Commanders, Sam Howell Face 'Adversity' in Win vs. Cardinals

“Yeah, obviously it’s hard, we faced a lot of adversity," Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell said after beating the Arizona Cardinals.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 11, 2023

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Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders (1-0) were trailing in the fourth quarter during yesterday's game against the Arizona Cardinals (0-1), but their resiliency propelled them to a 20-16 win in front of their fans at FedEx Field.

Despite three first-half turnovers and rain preventing the offense from moving the ball, the Commanders were able to withstand the adversity and come out with a season-opening win in order to get their season off on the right foot.

“Yeah, obviously it’s hard, we faced a lot of adversity," Sam Howell said. "I thought in the first half we moved the ball well, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot, so we knew we could come out and move the ball, and then it started raining and just a lot of things were in the way of our success. But you know, me as a leader of this offense you know we’ve just got to find a way to push through that stuff as long as we do our job and not worry about anything else, we’ll be successful. So, we’d definitely like to be better next week.”

It was only Howell's second start, but he was able to calm the offense down in the second half and lead the fourth-quarter comeback. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 202 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 11 yards and a touchdown.

While there certainly is a lot more Washington can do to decrease the amount of adversity it faces, it's still early in the season and it's beneficial for the Commanders to win these games even when there's a lot that can be improved upon.

The Commanders face more adversity next week when they visit the Denver Broncos (0-1). Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. on Sunday.

Published Sep 11, 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.