Commanders Crumble vs. Bills: 3 Takeaways From Washington's Loss

The Washington Commanders are left with a handful of questions following an embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills.

After securing two narrow victories over two teams that will likely be among the worst in the NFL, the Washington Commanders had their first true test of the season against the Buffalo Bills, which they lost 37-3.

The recipe for success for this Washington team has been the defense coming up clutch, while the offense just needs to get out of their own way and put up a score or two. A method that wasn't suitable against the Bills' offense or defense which are two of the most well-rounded units in the league. 

Turnover and blocking issues plagued Washington, while the defense was only able to prevent the Bills from putting up points on three drives all day not including the final one of the day which was Josh Allen taking a knee. 

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen running against the Washington Commanders

Here are three takeaways from Washington's loss against the Bills.

Sam Howell May Not Be The Answer At QB, But Still Needs Time:

It has been a while since the Commanders have truly had an answer at quarterback, and while this may seem like an absurd take following a game that saw him throw four interceptions, Howell shouldn't be pulled just yet. 

The Commanders know what they have in Jacoby Brissett, but Howell is still raw. They have two great tests against the Eagles and Bears coming up and then have a bye the following week. 

Letting Howell go the next couple of weeks would be a fairly decent sample size, and then would be an appropriate time to make a change if needed. Or, maybe he learns and grows from a showing like this. He has shown flashes of promise, but obviously in the loss he looked as bad as he ever has. It doesn't help that the line has been horrendous, giving up 19 sacks in three games. 

The Offensive Line Is The Weakest Link:

It is truly impossible to see the improvements in Sam Howell or what Eric Bieniemy's system could be with Howell when the line is giving up pressure every snap. 

Howell was sacked nine times and was hit another 15 times. Being that the Commanders fell behind so quickly and by so much, the run game was rendered useless despite averaging 8.1 yards per carry. 

Bieniemy may need to figure out ways to put this line in more favorable situations rather than hoping they can hold up, because from what we've seen it's rare that they can.

Need More From The Defensive Front:

A staple of this Commanders team is how disruptive their defensive front can be. We have seen them in the first couple of weeks be the reason that the team won, but they were quiet on Sunday. 

They couldn't get to Josh Allen at all during his 32 passing attempts, registering just one quarterback hit. 

Allen is the most mobile of the three quarterbacks they've seen, but containing Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields in the coming weeks won't be any easier. This unit needs to contain quarterbacks better to be disruptive and force turnovers, which this team cannot function without.