Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett named starter over Sam Howell for Week 17

Sam Howell's benching will carry over into Week 17.

Washington is proceeding with Jacoby Brissett as its starting quarterback for the Commanders' New Year's Eve game against San Francisco, head coach Ron Rivera announced Wednesday.

Brissett replaced Howell for a second time in as many weeks during the third quarter of the Commanders' 30-28 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, and almost immediately injected life into an otherwise moribund Washington offense. With Brissett at the controls, the Commanders pieced together three straight touchdown drives, erasing New York's 20-point lead and gaining a one-point lead with less than five minutes left to play in regulation.

Washington ended up falling in narrow fashion, but the wild turn of events sent a signal that Rivera could no longer ignore: Howell wasn't his best quarterback anymore.

"Thing hadn't gone as well for the last few weeks, so we just think this is a good opportunity for (Howell) to watch," Rivera said. "...Jacoby -- being the professional he is and really playing the way he has -- is really going to give Sam an opportunity to see some things, see how the offense goes, and I think it'll help him."

Brissett -- a veteran with stops in New England, Indianapolis and Cleveland under his belt -- will likely keep the Commanders afloat against a stingy 49ers defense that may have sent a turnover-prone Howell toward a disaster zone Sunday. After watching Howell struggle to protect the ball in recent weeks, Rivera seemingly acknowledged this reality when making the decision, accepting that his chosen quarterback of the future could benefit from a sabbatical.

That's what it is in Rivera's eyes: a break.

"Part of it, too, may be the fact he's played a lot of football this year,"