Commanders Survive vs. Cardinals Despite Turnover Party

The Arizona Cardinals gave the Washington Commanders a fight at FedEx Field, but the home team came out with a win.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 10, 2023

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Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders (1-0) are breathing a sigh of relief after a 20-16 win against the Arizona Cardinals (0-1) Sunday afternoon at FedEx Field.

Washington struck first on the team's second drive with Sam Howell throwing a 7-yard touchdown to running back Brian Robinson Jr. However, the offense struggled mightily after that.

The team committed three turnovers in the first half ... an interception from Sam Howell, a fumble from Antonio Gibson and a strip sack from Howell, which led to an Arizona touchdown. The Cardinals led 13-7 after linebacker Cameron Thomas fell on the football in the end zone.

The teams traded field goals before the Washington defense began to lock in.

Montez Sweat forced a fumble out of Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs, which gave the struggling offense a short field to work with. Howell was able to capitalize with a go-ahead touchdown.

Washington forced another turnover two drives later, and the offense was able to tack on a field goal to make it 20-16.

Dobbs and the Cardinals had one last chance to win the game in the final two minutes, but with 1:15 to go, Arizona's offense couldn't complete a 4th-and-10 ... killing any hopes for a comeback.

While Washington's win was ugly, the Commanders have a lot of hype and momentum surrounding them and they can take the lessons learned from this game and apply it to the future.

The Commanders face off next week on the road against the Denver Broncos. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m.

Published Sep 10, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.