The Washington Commanders rode a stellar defense, a loud sell-out crowd, and two scoring plays from quarterback Sam Howell to a 20-16-Week 1 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
For the first time in at least five years, FedEx field was not only packed, but the crowd was overwhelmingly fans of the Burgundy and Gold. The combination of a new ownership group and an opponent in Arizona, which doesn’t have a lot of fans outside of the Grand Canyon state, made for a loud afternoon that ultimately sent the crowd home happy.
“I want to thank the fans for coming out. We really do appreciate them coming out and we got to be a better football team for them though,” Head Coach Ron Rivera in a statement before taking questions in his post-game news conference.
“We had some opportunities that we didn’t take care of the ball the way we should have, but we will be better, and I really do appreciate the fans coming out, I really do,” he said.
Howell, who won the starting job over veteran Jacoby Brissett, went 19 of 31 for 202 yards with one touchdown and one interception. It was a mixed bag for Howell. At times he looked poised in the pocket, fitting the ball into tight windows to receivers for big gains. Other times his inexperience showed. After taking a shot to the helmet from Cardinals linebacker Kyzir White, who was flagged for an un-sportsman like conduct penalty, Howell led the Commanders on a six-play 91-yard drive culminating with an acrobatic pass to Brian Robinson Jr. in the end zone to give Washington a 7-0 lead.
Howell also showed he has work to do. Leading 7-3, he had a ball tipped and intercepted, leading to a second Arizona field goal. Late in the second quarter, up 7-6, Howell tried to escape a sack and fumbled the ball deep in Washington territory.
Cameron Thomas picked up the loose ball and scored to give the Cardinals a 13-7 lead. Howell shook off the turnover and got Washington in position to kick a field goal just before halftime to make the score 13-10.
“I felt some pressure up front, so I was just trying to spin out of it, break the pocket and the guy kind of caught me from behind I wasn’t expecting him to get me,” Howell said.
“I’ve got to make sure I protect the football. At the end of the day, throwing the ball away, you can live with that.”
After giving up a field goal to open the second half, Washington’s defense clamped down, not letting the Cardinals score the rest of the game. Washington’s defensive stars came up big in the second half. Jonathan Allen had a sack and three tackles after being double-teamed most of the first half and Montez Sweat made the play that tipped the game back in the Commanders’ favor.
Trailing 16-10 late in the 3rd quarter, Sweat forced a strip sack of Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs. Daron Payne recovered the ball on the Arizona 29-yard line.
“Game-changing plays like that get the team going,” Sweat said. “We’ve just got to build on it.”
Seven plays later, Howell ran around the left end for a touchdown that put Washington ahead for good, 17-16. Joey Sly added a 33-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 20-16. Rookie Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. snuffed out Arizona’s last chance to score with a pass breakup on 4th down with 1:15 left in the game.
“Like you said, a win is a win, Sweat said. “At the end of the day, it was all a team effort. Offense, defense, special teams; we just came out with the win.”
Washington now will prepare for the Denver Broncos in the Mile High State this upcoming Sunday.