Rams HC Sean McVay hypes Commanders QB Sam Howell

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay offered high praise for Washington Commanders second-year quarterback Sam Howell ahead of Sunday's game between the 6-7 Rams and 4-9 Commanders at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium. 

"Oh yeah, he’s a baller," McVay said about Howell during a midweek news conference, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "This guy’s got the ability to create. You can see he sees the field well. He can get through progressions quickly. He can make all the throws. He dissects and recognizes coverage contours quickly and he’s able to deliver the ball accurately. And then when things do go off-schedule, he’s got the athleticism and the escapability to buy time, keep his eyes down the field, and you can see guys understand how to be able to work with him."

According to ESPN stats, Howell enters Week 15 ranked 22nd in the NFL among qualified players with a 47.9 adjusted QBR and 23rd with an 85.6 passer rating on the season. He's fifth with 3,466 passing yards and tied for 14th with 18 touchdowns through the air, but nobody tossed more interceptions than Howell (14) over the campaign's first 14 weeks. 

The 23-year-old leads the league with 335 completions and 509 pass attempts. 

It's widely believed Washington will move on from head coach Ron Rivera as soon as the NFL's "Black Monday" next month. Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could emerge as a top candidate to replace Rivera, in part because of Bieniemy's work with Howell.

"[Y]ou see him and you’re thinking, man, this guy’s making a lot of plays," McVay added about Howell. "He’s doing a lot of really impressive things both on-schedule and off-schedule. And you see why the people and the players in that organization have such belief in him. And he’s put a lot of really good stuff on tape and he’s dangerous as hell, for sure."

As of Thursday afternoon, oddschecker listed the Rams as 6.5-point favorites against the Commanders. At that same time, the ESPN Football Power Index gave Los Angeles a 41.4% chance to make the playoffs. 

The Rams begin Week 15 trailing the 6-7 Green Bay Packers in the battle for the NFC's final wild-card postseason berth because Green Bay holds the tiebreaker advantage.