TANKS, BUT NO TANKS
Howell’s 325 yards passing, late interception help Commanders
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Sam Howell passed for 325 yards and a touchdown and Jartavius Martin had a late interception to help the Washington Commanders hold on and beat the New England Patriots 20-17 Sunday.
It marked the first time in Howell’s career he eclipsed 300 yards passing in consecutive games, and it gave Washington its first victory in New England since 1996. The triumph snapped the franchise’s four-game overall losing streak to the Patriots.
Washington (4-5) turned the ball over twice but wore down the Patriots’ defense by going 9 of 17 on third down. Brian Robinson added a rushing touchdown to help the Commanders end a two-game skid.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Washington coach Ron Rivera said on commanders.com. “We went back and forth. We had some opportunities; we missed some opportunities. … For the most part, I thought the guys came out, competed, played hard, did good things.”
New England dropped to 2-7 for the first time since Bill Belichick’s first season as coach in 2000. The Patriots are 0-5 in non-division games, the only team in the NFL without a win outside of their division.
Trailing 20-17, New England had a chance. The Patriots inched downfield and converted a fourthand-4 to keep their hopes alive. But two plays later, with the ball on the Commanders’ 41, Mac Jones’ pass intended for JuJuSmith Schuster was intercepted by Martin — sealing the win for Washington.
“It’s all on me,” Smith-Schuster said. “He put the ball in a good position. I’ve just got to make the catch, secure it. Now we’re in fieldgoal range. Obviously, I didn’t do that. Fell short.”
Asked if this loss stung more because the other team was “tanking,” Patriots center David
Andrews said, “It stings because it’s a loss. It’s not going to break my spirit. It’s not going to break our spirit.”
The Patriots entered the day thin at receiver with Kendrick Bourne out with a season-ending knee injury and DeVante Parker sidelined with a concussion. Jones did his best to make it work, completing 24 of 44 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown.
It helped erase an early 10-0 lead by the Commanders, who were playing in their first game since trading top pass rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young.
New England got back into the game thanks to a 35-second span that included a forced fumble and a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Hunter Henry.
The Patriots took a 14-10 lead a series later via a 64-yard TD run by Rhamondre Stevenson.
New England added a field goal early in the third quarter, but Washington responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 33-yard touchdown pass from Howell to Jahan Dotson to tie the game.
Washington then took a 20-17 lead in the third quarter on Joey Slye’s 30-yard field goal.
That remained the score in the fourth quarter when the Commanders took over on their own 5-yard line with 5:04 left following a Patriots punt.
The Commanders picked up a first down and burned some clock before punting with 2:29 remaining. But New England’s Mack Wilson was offsides on the play, resulting in a first down for Washington.
The Commanders ran three more plays before punting again, pinning the Patriots at their 10 to start their final drive following a holding penalty.
Injury
Commanders defensive end James Smith-Williams walked off on his own power following collision in the fourth quarter.