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Commanders' Ron Rivera Praises Sam Howell's Career Day vs. Broncos

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was pleased with Sam Howell's showing against the Denver Broncos.
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The Washington Commanders are still recovering from a massive come-from-behind win against the Denver Broncos on the road by a score of 35-33.

The win not only gave them their second of the season but also secured the team's first 2-0 start since 2011.

One of the main catalysts for the win was quarterback Sam Howell, who had a career day throwing for a high in yards (299), completion percentage (69 percent), and touchdown passes (2). A performance that head coach Ron Rivera seemed quite pleased with for the most part, as Howell did have some issues in the first half.

"As far as Sam was concerned, as I said, he did some really good things early on, a couple mistakes, he could've gotten rid of the ball sooner," Rivera said. "But in the second half, that's the things that we saw that were really positive, was that you saw him make that decision to throw the ball away, you saw him make the decision to be very forward in terms of just tucking it, running and sliding, doing those things are starting to show us the growth that we're looking for in his decision making. That's always good to see."

Sep 17, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) scrambles under pressure from Denver Broncos linebacker Randy Gregory (5) in the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Commanders and Howell will be tested again in Week 3, as they play one of the stronger teams in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills. Unlike the Broncos, who built a fairly significant lead and let it slip away, the Bills were able to pour it onto the Las Vegas Raiders.

They went up 14-7 in the second quarter and never looked back, winning by a score of 38-10. The Commanders offense has been starting slow in their first two games but will need some urgency from Howell and company if they want to win. Falling behind against Josh Allen and company is not recommended. 

Especially when you consider the Bills defense is third in the league in interceptions. 

Commanders fans should love what they see from Howell thus far but would love it even more if he could secure what would be a major upset of a win.