The Washington Commanders barely missed the playoffs in 2022, finishing 8-8-1, just behind the 9-8 Seattle Seahawks who earned the NFC’s final seed. Coming just short last season wasn’t because of their defense. Head coach Ron Rivera’s side of the ball allowed 20.2 points per game, the seventh-fewest in the entire league. However, their offensive shortcomings — 18.9 points per game, the ninth-fewest in the league — may have been avoidable if they had elevated their 2023 starting quarterback Sam Howell earlier in the season.
The 2022 fifth-round pick out of North Carolina made his NFL debut in Week 18, the then-7-8-1 Commanders’ regular season finale against the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys. Howell helped lead Washington to a 26-6 victory over their NFC East rival, completing 11 of his 19 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown (a 16-yarder to Pro Bowl wide receiver Terry McLaurin), and an interception. Rivera toggled back and forth between veterans Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke last season, but he revealed on his drive home from the stadium that Sunday, he had an epiphany with his wife: Howell should have been the starting quarterback sooner.
“You can ask Stephanie, all we f—ing talked about was the…
