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Ron Rivera on Sam Howell: I’m committed to him

Sunday was another tough outing for Washington quarterback Sam Howell, as the Commanders fell to the Giants 14-7.

Howell finished the contest 22-of-42 passing for 249 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. He was also sacked six times, five of which came in the first half.

The Commanders currently rank No. 20 in points scored and No. 22 in yards with Howell as their first-year starter under coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Head coach Ron Rivera said on Monday that he’s “been fine with what we’ve tried to do offensively.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you look at some of the biggest things, it really is about the development of this young quarterback,” Rivera said. “There have been a lot of positives that you see coming out of some of the things that Sam has been doing. As far as that’s concerned, you see his decision-making has been really good in terms of who he’s throwing the ball to.

“Some things, he can clean up are the types of throws that he’s making. Is he trying to loft the ball when he needs to put the ball on a line a little bit? We saw a little bit of that yesterday. But he’s been really good at it. And just really appreciate his development and growth. I think that’s one of the big important things for us.”

To that end, Rivera effectively said there are no plans to make a change at quarterback.

“Well I will tell you this, I’m committed to him and we’ll see how things go,” Rivera said. “But I can’t predict the future and the only thing I’m going to do is, I’m going to focus in on one game at a time. Because the truth of the matter is, that’s the only thing that matters right now, and that’s getting ready for Philadelphia. Once I get done with this conversation with all you guys, it’ll be on to Philadelphia.”

Rivera noted that while the Commanders are 3-4 again, this year feels different because of the hope Howell has brought with his play.

“As long as we have that young quarterback, he’s growing and developing, and we as a team play consistent complementary football, we have a chance,” Rivera said. “We just have to be accountable for what’s happened right now. Step up, develop, grow, and recognize our mistakes and correct those things.

“And that’s on me — it starts with me and I get that. Believe me, I’ve been doing this for a long time. And I’ll continue to do it as best as I can.”

In seven games, Howell has completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 1,749 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s also rushed for 119 yards with a TD. But he currently leads the league having taken 40 sacks, getting brought down on 13.5 percent of his dropbacks. That’s on pace to shatter the NFL record.