Commanders QB Sam Howell paying the price for team's awful offensive line

The Commanders and Sam Howell are on pace for the most sacks by a quarterback in NFL history — by a wide margin. (Per StatMuse, the 1986 Eagles hold the dubious mark of most sacks allowed in a season with 104.)

Against the Giants on Sunday, the Commanders gave up six sacks. New York had five sacks entering the game. In a win over the Falcons in Week 6, they gave up five sacks. Atlanta also had five sacks entering the game. 

As for those two defensive backs the Commanders drafted in the first two rounds, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes has been benched recently for poor play. Safety Jartavius Martin, meanwhile, is buried deep on the depth chart and has played infrequently.

Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but at least one of those picks should have been used on an offensive lineman. Objective No. 1 for the Commanders this season is the development of Howell, but instead of protecting him, the front office — and the offensive line — have let him down.

The easiest way to ruin a quarterback's development is for him to be sacked a lot early in his career. The common thread among QBs David Carr (Texans) and Tim Couch (Browns) and generational talent Andrew Luck (Colts) — all No. 1 overall picks in their drafts — is the poor protection their teams gave them during their careers. That may have hastened their exits from the NFL.

There's only so much Howell can do. It's a testament to how high his potential is that he has looked impressive for stretches (65.2 completion percentage, 1,749 passing yards) despite playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in NFL history. The hits he is taking, however, will catch up to him if they keep coming.

Washington gambled this past offseason by making the defensive backfield its top priority rather than the offensive line. Now the Commanders are paying the price, and if it has further negative impact on their 23-year-old QB, it will be an even bigger price.