The Commanders’ season-long quarterback saga took an unexpected turn Wednesday when coach Ron Rivera, hours after announcing Taylor Heinicke as his starter against Dallas, scrapped that plan in favor of starting fifth-round rookie Sam Howell. Rivera’s apparent change of heart, along with last week’s decision to roll with Carson Wentz (who promptly crashed and burned in a disastrous performance against Cleveland), were widely criticized, framing the debacle as a coach unraveling before our eyes, flip-flopping on something as straightforward as who should start Sunday’s meaningless finale.
Rivera’s indecisiveness, bungling the team’s quarterback situation by alternating between Wentz, Heinicke and now Howell, could be to blame for Washington’s late-season collapse, quickly falling out of the NFC playoff picture after starting the year 7-5. In fairness, none of the three were particularly strong options, with Heinicke, for all his blue-collar charm, looking every bit like an undrafted journeyman and Wentz, playing for his third team in as many years, continuing his descent into irrelevance.
However, in this case, context is needed with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reporting that Heinicke took himself out of the running, voluntarily stepping aside so Howell, who has yet to see the field this season, could gain valuable game experience without someone looking over his shoulder. It’s an admirable gesture, though the choice to stand down may have been a business decision, not wanting to risk injury ahead of the 29-year-old’s upcoming free agency.
Now that they’ve been eliminated, it makes sense to remove Howell’s training wheels, allowing him to audition for the starting role next season. A four-star high-school recruit who chose to stay in-state at North Carolina over scholarship offers from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State, Howell fell further in the draft than anticipated, with concerns raised about his size (6’1”/220) and relative lack of athleticism. However, he impressed over the summer, leading all quarterbacks in preseason passing yards (547).
The Cowboys, who are still mathematically alive for the NFC’s top playoff seed, enter the final week of the regular season as seven-point road favorites at Washington.
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