The Washington Commanders rallied to take down the Arizona Cardinals and move to 1-0: every team's goal each week.
Their Week 2 opponent, the Denver Broncos, didn't achieve that 1-0 benchmark, losing a heartbreaker to the Las Vegas Raiders 17-16 Sunday after kicker Wil Lutz missed a field goal and an extra point. Now, the Broncos and head coach Sean Payton are hungry for a win when they square off against the Commanders Sunday.
"We’re back at it," Payton said. "We’re back to work, and we get ready to play another home game — an important game for us."
In Payton's first game with quarterback Russell Wilson, the 12-year veteran completed 27 of his 34 pass attempts for 177 yards and two touchdowns. His 74.7 QBR was the fifth-best in the NFL in Week 1, trailing only Brock Purdy (91.3), Matthew Stafford (88.9), Tua Tagovailoa (87.8) and Jimmy Garoppolo (83.5).
Wilson was only sacked twice for 11 yards, something that could change this week with Washington's relentless pass rush.
Wilson 2.74 seconds to throw, which was 19th in the NFL among starting quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Joshua Dobbs, whom the Commanders faced in Week 1, was 27th in that department only getting 2.46 seconds until he had to throw.
Denver received a 68.9 pass-blocking grade, which was 15th in the league, while Washington's 70.2 pass rush grade was 10th, according to PFF.
Washington had three sacks against Arizona, and they came at important times in the game. Defensive linemen Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat and Daron Payne will all be chomping at the bit to get after Wilson.
As for Lutz's kicking woes, Payton has confidence he'll get those "cleaned up" by Week 2.
"He’ll bounce back," Payton said.
The Commanders kick off against the Broncos at 4:25 p.m. on CBS, as both teams look to go 1-0 this week.
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