The Washington Commanders season ended last week with regards to their playoff chances, and the team turns to the future today to see what rookie Sam Howell can do at quarterback today in his first start of his pro career. Coincidentally, the team is retiring the No. 9 today in a celebration of long-time QB Sonny Jurgensen’s jersey number.
Also, the Commanders will have a pre-game tribute to the Buffalo Bill’s Damar Hamlin whose heart stopped on the field in Monday night’s game. Hamlin received CPR and is now recovering in the hospital.
“Our plan is we are going to start Sam [Howell]. I spoke with the coaches, talked to some of the team leaders and talked with some others about it and we feel that this is an opportunity for us to give Sam a chance to show us what he’s capable of. I think that the opportunity is gonna be a good one for him to go out and play football and just kind of show us, I mean, we’re not gonna judge everything on Sam based on just one game. We are gonna get an opportunity to see him and see how he prepares and gives himself the opportunity to play.”
— Head Coach Ron Rivera
As the team gets to evaluate Howell, the team will be playing the Cowboys as they prepare for the playoffs. The Commanders are steep underdogs in this one at 7.5 points.
A reminder that Cole Holcomb (injured reserve) is still out and here are the inactives:No. 24 RB Antonio Gibson
No. 8 RB Brian Robinson
No. 11 QB Carson Wentz
No. 31 S Kam Curl
No. 78 T Cornelius Lucas
No. 96 DE James Smith-Williams
No. 93 DT Jonathon Allen
Matchup: Dallas Cowboys (12-4) at Washington Commanders (7-8-1)
Date|Time: Sunday, Jan 8 | 4:25 p.m. ET
Location: FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
TELEVISION: FOX Network with Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play); Greg Olsen (analyst); Erin Andrews (sideline reporter); Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino (rules analyst).
RADIO: Commanders radio network flagship station is WBIG 100.3 (Big 100) with Julie Donaldson as the host, Bram Weinstein on play-by-play, and London Fletcher as the analyst. On satellite radio channels Sirius 98, XM 231 and SiriusXM online 831.
Vegas lines: Washington is a +7.5 underdog with an Over/Under of 41 points
