Washington Commanders QB Sam Howell Off to Solid Start But Needs Help Moving Forward
The Washington Commanders (4-9) don't have a lot to look forward to in the coming months, but the years ahead could be much better if the right moves are made following yet another season where they failed to earn better than a .500 record.
Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has had his ups and downs this season, but the good moments are laced with signs he could be the one this franchise has been searching for years to find while his bad moments can be fixed with personnel, experience, and even some slight schematic adjustments.
The evidence of this is in the numbers, which have him on pace to nearly match NFL legends Troy Aikman (Dallas Cowboys) and Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) in their first seasons as starters.
Like the Hall of Fame quarterbacks before him, Howell's Washington team is going to fall short of a positive win total as well.
But that's not where the similarities stop. Looking at raw stats is commonly flawed because of the advancements and rule changes in the game from their time to this one. Looking at rankings among his peers, however, we can get a better look at how Howell's performance stacks up within this version of the game compared to prior ones.
Doing that we find in their first years as starting NFL quarterbacks Aikman, Manning, and Howell (so far) all rank very closely to the other passers of their time in yards per attempt, and completion and interception percentages.
There's a pretty stark separation between the two Hall of Famers and Howell's touchdown percentages, something scheme, personnel changes, and experience will have to help him accelerate next season.
The three also share a common thread on the other side of the ball with none having a defense that ranked better than 24th in their seasons. The Commanders' defense currently ranks 32nd in scoring defense this season.
Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
In their first winning seasons, Aikman and Manning both averaged out to a 63 percent completion rate, 4.9 percent touchdown rate, 2.9 interception rate and threw for 7.6 yards per attempt on average.
Those numbers would mostly be improvements for Howell, but not all of them, and the growth needed is certainly within reach.
Both of the legends also benefitted from top 18 defenses in their winning seasons, showing that Howell's growth alone won't get the job done.
Even the greatest of all-time quarterback Tom Brady in his first season leading the New England Patriots hit those benchmark numbers for the most part and enjoyed having the NFL's sixth-best scoring defense on the field when he wasn't.
These comparisons aren't made to signal that Howell has Hall of Fame ability in just his second NFL season, but more to illustrate the need for teams to have well-rounded rosters on both sides of the ball when relying on young quarterback play to win at the professional level.
Quarterbacks get all the credit and most of the blame most years, but when you dive into the history of some of the most accomplished - at least early on - they clearly didn't get it done by themselves for better or worse.
Complimentary football is a term that has become a cliche in its usage, but its importance hasn't diminished.
So while we all search for answers to solve Washington's winning problem, it's important to keep in mind that one man alone can't do it all - and the man filling the most important role is emulating production legends before him were able to grow into some of the winningest teams in NFL history.
