The Washington Commanders are 1-0. Washington kicked off a new era for the franchise with a 20-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals in front of a sold-out crowd at FedEx Field.
The Commanders entered the game as 7-point favorites, and early it looked like Washington might cover, but turnovers kept the Cardinals in the game. The Commanders turned the ball over three times in the first half, one of which was a Sam Howell fumble that Cardinals linebacker Cameron Thomas recovered for an easy touchdown.
Buy Commanders TicketsArizona maintained that lead until early in the fourth quarter when Howell scored the decisive touchdown, and the Commanders never looked back.
Here’s everything we know from Washington’s season-opening win.
Final score: Commanders 20, Cardinals 16
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Washington Commanders | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
Why the Commanders won
Make no mistake, the Commanders won this game because of their defense. Washington allowed only 210 total yards. The Cardinals had 114 yards passing, and the Commanders forced two turnovers and sacked Joshua Dobbs three times. Washington’s defensive line dominated throughout the game and the secondary was flying to the football.
Defensive end Montez Sweat and defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne all stood out with big-time performances in the season opener.
It was an ugly overall day for the offense, although quarterback Sam Howell did do some good things.
It was over when....
SWEAT STRIPS IT, PAYNE RECOVERS!
📺 #ARIvsWAS | FOX | #HTTC pic.twitter.com/8yLJO43DDB
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) September 10, 2023
Washington trailed 16-10, and the offense was failing to get anything going in the second half. Sweat took things into his own hands, sacking Dobbs, forcing the fumble and Daron Payne recovered. The Commanders would go on to score, and it proved to be the decisive points in the game.
Player of the game: DE Montez Sweat
Montez Sweat is having himself one HELL of a game. Here he chases this run down and gets another TFL!💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/mYRxtTp84x
— Mark Tyler(Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) September 10, 2023
Montez Sweat finished the game with five tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. It’s a shame he had to share the one sack because Sweat did all of the work. Sweat was Washington’s MVP for Week 1.
News and notes
- The Commanders announced that FedEx Field was a sellout. It was noticeable. The crowd was loud and kept that energy throughout the game, including when they booed the offense at one point.
- Washington allowed six sacks. Some of those sacks were on Howell, as he held the ball too long. The Commanders also had three turnovers. The one fumble by Howell directly led to seven points for the Cardinals as he fumbled near the goal line.
- Howel and right guard Sam Cosmi each briefly left the game as they were tested for concussions. Ricky Stromberg filled in when Cosmi was out. He returned. Howell didn’t miss a play.
- Safety Kamren Curl led the Commanders with 10 tackles. Curl played an excellent game, bringing a physical presence to the game and also broke up a critical third-down pass that forced a field goal.
- Long snapper Camaron Cheeseman had another bad snap. Fortunately, punter Tress Way got the ball down, and kicker Joey Slye made the field goal. The Commanders may want to start looking for long snappers soon, just in case.
- Antonio Gibson had a back-breaking fumble in the second quarter. It took points off the board for the Commanders, as it occurred in the red zone.
What's next
The Commanders head west for Week 2 with a trip to Denver to face head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Russell Wilson.
