Atop the NFL passing leaders’ list sits Sam Howell.
The Washington Commanders second-season signal-caller’s 2,783 passing yards are tops in the league through 10 weeks.
Unfortunately for Howell, his Commanders aren’t keeping pace, as they sit in third in the NFC East and ninth in the NFC at 4-6.
Thusly, the shiny statistics aren’t all that important at the moment for Howell, no matter how much attention they’re drawing.
“Honestly, I don’t really look at it a whole lot,” Howell said on Wednesday, via team transcript. “It doesn’t really mean much to me. Obviously, I want to go out there every single weekend, play well and give our team a chance to win. Obviously, we haven’t won enough games. We haven’t won the games that I feel like we should have won this season. So that’s a little bit disappointing, but I really don’t look too much into what I’m doing on a personal level. I look more into what we’re doing as a team and just how I can improve for this football team and how I can put this football team in better chances to win football games.”
More often than not, Howell has put the Commanders into winnable situations, but Washington’s been unable to emerge with victories. Or, he’s racked up the stats with a never-say-die playing style trying to rally his squad.
No Washington player has been a passing champ since Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen in 1969, but Howell’s got a chance as his total so far is the third-most in franchise history through 10 games (trailing Kirk Cousins in 2016, 2017), per NFL Research. Despite being sacked (47), hit (86) and pressured (188, per Next Gen Stats) more than any other quarterback this season, Howell has posted three straight 300-yard games. He also leads the league in completions (264), passing attempts (397) and is tied for fifth in touchdown passes (17).
Though the Commanders have lost three of their last four, Howell has been a highlight and an attention-getter. Again, it’s not worth much if it’s not complemented by victories.
“It really doesn’t change anything for me,” said the 23 year old, who was a 2022 fifth-round draft choice and is only 11 starts into his career. “I haven’t really noticed if it is out there, but I just try to do everything I can to stay focused on this team and stay focused on each and every game that we play and just taking it one day at a time.
“It’s just a matter of us doing the right things throughout the week to give ourselves a chance on Sunday and then going out there on Sunday and executing. We have a lot of football left, so that’s what we’re focused on.”
Howell’s mindset has rallied his teammates around him as much, if not more, than his play has, and likewise impressed his head coach.
“I think when his teammates see that the only thing that’s important to him is winning, I think that really means a lot to them,” Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday, via team transcript. “I think that they’re starting to feel him and his presence in the locker room, on the practice field, on the game field. I think that’s big. I really do. And it does say a lot about who he is as a young man because this game is really a team game. And if you’re really, truly all about the team, that’s the first thing that comes up. You give praise to the other guys first and foremost.”
Howell’s numbers are impressive, even if his team’s win-loss record isn’t. In a year of transition for the Washington franchise under new ownership, he’s been a highlight and a talking point even in defeat.
Facing a last-place New York Giants squad Sunday, Howell has an outstanding opportunity to pile up more eye-popping numbers and add another win to the Commanders’ tally.
