Short Week Means 'Some Later Nights!' For Washington Commanders' Sam Howell

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell isn't dwelling on the disappointment of the overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, as his focus has already shifted to the Chicago Bears on Thursday.

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell is learning more and more about himself as a starter with each passing week. What he learned in the 34-31 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was that he can hang with the best.

While the result wasn't the one he wanted, what Howell showed will surely please the Washington coaching staff and fans. 

But what did Howell learn from Sunday's loss?

“Yeah, I mean, I think the main thing is I took care of the football and just went through my progressions and just trusted what I saw. I think I did a decent job for most of the game. Obviously, we came up short, and I would've liked to have made more plays and given us a chance to win. But Philly's over with, and we've moved on to Chicago. Got a short week, so been pretty busy trying to get ready to go for that, but we're excited.”

Luckily, Washington doesn't have to wait long to try and right the wrongs of Sunday's loss as they host the Chicago Bears at FedEx Field on Thursday night.

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The short week means the team has less time to prepare for the game, but this is nothing new to Howell as he had similar experiences in college. 

But is having a short week in the NFL any different?

“Yeah, it's a little different," Howell said. "You don't have all the practices that you usually have in a normal week. But yeah, just being here last year, I kind of got a good sense of what it's like. We had some Thursday night games in college as well, but yeah, I mean, it's different. You don't have near as much time to prepare, but you just got to put a little more time in you might have some later nights than you usually would on a normal week, but you just got to do whatever it takes to make sure you're go into the game fully prepared. I think we've done a really good job of that so far.”

The Commanders currently sit at 2-2 after losing to the Eagles, while the Bears under Justin Fields have yet to win a game this season.

For some, this is a game that Washington should be winning, but games in the NFL are anything but straightforward.

With the Commanders being rather up-and-down to start the season, many will hope that against a winless Bears team, Howell and co. can get the job done and bounce back from last week's loss.