Sam Howell Earns Locker Room Trust After Commanders Beat Patriots

The New England Patriots weren’t able to avoid the loss column when tasked with facing quarterback Sam Howell and the Washington Commanders in Week 9 on Sunday.

For the second straight week, the Patriots fell flat, this time against a fellow sub-.500 team. New England’s defense and offense were mediocre at best, failing to capitalize on opportunities to stump any momentum Washington mustered up in the 20-17 Commanders win.

As a result, Washington’s locker room established a massive pat on the back for Howell’s work in leading a second-half comeback in New England.

“Sam Howell is — he’s our future, he’s our quarterback and I think we’ve found our next quarterback for the (next) five-to-10 years and I truly believe that,” Washington defensive lineman Jon Allen told reporters, per JP Finlay of NBC Sports. “When I look at the plays he makes on the field and not only does he make great plays on the field, his demeanor after bad plays and not playing well, he’s able to bounce back.”

Allen added: “I can truly say this team is behind Sam Howell 100%.”

Strolling into Gillette Stadium as an opposing quarterback is tough enough, but to block out all the noise and make the jaw-dropping plays to put Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to shame is another.

New England, once again, looked unprepared and lost on both ends of the field, blowing multiple chances to go ahead and assemble its own game-shifting run.

However, it was Howell who proved to be the top dog in Week 9. The 23-year-old completed 29-of-45 attempts for 325 yards with one touchdown. Howell, a fifth-round draft pick in 2022, was also responsible for the most thrilling play of the contest. On third-and-23 in the second quarter, Howell escaped a scramble for a gain of 24 yards, exploiting New England’s weak defense.

The Patriots, amid their colossal failure of a season, dropped to 2-7 with the loss, still sitting in the basement of the AFC East.