It was another good day for the Commanders’ offense, which put up 432 total yards on 77 plays, marking the first time since the 2020 season that Washington has amassed at least 400 yards in back-to-back games. Much like it was in last week’s 38-31 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the offense looked efficient for most of the day, averaging 5.6 yards per play and converting nine of their 17 third-down attempts.
The bulk of that came from the production of Sam Howell, who completed 64% of his passes for 325 yards — his third 300-yard game in five weeks — to go with a touchdown and an interception. It looked like it would be a difficult day for the young quarterback, due to Bill Belichick’s tendency to confuse signal-callers with his complex defensive schemes, but Howell was calm in the pocket, maneuvered to avoid pressure and took shots when appropriate to pick apart the 10th ranked defense in the league.
Howell now has 2,640 yards in nine games, making him the fastest quarterback in franchise history to reach that mark.
After a three-and-out that only moved the ball eight yards to start the contest, the Commanders’ offense was humming as it put together scoring drives of nine and 11 plays. Robinson, who had 63 yards on 18 carries, broke loose in the second quarter off a block from John Bates for his fifth rushing touchdown of the year, putting the Commanders up 10-0.
Robinson, however, was also the cause of the downward slide for the Commanders in the second quarter. Two plays after the Washington defense forced its second three-and-out of the day, Robinson coughed up the ball thanks to Jahlani Tavai, and three plays after the Patriots recovered, Mac Jones connected with Hunter Henry on a 14-yard touchdown.
