The Washington Commanders played their first game without Montez Sweat and Chase Young both out of the lineup together for the first time since 2021 on Sunday. Sweat and Young were traded ahead of last week’s NFL trade deadline, taking 11.5 sacks of production with them.
Washington responded with a 20-17 road win over the New England Patriots to improve to 5-2 on the season. Quarterback Sam Howell completed 29 of 45 passes for 325 yards with one touchdown and one interception in leading Washington to the win.
The Commanders finished with 432 yards of total offense against Bill Belichick’s defense.
Here is the latest version of studs and duds after Washington’s Week 9 win.
Stud: QB Sam Howell
Sam Howell wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but he was outstanding. His interception at the end of the first half could’ve potentially cost the Commanders the game. Down four points just before the half, Howell forced a ball into the end zone with 23 seconds remaining, taking points off the board for Washington.
But let’s talk about everything Howell did right. He did another outstanding job of getting rid of the ball quickly and was terrific at finding the balance between the quick passing game and taking shots. There was a big deal made of Howell facing the legendary Belichick’s defense and that he hadn’t had two strong games in a row.
Howell aced those tests.
Studs: Offensive line
Howell was sacked three times on Sunday. One of those sacks when he gave himself up after a quick scramble. There were multiple times on Sunday when Howell had plenty of time to scan the field and look downfield. And against Belichick’s pressure packages, Washington’s offensive line did its job.
The end result is we are seeing more from Howell now that he has more time. This was the second consecutive game with a new starting center (Tyler Larsen) and left guard (Chris Paul). This group deserves some credit for back-to-back solid performances.
Dud: WR Dyami Brown
We aren’t trying to pick on Dyami Brown. Sam Howell’s former college wide receiver did have two receptions for 33 yards. However, on the same drive as Howell’s interception before halftime, just three plays before, Brown dropped a touchdown pass.
Facing a first-and-10 from the Patriots’ 21-yard line, Howell unleashes a throw to the corner of the end zone, and it goes straight through Brown’s hands. We criticize Howell for the interception, so it’s only fair Brown also ends up on this list.
Dyami Brown absolutely has to catch this ball pic.twitter.com/pQ2ntW2hwJ
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) November 5, 2023
Brown would get more opportunities if he’d make these types of plays.
Studs: Rookie class
It’s been a tough year thus far for Washington’s rookie class. First-round pick Emmanuel Forbes was benched for the most part recently and returned to the lineup on Sunday. Forbes was targeted four times, per Pro Football Focus, and did not allow a completion, and broke up three passes.
Second-round pick Quan Martin had the game-sealing interception. Defensive end K.J. Henry should have had his first career sack and forced fumble but was called for a ridiculous roughing-the-passer penalty. Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. made a hustle play on special teams, tackling the New England returner inside the five-yard line.
While you’d like to see these rookies making plays sooner, it was an encouraging day and with eight games remaining, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to impress.
Dud: NFL officiating
The above photo shows Belichick arguing with an official. After a quiet first half, the officials were far too involved in the second half. The most egregious mistake came on Henry’s strip-sack fumble of Mac Jones. See for yourself.
This was called roughing the passer…
pic.twitter.com/XxjO4Yue3T— PFF (@PFF) November 5, 2023
This cost Washington three points, perhaps more. Not only did it put the ball into field-goal range, it took possession away from the Commanders in a close game. Inexcusable.
There were at least three holds in the first half of Washington’s pass-catchers that weren’t called.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) November 5, 2023
Dud: Commanders pass rush
Sadly, the above image for Washington did not count. Outside of Henry’s sack that wasn’t called, the Commanders didn’t get one sack of Jones. He was hit just one time. While much is made of the edge rushers, where were Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne in terms of creating pressure?
Why wasn’t defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio more aggressive in creating pressure? Washington missed Young and Sweat on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to cost them a game. What helped the Commanders was that they were playing Mac Jones.
