The Washington Commanders named quarterback Sam Howell their starting quarterback ahead of their Week 1 matchup versus the Arizona Cardinals and head coach Ron Rivera is kicking himself for not realizing what Howell is capable of sooner.
Per The MMQB’s Albert Breer, had Rivera been aware of how good Howell was last year he would’ve allowed him to start much earlier. Howell was the third quarterback to start for the Commanders last season after Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke both struggled to take command of the offense.
“…all we f**ing talked about was the quarterback, what the quarterback did, who he was,” Rivera said. The quarterback position has been the biggest question mark of the Commanders’ roster for quite some time now and it seems as though the answer was right in front of them all along last season.
The Commanders were 7-5-1 through 13 games last season before losing three of their last four to finish 8-8-1 and miss the playoffs. The one win in the final four weeks of the season came in Howell’s lone start for the team in Week 18 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Had Rivera decided to make the switch to Howell earlier, the team could’ve potentially made the playoffs.
Rivera, Howell, and the Commanders cannot dwell on that anymore. They will have the opportunity to prove themselves from Week 1 on when the team hosts the Arizona Cardinals in their Week 1 regular season opener.
