- Wednesday, October 25, 2023

With quarterback Sam Howell continuing to be sacked at a record-setting rate, Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera seemed to hint at major lineup changes during his press conference on Wednesday.

The team’s offensive line struggled against the New York Giants, and Rivera declared that he’s not going to take anything off the table as he tries to inject a spark into the offense.

“We’re looking at a lot of things right now,” Rivera said. “Things that we want to do as far as going forward with the offensive line. There’s a lot of things we’re talking about and discussing and looking at.”

Center Nick Gates had a particularly rough game, acknowledging after that he had struggled against the New York pass rush.

“I didn’t do my job, plain and simple,” he said. “We didn’t protect for Sam. A lot of it is on me.”

Washington has veteran backup Tyler Larsen on the roster, but could also make a bold move and go with rookie Ricky Stromberg, who was selected in the third round of this year’s draft.

Either player would be entering a precarious situation, as the sack problem goes beyond just the offensive line, though the group has been a contributing factor.

At times in the second half on Sunday, the Commanders switched to a “max protection” formation where seven players protected for Howell, including a tight end and an extra offensive lineman, who declared as eligible.

“Obviously the sack issue is what it is, and we’re all trying to fix it and we’re all trying to do everything we can,” Howell said. “We’re all trying to do our part. I think the first way to solve that is everyone has to acknowledge what they need to do better. I think we have that in our room and we have that in our offense, and everyone’s acknowledging different ways that we can help each other out.”

Left tackle Charles Leno Jr. said the groups remain in constant communication about how to improve. He said a lot of times it comes down to a player needing to win a one-on-one matchup to hold off a blitz, noting that every member of the offense can play his part in helping get the Commanders out of their current funk.

Leno added, though, that there’s still plenty of time left for the team to get back on track.

“This is nothing new,” Leno said. “The sky has not fallen. I’ve been through this a lot of times, you know what I’m saying? So we’ve just got to stay the course and understand that we’re pulling for each other, let’s not start pointing fingers or anything like that. Everyone’s involved in this, and we can get through this together.”

Right tackle Andrew Wylie offered similar thoughts after Sunday’s game, noting that sometimes it just comes down to execution.

“We’ve just got to get it done, and we didn’t do that,” he said.

Washington’s practice Wednesday was a lighter one than normal, which Rivera said had been planned in advance to help the Commanders have more recovery time as the season progresses.

There were no helmets or pads during the workout, allowing an extra recovery day after a series of physical games.

For Howell, the question of durability becomes particularly important, as he has now been sacked 40 times this season.

“He’s a very resilient guy to be able to bounce back,” tight end Logan Thomas said.

He added: “I’ll start worrying about him when he shows fatigue. He hasn’t shown any yet. Obviously, you want to keep him upright, but he’s tough, so I’m not worried about it.”

Howell said even though the pressure has been mounting, he’s keeping a focus on maintaining his style of play. He wants to continue to look for his receivers downfield, knowing that will be the key to success against the Eagles and for the rest of the season.

As for the sacks? He understands that’s part of the gig, but hopes there’s a day where he doesn’t have to be asked about it again.

“I think everyone’s kind of tired of hearing about it,” he said. “I think obviously it’s you guys’ job to keep talking about it and it’s our job to fix it. That’s the reality of it.”

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