The Commanders have lost five of their last six games.
Sam Howell and the offense have had good games at Denver and at Philadelphia. Last week they had a good game at FedEx Field against the Eagles. They also had a good first half at Atlanta and then fell off a cliff in the second half.
They have had below average outing at FedEx in the season opener against the Cardinals. The offense was beyond question poor at home against the Bills, in the first half at home against the Bears and then at the Giants.
This offense has been so up and down this season. A very sincere question becomes, “Can this be the week Washington puts together consecutive weeks of good offensive production?”
Last week, quarterback Sam Howell passed for 397 yards, including four touchdown passes. There was a costly interception in the final quarter. Yet overall, Howell’s passer rating was 114.0.
Howell’s sack totals were depressing for Commanders fans and eye-raising for NFL historians. In his first seven games, he was sacked 6, 4, 9, 5, 5, 5 and 6 times. But against the Eagles last week, Howell was only sacked once, and that was in the final minute when the Commanders were down 38-31, and the Eagles knew they were going to pass.
The former North Carolina Tarheel did take six QB hits last week, and with his sack total already at 41 through eight games, one has to begin to wonder how many times Howell can be hit like this and still be healthy enough to play out the second half of the season.
The Eagles blitzed Sam Howell 14 times last week, and Howell was able to calmly complete 12 passes, including a TD pass, and generate a passer rating of 132.4.
Sam Howell needs a second consecutive good passing game.
He’s not the only one. Eric Bieniemy and Ron Rivera both need a good passing game from Howell as well.
