Washington Commanders QB Sam Howell Ready For 'Great Opportunity' In Thanksgiving Game vs. Dallas Cowboys

All eyes will be on Sam Howell and the Washington Commanders when they face the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving this Thursday.

Like many football players growing up, Sam Howell spent his Thanksgiving watching football. 

Now, he'll get an opportunity to play on the holiday when the Washington Commanders (4-7) head to AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys (7-3) on Thursday. 

“It's a great opportunity for us, and obviously, I think not only me, but everybody grew up watching Thanksgiving games and it’ll just be a fun opportunity for our team to go play against a really good Cowboys team on national TV on Thanksgiving Day," Howell said. "It's just a blessing just to be not only in this league but getting the opportunity to play in games like that is a big blessing and we're excited for it. We're going to try to do everything we can to prepare ourselves to go down there and win the game.”

Sam Howell made the first start of his NFL career against the Dallas Cowboys.  / Geoff Burke, USA Today

The Commanders are 4-8 in Thanksgiving games, and the last time they played on the holiday in 2020, they beat the Cowboys 41-16. Howell also has some semblance of success against Dallas. He made the first start of his NFL career against the Cowboys in a 26-6 win.

Howell has dealt with the ups and downs most starting quarterbacks have to overcome in their first season leading the offense. Howell has thrown for a league-leading 3,038 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The second-year quarterback struggled in his last outing, as he completed 31 of 45 passes and threw for 255 yards with a touchdown and three touchdowns in Washington's 31-19 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

The Cowboys' defense will present its own challenges, as they're second in yards allowed per game (266.3), fifth in points allowed per game (17.5) and have forced 16 turnovers this season. 

If Howell can play well and lead Washington to a win, he'd improve to 2-0 against Dallas and arguably earn the biggest victory of his career. But if he and the Commanders lay another egg, this time on national television, there could be wholesale changes before they take the field again next Sunday.

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