Howell dazzles as Snyder era potentially closes with Commanders’ win over Cowboys

LANDOVER — If he was watching Sunday’s season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, you had to wonder what Dan Snyder was thinking. 

A team spokesperson declined to comment on whether the embattled billionaire was at FedEx Field for what was expected to be his last game as the Washington Commanders owner. But according to a source familiar with the situation, Snyder was not in attendance. In just a few months, with Snyder exploring a sale, the Commanders could be sold if everything goes as planned. 

Against Dallas, perhaps Snyder had thoughts about the latest throngs of Cowboys fans to invade his stadium in what has become an annual tradition through his 20-plus years of ownership. Maybe he was focused on the debut of Sam Howell, Washington’s rookie quarterback who played well enough to give the team’s disillusioned fans a sliver of hope for next season.

Or maybe, he was just hoping his childhood team would beat its hated rival one last time. 

That, it turned out, happened. 

The Commanders’ season ended with an emphatic 26-6 win over the Cowboys (12-5) ­— a final, unexpected result in what has been a tumultuous year. Washington improved to 8-8-1, and 163-220-2 with Snyder at the helm of the franchise. 

“I really feel like a lot of positives are starting to go our way,” Commanders coach Ron Rivera said, adding, “We’ve got our head above water right now. We really do. Part of it is the football aspect about it. We feel good about the young men that we have out there. We really feel good about the things that we’re doing. 

“We’re headed, I believe, in the right direction. We’ve just got to make a couple more moves.”

Just a week ago, the Commanders appeared to be drowning. 

Washington was officially eliminated from the postseason for the 18th time since Snyder purchased the team for $800 million in 1999. This season’s letdown was particularly egregious given the nature of down-then-up-then-down-again campaign. The Commanders, who have made the playoffs only six times under Snyder, were 7-5 before an 0-3-1 stretch eliminated them from the postseason. 

The last loss of that span — a 24-10 defeat to the Browns — saw  Rivera reinsert Carson Wentz into the starting lineup, a decision that backfired horribly as Wentz threw three interceptions and lost his job again the following week. Wentz, Washington’s high-profile offseason acquisition, was inactive for Sunday’s finale. 

For a normal franchise, Washington’s late-season meltdown might have put Rivera’s job in jeopardy. But the Commanders are far from a normal franchise. With so much uncertainty regarding a possible change in ownership, Rivera is likely to be safe, barring a major surprise. 

But will any other changes occur? Rivera is scheduled to conduct a season-ending press conference Tuesday. He said after Sunday’s win that he’ll use the next week to evaluate whether any shakeups to his staff — offensive coordinator Scott Turner? — are necessary. Beyond the short term, Rivera’s front office will also be tasked with trying to find a solution at quarterback in the offseason.

All that, however, figures to matter little in comparison to any potential ownership change.

Terry McLaurin acknowledged the uncertainty that lies ahead for the Commanders this offseason. But the wide receiver said he’s excited about what the future holds — “no matter what it looks like,” he added. 

That future, on the field at least, looked slightly different after Sunday’s win. Rivera said the Commanders wouldn’t judge Howell solely off one game. But the fifth-round rookie’s performance was too hard to ignore — enamoring the crowd of 62,814. It would be an overreaction to suggest Howell is automatically the Commanders’ long-term answer, but at a minimum, he demonstrated why he has an intriguing upside.

On the surface, Howell’s stat line — 11 of 19 for 169 yards, a touchdown and an interception — may not seem like much. But throughout Sunday’s contest, the 22-year-old dazzled. His 52-yard bomb to McLaurin “literally walked into my hands,” the wideout said. And, as he did in college, Howell used his legs to slither away from collapsing pockets and take off in a sprint. The quarterback finished with 35 rushing yards on five carries, one of which went for a touchdown. 

But it was Howell’s first pass — a 16-yard touchdown to McLaurin — that created the biggest stir. Taking advantage of a botched Dallas punt, Howell quickly found McLaurin mismatched on a linebacker and ripped off a short pass to let the receiver do the rest for Washington to take a 6-0 lead. 

McLaurin, though, then made a mistake: Out of excitement, the Ohio State product chucked the ball into the stands — causing him to realize in horror that he had gotten rid of Howell’s first touchdown ball. Yet, the crisis was averted. A member of Washington’s staff negotiated a trade with the fan who hauled it in to get the ball back.

“All I know is that I was sitting there on the bench and they came over with a football and said I need to sign it for a fan for a trade,” Howell said with a laugh. “I signed the ball, so I guess it was a fair trade.”

“I was ready to take off my jersey and give it to them to get that ball back to him,” McLaurin said. 

The rest of the Commanders’ supporting cast did their best to prop up the rookie, too. Despite missing a number of key players — defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (knee), cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (ankle), safety Kam Curl (ankle) and running backs Brian Robinson (knee) and Antonio Gibson (foot) were among those ruled out  — Washington jumped on the Cowboys with a dominant defense and ferocious special teams. 

The latter forced two Dallas blunders in the first quarter — one botched punt that led to McLaurin’s touchdown for a 6-0 lead and another muffed punt that was recovered at Dallas’ 15-yard line. The Cowboys, though, caught a break when Joey Slye missed a 31-yarder after that, marking what was a wildly uneven afternoon for the Commanders’ kicker. Slye missed a total of three kicks, two field goals and one extra point attempt. 

But the Commanders made up for their errors. The defense held Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to just 128 yards — and cornerback Kendall Fuller intercepted one of his throws for a 29-yard touchdown.

Dallas’ performance was especially confounding as the Cowboys entered the afternoon with the possibility that they could win the NFC East with a victory and an Eagles loss. But the closest that Dallas got to threatening Washington’s lead was when CeeDee Lamb scored a 15-yard touchdown just before halftime to cut the deficit to seven (13-6). 

Yet, the Commanders’ crowd was still buzzing at the break — and rarely relented as the team’s lead expanded in the final two quarters. 

As most of the Cowboys’ fans headed to grab concessions at halftime, Washington’s contingent stuck around to watch the team retire Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen’s No. 9 jersey. 

During the ceremony, team President Jason Wright made remarks about what the legendary passer meant to the franchise — drawing applause. 

Snyder, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen. And it was unclear whether he even watched at all.