Washington Commanders QB Sam Howell Stacks Bad Games in Loss vs. Dallas Cowboys

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell came into Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys looking for a bounce-back performance.

ARLINGTON, Tx. -- Falling 45-10 to the Dallas Cowboys (8-3) the Washington Commanders (4-8) are riding another losing streak and for the first time in his career quarterback Sam Howell is coming off back-to-back subpar performances.

"I thought we were in the game for three quarters and obviously it kind of got away from us in the fourth quarter," Howell said after the latest Commanders loss. "We just gotta do a better job earlier in the game and when our defense is getting stops trying to turn it into points we kind of struggled finishing drives and sustaining drives."

Entering Week 12 Howell was the NFL's leading passer in yards, and the Washington quarterback was the only one to exceed the 3,000-yard mark before Thanksgiving.

But as good as Howell has been for Washington overall it's become clear his offense is going to have to carry more than an average amount of water for the team as the defense routinely surrenders more than 25 points to weekly opponents.

After throwing three interceptions and earning just a 62.8 quarterback rating (QBR) - his third worst of the year - Howell spent the short week preaching development, learning, and moving on without carrying baggage from past struggles with him.

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) passes against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter at AT&T Stadium / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

While the final score won't show it, he looked like he was primed for a bounce back against the Cowboys with 170 yards passing in the first half completing 16 of his 23 attempts and rushing for a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

But what looked promising early quickly disappeared while country star Dolly Parton serenaded the AT&T Stadium crowd at halftime.

Washington trailed 20-10 at the break and needed consistency from the offense and better defense to make the game competitive.  

The good news is, they got it from the defense that forced two punts to start the half and allowed just three points on Dallas' first three drives coming out of the break. 

However, as the season trend has been, while the Commanders' defense stepped up the offense regressed.

The offense countered the defense's effort with three turnovers on downs, a punt, and then with the game pretty much out of reach already a pick-six thrown by Howell to Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland. 

The interception returned for a touchdown is Bland's fifth of the NFL season and it made the score 45-10 with less than five minutes left in the game.

Instead of bouncing back, this game will go down as Howell's fourth career start finishing with a QBR under 80 with Washington winless when that happens.

Commanders Cooked by Cowboys in Thanksgiving Blowout

It's the first time sub-80 QBRs have come for Howell in back-to-back games and helped secure the team's eighth loss of the season.

Howell didn't have the bounce-back game he, his team, or the fans wanted to see, and now he'll get 10 days to try again against the Miami Dolphins.