LANDOVER, Md. -- The Washington Commanders saw the good. Quarterback Sam Howell extended two plays in the red zone that both resulted in touchdowns, using his arm and then his feet. He displayed resiliency and, at times, delivered strikes. It's why they named him the starter.
They also saw the bad. Howell scrambled away from pressure, holding the ball too loose, which led to a strip sack and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. He also occasionally held the ball too long. It's why it'll take time for him to fully develop.
For a quarterback making his second NFL start, the ups and downs were to be expected and highlight what the Commanders can build upon -- and what Howell must correct moving forward, starting Sunday at the Denver Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).
"It’s one of those things: You're never as bad as you think and never as good as you think," Washington coach Ron Rivera said after the Commanders' 20-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. "There were some really good things, some good rhythm. And then there were some things where you go, 'Oh, why did you do that?'"
Howell completed 19 of 31 passes for 202 yards, with one touchdown pass and an interception. He also ran for the winning score in the fourth quarter. He finished with a QBR of 45.5 -- at 17th, he ranked right in the middle of the quarterbacks for Week 1 prior to Monday night's game.
With a new offensive coordinator in Eric Bieniemy and new starters at four offensive line positions, inconsistency is to be expected -- even if it's not wanted.
The good news for Washington is, despite turning the ball over three times against Arizona, it still won the game. For Washington to win while its offense -- and Howell -- endure growing pains it must take care of the ball better.
But a lot of this season will rest on Howell’s development. Some of the traits he displayed Sunday have long been there and remain a key reason why Washington likes him -- and why the coaches are confident he can be a good starting quarterback.
DESPITE TURNING THE ball over twice Sunday, Howell's resiliency showed. After his first-quarter interception, he drove the team to the 19-yard line before running back Antonio Gibson fumbled. After Howell's second-quarter fumble for a touchdown, he led a 69-yard drive with 49 seconds left that ended in a field goal.
Howell also was sacked six times -- a combination of mistakes, including some by his protection and some by him. He was also drilled at the end of one run, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the defense. Yet he didn't flinch.
"It is a trademark of his, how tough he is," Rivera said. "He took a couple big shots. One thing he has to learn is he can't leave himself exposed like he did. He'll learn that and he'll learn that quickly."
Said Washington left tackle Charles Leno Jr.: "He's the same guy every single day. It is absolutely insane. He threw the pick. He was like, 'whatever'. He goes back to the huddle calls, ball sack fumble, like, 'oh whatever'. Go back to the huddle. Call the play. He's the same guy. Unshaken. ... I love that about him."
It's what Howell's coaches at North Carolina said about him. It's the first attribute his Commanders teammates mention when discussing him.
"That's just how I was raised," Howell said. "Always have an even-keel mentality, no matter what the results of a play was it's always about what's next. That's kind of how I've been my entire life, and I'll continue to be that way."
FOR THE COACHES, those kinds of responses by Howell and the offense reflect more than just his ability to stay calm.
"He is even keeled a lot of the time, but that is also coupled with he's extremely competitive and I see it on those game days," Washington quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard said two days before the opener. "He's dialed in; he's one of those guys that you can see the focus, you can feel the focus, you can feel the energy and the intensity."
During the summer, Rivera pointed out how if Howell threw behind his intended target it often stemmed from being late on his progressions. That's what happened on a ball behind Terry McLaurin in the second quarter.
However, Howell also connected with McLaurin on a third-and-2 after his interception. Howell looked at Curtis Samuel first, worked his way to McLaurin and, though slightly behind, he got the throw off in 2.58 seconds for a 19-yard gain.
Two plays later, Howell took a five-step drop, slid two steps to his right while keeping his eyes upfield and delivered a strike to tight end Cole Turner for 17 more yards.
HOWELL SAID FOR him to improve, he'll have to learn from Sunday -- and some of those lessons are about going through his reads quicker and being content with certain passes, like checkdowns. Sometimes he hesitated on the run-pass option looks, leading to lesser gains. Experience will help both situations.
"You have to have some patience with him," Rivera said. "He is a guy in only his second start in the NFL and you'd like to continue to see him get better and better, which I believe he can."
"I just think I could have played cleaner football," Howell said. "Obviously, the turnover, trying to do too much in the pocket, I could have thrown the ball away. Sometimes I took too many sacks. Just trying to get the ball out quickly and taking what the defense is giving me."
Twice the Arizona defense gave him an opening to run in the red zone. He turned one of those into a touchdown pass and another into a scoring run in which he weaved through the middle for six yards on third down.
"That's a big part of this offense," Howell said of using his legs.
Howell needs to also connect more with McLaurin, who caught just two passes for 31 yards against the Cardinals. One deep ball to McLaurin did draw a 37-yard pass interference penalty, and McLaurin said after the play -- in which he ran a deep corner route and got behind the corner -- that more big plays can be set up in the future.
"That's going to be the evolution," McLaurin said.
But Howell provided his teammates no reason to stop believing in him. They've seen his improvement over the past year and even during the summer. They have long expressed confidence in him and elected him one of their six captains.
After the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, all of Washington's players on the field rushed over to confront the Cardinals and rally to Howell.
"Each time that happens you're going to see 10 guys on our side of the ball running to the scrum and seeing what's about to go down," McLaurin said. "We showed that we got his back."