Last week, media and fans were ready to crown Eric Bieniemy and Sam Howell after the offensive coordinator and quarterback led the Washington Commanders to an 18-point comeback win over the Denver Broncos. However, after this week’s 37-3 shellacking at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, it’s safe to say it’s “too early” to enthrone the pair.
Sam Howell threw four interceptions, including one in the end zone. None were as atrocious as his fourth that turned into a pick-six. Howell evaded pressure by escaping a collapsing pocket only to lob a pass right into the hands of leaping Bills’ defensive end A.J. Epenesa, who returned the interception 32 yards to pay dirt in the fourth quarter.
Howell’s fourth interception was the dagger in the 34-point thrashing. A week ago in Denver, Howell had clean feet in the pocket. He pulled the ball down and ran when appropriate, but he got the ball out decisively.
Sunday against the Bills, he held the football too long at times. He threw some head-scratching passes. In the end, he finished with 170 passing yards on 19-of-29 passes. He also got sacked nine times.
After the game, Howell said he has to “flush” his performance. Learn from the mistakes, but move on to get better for next week.
Meanwhile, we all were ready to proclaim the Kansas City Chiefs missed Bieniemy. It was known Bieniemy wasn’t the primary play-caller in Kansas City under head coach Andy Reid during his five seasons there. But, Bieniemy’s install and accountability was missing from Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense.
Washington’s offense entered the week averaging 27.5 points. However, against the Bills, the Commanders mustered a meager three points. Those three points didn’t occur until the game was 59:14 in, as kicker Joey Slye nailed a 51-yard field goal with Washington trailing 37-0 in the waning moments.
Bieniemy didn’t adjust the offense to help the offensive line from getting manhandled by the Bills defensive front. When the Commanders offensive line did stand up, Howell’s throws ended up off the mark or in the other team’s hands.
The Commanders struggled to get anything going on offense. The wide receivers weren’t open often. The combination of covered wide receivers and Howell was left to be a sitting duck behind his struggling offensive line.
Bieniemy also forgot he had running back Brian Robinson. Robinson had just ten carries despite averaging 7.0 yards per attempt.
The Commanders offense couldn’t complete the drives throughout the day. Bieniemy must get back to the drawing board to figure out a way to have Howell shrug off an ugly performance.
Week 3 was filled with growing pains for both Howell and Bieniemy. There’s a lot the two can learn from the dreadful showing. Howell has to clean his eyes. Bieniemy has to figure out how to get his receivers open quicker or find ways to alleviate the pressure the offensive line gets.
What’s clear is it’s too early to crown Sam Howell or Eric Bieniemy. The two have time to get back on track. The Commanders are 2-1 on the season and still in the thick of things in the NFC.
