For the second straight week, the Washington Commanders had seen enough. Head coach Ron Rivera benched quarterback Sam Howell on Sunday, just as he’d done in Week 15 after Howell performed poorly against the Los Angeles Rams.
Washington Commanders Bench Sam Howell
Howell had completed just six of 22 attempts for 56 yards against the New York Jets in Week 16 before being sent to the bench. He’d thrown his second interception of the day on the Commanders’ second drive of the third quarter.
Washington was trailing 27-7 before Howell departed the game, but Brissett led the Commanders on a touchdown drive on his first series.
Last week, Howell completed 11 of 26 passes for 102 yards, one touchdown, and one interception before being pulled. Brissett subsequently connected on eight of 10 attempts for 124 and two touchdowns against Los Angeles, but Rivera still opted to go with Howell against the Jets.
Howell, a 2022 fifth-round pick, tried not to think about the long-term implications of his Week 15 benching on his future in the nation’s capital.
“I honestly don’t really look at it much,” Howell said last week. “It really doesn’t mean anything right now, and I think what matters is how I play each and every week. Obviously, you can worry all year long about what’s going to happen next year.
“But for me, I just kind of take the approach of taking it one week at a time and really try to focus in and do everything I can on a week-to-week basis to play my best football. Just because obviously there’s a lot of questions about what’s going to happen after this year, but I feel like if I’m playing my best football at a consistent rate, then those questions won’t be there.”
Howell was viewed as Washington’s potential franchise quarterback entering this season. While he’s flashed at times, Howell ranks just 22nd in QBR (46.3) while posting the NFL’s fourth-worst interception rate (2.8%) and sack rate (9.9%).
The Commanders’ new ownership group is expected to clean house in 2024, parting ways with Rivera and the club’s front office while bringing in fresh decision-makers. With an early first-round draft choice and the most projected 2024 cap space in the league, Washington’s new brain trust seems likely to explore a different quarterback solution.
Fantasy Fallout From Howell’s Benching
We saw a glimpse of Washington’s offense under Brissett last week, and it came with some offensive upside. Of course, so did the Sam Howell experience at times.
The fantasy stock of Terry McLaurin ticks up a touch, as he seemed to have the eye of Brissett last week, but the change in weekly rankings isn’t drastic — he’ll carry more risk than reward in the Week 17 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. He’s likely to lead the team in opportunities and is talented enough to overcome a poor matchup, but the floor case is worrisome at this point in the season.
While McLaurin deserves to be in the Flex conversation, worrying about Jahan Dotson and/or Curtis Samuel is a waste of time. Their per-target production isn’t nearly worth your time with an unknown under center in a brutal spot. Logan Thomas caught a touchdown against the Jets and is a low-end TE streamer at best. The upside is capped, but his path to 4-6 targets is there given the pass-heavy nature of this Commanders offense.
The ground game isn’t impacted. Brian Robinson Jr. remains my favorite option if cleared to play, but there is a low floor given the projected game script. None of the options in this backfield are used enough in the passing game to even try to get creative in that regard — you’re looking elsewhere for Flex help in Week 17.
— PFN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe
