Commander Country

Commanders' Sam Howell 'Got Swag!', Says Antonio Gibson

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell looked at home against the Baltimore Ravens as their 24-game winning streak was ended at FedEx Field.

Adam Schultz

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The Washington Commanders named Sam Howell as the starting quarterback last week as he outfought Jacoby Brissett to win the job and he showed why against the Baltimore Ravens.

In a first half that would have Commanders fans excited for what is potentially to come, Howell looked comfortable leading Eric Bieniemy's offense.

Running back Antonio Gibson had a front-row seat to Howell's exploits and came away with one overriding thought on his quarterback after putting the Ravens to the sword.

“Super comfortable, confident," Gibson said. "I would say he's got a lil swag to him.”

That swag would see Howell complete 19 of his 25 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a first half that will no doubt have Bieniemy and Ron Rivera happy with their decision to name Howell the starter.

But for all the good things, perhaps Howell's best moment was a two-minute drill to end the first half that ended with a touchdown to Dyami Brown.

Howell sliced and diced the Ravens' defense with Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson (three times for a 16, 17, and 21-yard gain) featuring as the drive ended with an 11-yard touchdown to Brown.

It was a 13-play, 79-yard drive that took just 1:22 off the clock as Howell ended the half on a high. 

But how did he feel about the drive?

“Yeah, it was good," Howell said. "We had a lot of plays, you know, guys were kind of tired, so it was good to see guys push through that. We do a lot of two-minute drills in practice, but to get one in the pre-season against a different opponent and to go down there and get seven instead of three was big for us.”

Howell then sat on the sidelines for the second half as any doubts over whether or not he is the guy to lead Washington into the next phase of the franchise's development were squashed with authority.

The Commanders have one more preseason outing against the Cincinnati Bengals as they look to tune up for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.

But it is unlikely we will see any more of Howell. He's shown enough, and then some, wrap him in cotton wool.

The Sam Howell era has begun.

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Adam Schultz
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