Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell addressed the media after Washington's preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Here is a full transcript of his press conference.
On game thoughts:
"Yeah, I thought it was alright. I think the main thing was just a lot of fun and it was a good team win. You know, I think we're really starting to become a team and there was a lot of good things out there tonight. It was a lot of fun to be a part of. I just think offensively, I think we did some good things, put some good drives together. Obviously, there's some stuff to clean up, some sacks, both I think. I don't know how many sacks we had, maybe two, I think, and they were both my fault, so I got to do a better job with that stuff. We'll clean it up. But, we made some plays, you know, a lot of guys made some plays and we got good work with a two minute drill, which was successful for us. So, there was a lot of good that came out of there."
On taking his first sack:
"Yeah, it was just early in the game. I just needed to relax. I was kind of just trying to make a play, trying to do too much. But, especially in that position, early in the game, just be smart, get the ball out of my hands and don't take a big loss like that."
On being able to mentally move on after a sack:
"Yeah, I mean, I think that's one thing that we do a good job of with the guys we got, you know, when something goes bad, it's all about the next play and we can do everything. Obviously, the sack was bad, it was my fault, but I knew we had another opportunity in the next play, so I tried to do everything, we tried to do everything I could to, you know, make up for it."
On the two-minute drill at the end of the first half:
"Yeah, it was good. We had a lot of plays, you know, guys were kind of tired, so it was good to see guys push through that. We do a lot of two-minute drills in practice, but to get one in the pre-season against a different opponent, and to go down there and get seven instead of three was big for us."
On if there were specific two-minute drills in practice that showed up in today's game:
"Yeah, I mean, we do two-minute a lot. That's one thing with [Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy] EB like the first thing we install every time we start installing is two-minute. We put a lot of focus on our two-minute drills and EB cares about it a lot because he says all the time in the NFL that's where a lot of games are won or lost. So, we put a lot of focus into it and that shows."
On takeaways from the joint practices and preseason game with the Baltimore Ravens:
"Yeah, you know, it was a cool experience. The first time I had done a joint practice, so it was cool to go there for two days and get some work against a different opponent, a really good opponent. They do a really good job on both sides of the ball, so that was good and then to translate that into the game and kind of knowing some of the stuff they do just by practicing against them, and trying to go out here tonight and have a plan for the stuff they do. So, it's a good challenge for us as an offense, we go out there and try to execute."
On starting to feel like a team:
"Yeah, I mean, I think every year is a new team. You got to find little things to come together and I think we've done a good job of that so far. But tonight was just so much fun to be a part of, you know, guys were excited, guys were cheering for each other no matter what group was out there. Like the third group came in and had a two-minute drill to win the game and [Kicker] Joey [Slye] made the kick and it was just so much fun to be a part of and guys are really starting to bond, you know what I'm saying, and you can just kind of feel the team growing."
On breaking the Baltimore Ravens 24-game preseason winning streak:
"Yeah, I mean obviously, you know, it's the preseason, but really every time we step on the field, we want put a good show on, we want to win the game. Obviously, everyone's going to get a chance to play, all the groups are going to get a chance to play, so it's really not a real game. But at the same time, you want whatever team you're on, you want to win. Especially knowing what they had on the other side with their little streak. We had a third group in and that last two-minute drive, they were running cover zero every single play, and we were trying to take shots down field. It was so much fun to watch and be a part of."
On the importance of having multiple reliable receivers:
"Yeah, I mean, we have so many weapons, you said seven guys, we have 20 guys. Obviously probably can't keep them all. We have so many guys that can make plays with the ball when they get their chance, so all I try to do is try to get the ball out of my hands as quickly as possible and give those guys the chances for what they do best. I'm just so blessed with the talent I have around me."
On how to prevent being overconfident from preseason success:
"Yeah, I mean I think the reality of it is, it really doesn't mean anything. We did some good things on offense tonight, but there's a lot of stuff we can clean up. So as long as we go back and focus on the negative things and just try to keep getting better, don't worry about any success, you know, that yeah, we had some good drives, we score a couple touchdowns, but at the end of the day, it's all about what can we do better. How can we get better as an offense? I think if we keep that mindset, we'll be all right."
On how into the game the starters were with two minutes left:
"It was just so much fun to be a part of, like I said, and we have a great locker room. All the guys get along and everyone wants to see the guy next to him play well. I think it's just a credit to that and it's a credit to the culture that we have in our locker room."
On needing to relax when trying to prevent sacks:
"I think early in the game like that sack, I don't even know how long I held the ball for back there, but just throw it away. I need to just try to settle down early in the game and avoid plays like that. It was just a boneheaded play and it's not something that happens a lot, but I just got to do a better job avoiding it."
On how much he has grown during training camp and the preseason:
"I think I've grown a lot. I'm way more comfortable in the offense and just getting these two experiences with EB. It's our first time going through a game together and think getting the two-minute drill experience tonight was critical for us. There's definitely a lot of good that can come out of this. I'm pleased with how it went."
On what he can take away from the two-minute drill tonight:
"I think we did some good things. We kind of put ourselves into tough situations throughout that drive, so I want to do a better job of trying to stay ahead of the chains. I think we had a false start or maybe two penalties on that drive if I remember correctly. But, you just need to do a better job of staying ahead of the chains because two-minute drills hard, it's hard to go down there and get points but if you have penalties, it makes it a lot harder."
