FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Nothing ever comes easy for the Commanders, but there's no other way to win a road game in New England either. Tough wins are important wins, and that's certainly what Washington got with their 20-17 final against the Patriots.
Throughout the contest, however, Washington had something that the Patriots did not: a quarterback.
Sam Howell impressed, again, and gave the Burgundy and Gold just enough to improve to 4-5 on the season. He finished the game with 325 yards on 29 completions with one touchdown. Howell made big throw after big throw in a tight game with arguably the greatest coach of all time scheming against him.
It wasn't all perfect, certainly, as Washington jumped out to an early 10-0 lead before a pair of turnovers gifted the Patriots 14 points and a deficit at halftime.
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There are bad calls, there are awful calls and then there’s what happened to Commanders defensive lineman K.J. Henry early in the third quarter.
The rookie out of Clemson rushed off the left edge towards Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, beat the offensive tackle and zeroed in for the sack. It was a great play, everything the coaching staff wants to see, and Henry even forced a fumble on the tackle.
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Except when the flag came out.
Inexplicably, the referees called a roughing the passer penalty on the play. Understanding we live in a world of hyperbole and microwave hot takes, still, this may have been the worst roughing call of all time.
There were other bad calls, plenty of them, but nothing like the roughing call on Henry. That penalty gave New England a first down, and they'd kick a field goal shortly after.
Beyond the bad calls, Washington turned the ball over twice, which good teams don't do. A first-half fumble from Brian Robinson completely changed the momentum of the game, and New England scored three plays later. A defensive lapse allowed New England's second touchdown, a 64-yard touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson where the running back was hardly touched as he sprinted down the field.
Still, after a rough week in the Commanders locker room that saw two former first-round picks in Montez Sweat and Chase Young get traded, Washington proved they could take a punch and keep fighting. It helped that Patriots QB Mac Jones stinks, but still, this was a well-earned win.
Washington might not have enough to compete for championships. But Washington has something in Howell.
That's enough for a team to build around for the long-term, and on Sunday in Massachusetts, Howell proved enough for a team to rally around for a victory.
