Commanders 'Looking For' QB Sam Howell Connection with WR Terry McLaurin

The Washington Commanders have one last chance to get Sam Howell and Terry McLaurin on the same page.

The Washington Commanders close out their 2023 NFL Season on Sunday in a home matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Like last year, quarterback Sam Howell will lead the Commanders out looking to earn an upset win over their NFC East Division rivals.

Unlike last season, the Cowboys have something worth fighting for against Washington as it takes one last shot at getting a critical connection working between Howell and star receiver Terry McLaurin.

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) and receiver Terry McLaurin (17) celebrate a play in Week 18 / Geoff Burke, USA Today

"When he had the connections going with [WR] Terry [McLaurin], I mean, that's the thing that you've been looking for, you've wanted to see," coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday when commenting on the decision to start Howell over veteran Jacoby Brissett this weekend. "And we got a chance to see if we can do some more of that.”

McLaurin was targeted seven times in last week's loss to the San Francisco 49ers bringing in four of the passes. He gained 61 yards and scored a touchdown in the day's work. 

Because of that production, McLaurin is 54 yards shy of his fourth 1,000-yard receiving season, and it would be his fourth in a row as well. He would be the first in franchise history to have four straight. 

"Obviously when guys have certain goals like that and certain things they can accomplish you want to help them do that," Howell said according to ESPN's John Keim when asked about McLaurin's potential milestone. "Terry's a tremendous player but he's an even better person. Such a great teammate...the game is going to go how it's going to go but obviously, we'd love for him to get that 1,000 yards."

Cowboys Playoff 'Spoiler Role' for Commanders? Washington 'Very Aware'

While the Commanders look to play division title spoiler to Dallas their opponents will certainly be aware of McLaurin, as they would be anyway, especially with the franchise record on the line. 

The odds of McLaurin reaching this goal are about 50/50 right now. He's racked up at least 54 receiving yards in eight games this season, exactly half of the total played so far.