Commanders' Ron Rivera Addresses O-Line Issues: 'We Expect to Get Better'

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell was sacked six times by the Arizona Cardinals.

The Washington Commanders started their season where every team across all sports want to ... with a win.

On Sunday, they were able to overcome turnover issues in the first half, and a poor offensive line showing giving up six sacks en route to beating the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 20-16. However, their issues on the offensive line have become a major talking point over the past couple days with concerns about whether or not this unit can protect this young quarterback, regardless of how seriously they take it. 

When speaking to the media and addressing questions about his offensive line, Washington head coach Ron Rivera acknowledged that there were issues but thinks there will be improvements made.

“There were a couple things that for us, we missed a protection," Rivera said. "We thought something was going to happen and because of that we came off of a switch too soon. Then we actually had one where we had a little foot traffic and one of our guys got tripped up. Then a couple times we probably should have gotten rid of the ball. It's a combination of things. It's all things that are corrective ball, things that we should get better with and we expect to get better with.”

However, just because the head coach thinks there will be improvement doesn't mean there isn't room for concern. The Cardinals were getting to Howell at will, and they are viewed as being the worst team in the league.

The Commanders will have much more challenging defensive matchups ahead of them, as they are set to take on two of the league's stronger pass rushes in the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Eagles after a meeting with the Denver Broncos on Sunday. 

They are set to hit the road for their Week 2 matchup against the Broncos (0-1) at 4:25 p.m. at Empower Field at Mile High, where they are looking to get an all-around better showing and add another win to their belt.