'The Scoreboard Doesn't Care' How Young Commanders QB Sam Howell Is

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell is young and relatively inexperienced, but that's not keeping him from holding himself to an elevated standard of play.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders got off to a 2-0 start before falling for the first time in a 37-3 loss against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. 

During the game there were some who felt the Commanders should have put veteran backup Jacoby Brissett in to protect Howell from further contact in the midst of a nine-sack day, and even after there are some questioning whether or not Howell is the man this team should move forward with. 

But there are also those - the majority it seems - who want to remember and remind detractors that Howell is still a young Washington quarterback just four starts into his NFL career. 

That fact, however, is not something Howell is allowing himself to use as an excuse for even one loss on his resume.

"I don't make any excuses for myself," Howell said. "I expect to play much better than I played on Sunday and my teammates and this organization deserve for me to play better...I just gotta do a better job. I can't go out there and make the excuse that I'm young because the teams that we're playing, they don't care. The scoreboard doesn't care. So I gotta do my job at a higher level in order for this team to go where we want to go."

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell is young and relatively inexperienced, but that's not keeping him from holding himself to an elevated standard of play / Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, you love to hear the starting quarterback not taking the opportunity to excuse himself of some youthful mistakes, especially since several Bills players commented on his inexperience as something they hoped to leverage in their own efforts.

And even after coach Rivera offered up the excuse himself, Howell still refuses to cut himself the slack so many are willing to. 

Howell will continue to be young, and truth be told more mistakes are likely to happen. 

As long as the learning spirit is still alive and there is growth then the young quarterback believes he can get the team where it's trying to go, and so does his head coach. 

With another big game coming this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles there's another opportunity to display that growth, and to show that youthful or not, Howell is the man to take Washington to the next level.