The Washington Commanders improved to 4-5 on the season after Sunday’s 20-17 win over the New England Patriots.
After last week’s trades of defensive ends, Montez Sweat and Chase Young, head coach Ron Rivera, and the players all insisted nothing had changed regarding the team trying to win and make the playoffs this season.
That was the case on Sunday, as any time it appeared the Patriots had seized momentum, quarterback Sam Howell and the Commanders had an answer.
Here’s what we learned after Washington’s fourth win of the season.
Every game is not a referendum on Sam Howell's future
Raise your hand if you’re tired of the constant debate on whether Sam Howell is the guy or not after every game. Didn’t we go through this with Kirk Cousins when he played here? As it turns out, as much as some segment of Washington’s fan base hates to admit, that Cousins guy turned out to be pretty good.
But, anyway, back to Howell.
When Howell has a big game, you have some who go crazy and say Washington has found it’s Patrick Mahomes. When he struggles, you have the others exclaiming, “He’s mid, bro!”
It’s goofy. It’s all goofy.
Howell is doing things fans in Washington haven’t seen since Cousins and often, long before Cousins. We’ve finally reached the point where some aren’t saying, “He can’t succeed because he was a fifth-round pick, bro.” That’s progress.
At this point, what we do know is Howell has already shown enough to prove he should be the guy in 2024, and that’s all that matters right now.
Eric Bieniemy's growth
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy hasn’t been perfect the last two weeks, but no OC is perfect in the eyes of the fans or media. But Bieniemy’s done an outstanding job against two strong defensive teams, and he’s helped fix some of the offensive line issues to protect his young quarterback.
There is so much talk about the future. Fans are saying, “We should promote EB and fire Ron.” Bieniemy hasn’t yet shown enough to prove he should be Washington’s head coach. There are eight more games, and he is getting better each week. The work Bieniemy is doing with Howell is terrific and will land him a head-coaching job if it continues down this path — whether in Washington or elsewhere.
Bieniemy is doing what good playcallers do: highlighting his quarterback’s strengths and catering to him. The arrow is definitely pointing up for Bieniemy, and that’s encouraging.
Where was the pass rush?
The Commanders sacked Mac Jones only one time on Sunday — and it didn’t count due to one of the more bogus penalties you’ll ever see. We knew the Commanders would miss Chase Young and Montez Sweat. But how much? Remember, in 2021, Washington went 5-2 with the pair out of the lineup due to injury.
If Washington is going to make a run at one of those wild-card spots, it needs to create pressure on the quarterback. There will be more pressure on defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne to collapse the pocket from the interior, while the numerous edge guys, like K.J. Henry, Andre Jones Jr., Efe Obada, Casey Toohill and James Smith-Williams, bring pressure from the outside.
No player on the roster has the physical abilities of Young and Sweat, but the Commanders hope the defensive line rushes as a unit with its current setup.
Antonio Gibson's usage
I know Antonio Gibson didn’t put up eye-popping numbers on Sunday, but they were effective. And he was terrific in his role. Gibson carried the ball six times for 34 yards and caught five passes for 42 yards. That’s taking advantage of your opportunities. Bieniemy, much more than Scott Turner, has a better idea of how to best use Gibson’s talents. Gibson’s versatile skillset adds another dynamic option to this offense.
This season remains about Howell's development
If Washington wins 7-8 games this season and misses the playoffs again, what have the Commanders really accomplished? Look, the team should be playing to win. You don’t deliberately tank in the NFL. But, above all else, every move that the Commanders make for the rest of this season should be about Sam Howell’s future.
Sunday’s win was a feel-good moment, but it was a typical Washington win under Rivera and previous coaches. The Commanders dominated the game but had to hold on for the win. They were clearly the better team but made enough mistakes to keep a lesser team in the game.
Fans are tired of winning 7-8 games every season. The franchise needs to be really good or really bad. The in-between stuff reeked of Dan Snyder doing just enough to keep the team in the mix while saving a few bucks. Josh Harris doesn’t operate that way. While Harris wants to win as much as possible this season, he is clearly focused on the future.
