LANDOVER, Md. — Throughout the second half, Montez Sweat looked around at his defensive teammates and asked who was going to be the closer the Washington Commanders needed.
Turned out it was Sweat getting the job done.
The edge rusher strip-sacked Joshua Dobbs late in the first quarter to set up Sam Howell’s go-ahead touchdown run as the defense took over the game to help the Commanders rally to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-16 Sunday.
Howell also threw a touchdown pass to compensate for his two turnovers and avoid what would have been an embarrassing season-opening loss in their first game under new ownership.
“We made a lot of great plays to win the game,” said defensive tackle Daron Payne, who had a key sack of Dobbs late. “We made the plays when they counted.”
In front of a sellout crowd and with several prominent alumni back to celebrate the start of a new era, the Commanders were sloppy, with a pair of turnovers and several penalties along the offensive line that allowed Howell to be sacked six times.
Washington’s defense eventually took over and turned the tide. After Sweat’s strip-sack allowed the Commanders to take the lead, Abdullah Anderson recovered another fumble by Arizona with under five minutes left.
“Game-changing plays like that definitely get the team going,” Sweat said. “We just got to build on it.”
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown is pushed by Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. during the second half.
Howell had a jittery start in his new role as the Commanders’ starting quarterback, going 19 of 31 for 202 yards with a 7-yard TD pass to Brian Robinson Jr. and an interception. The second-year pro bounced back from the pick and a fumble late in the second quarter that handed the Cardinals a touchdown, completing four of seven passes after halftime.
“Offensively, we could’ve played a lot better,” Howell said. “Turnovers, penalties, sacks — just a lot of things I think I can do better. Definitely a lot to clean up on the offensive side of the ball.”
Arizona, which is expected to be among the worst teams in the NFL this season, lost Jonathan Gannon’s debut as coach. Dobbs, acquired last month in a trade with Cleveland and starting after Gannon refused to name his No. 1 QB leading into the game, was 21 of 33 for 133 yards.
“It’s disappointing not to win and that starts with me,” Dobbs said. “We moved the ball in spurts. We have to do better in the red zone. It’s so hard to get down you have to get seven points. That’s what the game came down to and our two turnovers on offense.”
Commanders coach Ron Rivera gave controlling owner Josh Harris a game ball after the win, and despite disappointment in how the game unfolded, said he was thrilled about starting 1-0.
“(The new owners) got their first victory — the first one during the regular season — and it’s something to remember,” Rivera said. “It was a hard-fought game.”
Dobbs shaky in debut
Gannon refused all week to say who would start at quarterback for the Cardinals in their season opener, even as evidence mounted it would be Dobbs.
The journeyman acquired in a trade from Cleveland last month did indeed get the nod, and Dobbs’ debut was not pretty. He lost two fumbles late, mistakes that added up to a loss for a rebuilding team with very little margin for error.
“That’s on me,” Dobbs said, citing the ball being wet from rain during the second half. “As a quarterback, you have to secure every single exchange. That’s on me. That’s something we worked on specifically with a wet ball in practice.”
Not much about the offense worked for the Cardinals, whose only touchdown came on defense when Dennis Gardeck forced a fumble by Washington’s Howell and Cameron Thomas recovered and fell into the end zone. Arizona got the rest of its points on field goals by 39-year-old Matt Prater.
Dobbs, 28, was playing just his ninth NFL game despite bouncing around the league as a backup since being drafted in 2017. He finished 21 of 30 for 133 yards and was sacked three times.
“I thought he did a good job,” said Gannon, who coached his first game for Arizona after serving as defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. “He operated. We had a couple good drives there. Took care of the ball. The last two were unfortunate, but that’s going to happen. I thought our operation was pretty clean. He made some throws, operated well.”
Star beat reporter Justin Spears recaps and analyzes Arizona's 31-24 loss to Mississippi State in Starkville. Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star
