Brissett was in line to make his first start of the 2023 season in Week 17 as a result of a decision Rivera put off for about as long as possible. Rivera’s chosen top quarterback, Sam Howell, had played well enough through most of the regular season to justify his place in the lineup, but in the last two weeks, Washington’s offense was significantly worse with Howell at the controls than it was with Brissett.
Just last week, Brissett entered a game against the Jets that Washington had very little chance of winning and engineered three straight touchdown drives, waking up an offense that had previously seemed content to warm up the buses. That was enough to convince Rivera it was time for Howell to receive some tutoring from Brissett by watching the veteran run the offense.
That shift could end up failing to materialize, depending on Brissett’s hamstring.