The Washington Commanders went into Foxborough on Sunday and left with a 20-17 road win but we saw something that we have not seen in the NFL this season that is going under the radar. With 3:53 remaining in the third quarter, quarterback Sam Howell faced pressure and threw a pass towards the sidelines to wide receiver Terry McLaurin to move the chains on third and eight.
Off his back foot, Sam Howell just threw this absolutely perfect ball to Terry McLaurin on the sideline pic.twitter.com/a7iWBKx96S
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) November 5, 2023
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, this 26-yard reception had a 3.4 completion probability, surpassing a Week 6 pass between PJ Walker and Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns. This is not the first time either Sam Howell or Terry McLaurin find their names on this list as they also hold the fourth spot this season from a Week 7 pass.
Howell also holds the fifth spot with wide receiver Jahan Dotson last week, which had a 14.2 completion probability percentage according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Sam Howell has been one of the best players on this Washington Commanders team as he is 235-of-353 (66.6 completion percentage) for 2,471 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
This Washington Commanders team may not make the playoffs with a 4-5 record but they are not quitting on the field.
What can this Washington Commanders team do this season?
After trading away both defensive linemen Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the NFL Trade Deadline, the Washington Commanders put themselves in an interesting position. They added some draft capital and admitted to building around quarterback Sam Howell.
Don’t look now but after Week 9 of the NFL season, the 4-5 Washington Commanders are actually the eighth seed in the NFC, meaning they are next in line for one of the NFC Wild Card spots. Currently, those Wild Card spots are held by the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings but there is a chance on of those teams fall out of the race.
Washington actually can control their chances a bit as they are on the road next week against the Seahawks and still have both games against the Cowboys coming up. While it seems improbable for the Commanders to make the playoffs, the NFC is wide open and it is not incredibly out of the realm of possibility for it to happen.
The sportsbooks do not believe as DraftKings currently has the Washington Commanders at +900 to make the playoffs and -1800 to miss it.
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