washington's starter on Sunday against the New York Jets.

The 23-year-old Howell was a fifth-round draft pick by the Commanders in 2022. He's carried a heavy burden for the offense this season with an NFL-high 535 attempts and leads the league with 15 interceptions, but there have been some bright spots that suggest he could potentially be a long-term starter as he continues to gain more experience.