LANDOVER — 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 in the fourth 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.”
Howell had a jittery start in his new role as starting quarterback, going 19-for-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, 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-for-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.
