LANDOVER, Md. – After ending Baltimore’s all-time NFL-record preseason winning streak at 24 games and seeing plenty of encouraging play from Sam Howell, the Washington Commanders hope they’re starting to leave the Dan Snyder era behind.
Virginia Tech product Joey Slye kicked a 49-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining Monday night, sending the Commanders past the Ravens 29-28 in a nationally televised game at FedEx Field. ESPN cameras captured Josh Harris, the team’s new majority owner, high-fiving people along the Washington sideline near the end of the game – the Ravens’ first preseason defeat since 2015.
Led by Howell, the Commanders took a 17-14 lead into halftime. The newly named starting quarterback proved why much of the Washington personnel and fan base believes in him, completing 19 of 25 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Both of his touchdowns came after the two-minute warning, one to Antonio Gibson and the other to Dyami Brown, Howell’s former North Carolina teammate.
Washington coach Ron Rivera said of Howell, “There’s a lot of pressure, obviously, and we know how important the quarterback position is in the league and how important it is in this area. We’ve been looking for one and we have an opportunity to have a guy that has a chance to be a really good football player for us.”
Brown (concussion) and fellow receiver Terry McLaurin (toe), incurred injuries. Brown was cleared to return, and Rivera said X-rays on McLaurin’s toe were negative. McLaurin is day-to-day, Rivera said.
New offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s unit seemed ready for the regular season. The starting defense didn’t play, though the backups at times struggled to contain a Baltimore offense that was lacking Lamar Jackson. The star quarterback was watching from the sidelines.
The Commanders, 2-0 in the preseason, will close their exhibition schedule with a 6:05 p.m. Saturday home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
