Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has had a difficult few weeks. After coming off an impressive three-game stretch from Weeks 8-10, Howell struggled in the Week 11 rematch against the Giants. Outside of an impressive performance in the first three quarters against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, Howell hasn’t fared well over the past four games.
In last week’s loss to the Rams, Howell completed only 11 of 26 passes for 102 yards. He wasn’t under heavy duress, as Howell was sacked only once and hit twice. Sometimes, he had pressure in his face but escaped the pocket to avoid being sacked.
Howell’s problem in the loss to the Rams was his decision-making. On multiple occasions, it was the plays Howell didn’t make that led head coach Ron Rivera to sit him midway through the fourth quarter. After the game, Rivera made it clear that Howell remained Washington’s starting quarterback.
Howell discussed being benched last week and understands the things he must do better. One of those things that Howell must improve upon is his decisiveness. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said that was one of his coaching points for Howell this week.
“Well, first and foremost, and I’ll say this, it’s always better to be decisive than to be right because if you’re decisive with the football, guess what, your chances are that you’re probably right, that just means that you’re not second guessing yourself,” Bieniemy said.
It’s more important to be decisive than right. He’s right. Sometimes, Howell’s issue has been either not seeing something fast enough or not trusting what he sees. Perhaps some of that is due to what Howell has heard so often this season about needing to get rid of the ball faster. Maybe he’s thinking a split second longer than he needs. And a split second in the NFL can be costly.
All young quarterbacks face these issues at some point, the ones who succeed and those who don’t.
Bieniemy used Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, someone he coached for five seasons, as an example.
“I remember this with Pat [Mahomes] at once upon a time, Pat at times, could see ghosts out there, and hey, it’s one thing, and he was thinking that, ‘Hey, you know what? Well, he could have jumped this,'” Bieniemy said. “Well, that wasn’t the case. So, I’m seeing that with Sam, and sometimes you can overthink something simple, and for whatever reason, I’ve never played the position; it happens. It’s unfortunate that it happens, but the thing that he needs to continue to do is continue working through it and continue trusting his gut and, his instinct, and all the fundamentals that he’s been taught.”
Bieniemy was in no way comparing the two, but describing the learning process of a young quarterback.
How can he help Howell become more decisive?
“We’re going to point it out to him on tape,” Bieniemy said. “But if you see it and the ball is designed to go in this particular area versus this particular coverage, hey, I got to come off the bound and make that throw. I got to come off the bound and make that play.”
Howell has shown the ability to be resilient in his young career. He doesn’t let a bad play or game affect him and has shown the propensity to bounce back. The frustration on his face was clear last week, which, perhaps was why the coaches decided to sit him.
The young quarterback badly needs a strong bounce-back performance against the Jets in Week 16.
