The Washington Commanders (4-9) don’t have a lot to look forward to in the coming months, but the years ahead could be much better if the right moves are made following yet another season where they failed to earn better than a .500 record.

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has had his ups and downs this season, but the good moments are laced with signs he could be the one this franchise has been searching for years to find while his bad moments can be fixed with personnel, experience, and even some slight schematic adjustments.

The evidence of this is in the numbers, which have him on pace to nearly match NFL legends Troy Aikman (Dallas Cowboys).

Doing that we find in their first years as starting NFL quarterbacks Aikman, Manning, and Howell (so far) all rank very closely to the other passers of their time in yards per attempt, and completion and interception percentages.

There’s a pretty stark separation between the two Hall of Famers and Howell’s touchdown percentages, something scheme, personnel changes, and experience will have to help him accelerate next season.

) and Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) in their first seasons as starters.

Like the Hall of Fame quarterbacks before him, Howell’s Washington team is going to fall short of a positive win total as well.

But that’s not where the similarities stop. Looking at raw stats is commonly flawed because of the advancements and rule changes in the game from their time to this one. Looking at rankings among his peers, however, we can get a better look at how Howell’s performance stacks up within this version of the game compared to prior ones.

The three also share a common thread on the other side of the ball with none having a defense that ranked better than 24th in their seasons. The Commanders’ defense currently ranks 32nd in scoring defense this season.