The Washington Commanders improved to 3-3 this year during the first half of their 24-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6, and quarterback Sam Howell climbed to the top of the franchise record book for throwing yards.
Howell passed for 109 yards in the first half of the Commanders’ game on Sunday, setting a new franchise record for passing yards through seven starts.
Star receiver Terry McLaurin, who had eight targets in the first half, helped him get there by catching five of them for 63 yards. This helped the offense get going, as it scored 17 points in the first two-quarters of play.
“We script plays and we (knew) Terry had a good opportunity to be the primary on a lot of those plays and get the ball,” Howell said about making a focused effort on getting the ball to his primary target. “We knew we were going to see a lot of man match type coverage…and Terry’s a guy that excels in man coverage. We always want to get Terry going, we want to get everyone going.”
Howell only completed two of his five passes in the second half, but they added 42 yards to his total from the first.
Even if the stats were modest after the break, one of those completions, a screen pass to running back Brian Robinson Jr., went for a 25-yard score.
In actuality, Antonio Gibson and two other running backs caught Howell’s touchdown throws, which totaled three.
Player Curtis Samuel tacked on one more, and Howell, who had already scored three touchdowns through the air, was able to record his first three-touchdown passing performance of his career.
Howell has combined for seven touchdown passes and just one interception in those high-scoring games, demonstrating the offense’s potency when he and it are clicking.
Washington is now 3-3 after six weeks thanks to this performance, and the New York Giants will visit MetLife Stadium in New Jersey the following weekend for another road game.