The good, the bad and the ugly from the Commanders' Week 1 victory

Sweat made the two biggest defensive plays of the game, both forced fumbles including a strip-sack of Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs which may have been Washington's most crucial play of the afternoon.

On the offensive side of the ball, Sam Howell showed grit and determination by coming back from a late, dirty hit to lead a touchdown drive that concluded with a pretty, almost Mahomes-like improvisation play to Brian Robinson. Howell also later had a rushing TD, which proved to be the game-winning score.

And, of course, perhaps the biggest positive of all was that FedEx Field was packed...with Commanders fans, for once. Washington, D.C., loves its football team again, and that love can go a long way.

The Bad

Unfortunately, this was not the convincing, dominant win that many expected. Washington failed to cover the spread and needed a fourth quarter comeback to snag the victory from a Cardinals team that's expected to be one of the worst in football.

The Commanders' offense looked anemic at times, running far too many dink-and-dunk plays despite hopes that new OC Eric Bieniemy would open up the passing game. The offensive line had Howell running for his life all day, and although star WR Terry McLaurin played after being deemed questionable with a foot injury, he was held to only two catches for 31 yards.

On defense, the biggest disappointment was a player who didn't play: Chase Young. Young is in a "prove-it" season as the team declined his fifth-year option, and he won't be able to prove anything if he can't get on the field. As they say, the best ability is availability.

The Ugly

Turnovers. Three of them, all in the first half, and all very costly -- and avoidable.

First Sam Howell threw an interception, though the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage, so that can be primarily blamed on poor pass protection. This Antonio Gibson red zone fumble, however...yikes.

Then, Howell lost a fumble himself that was returned for a Cardinals touchdown. Again, pass protection was poor, but in this instance, Howell needed to throw the ball away sooner.

Thankfully, Washington was able to clean up the turnovers in the second half, and the Commanders will need to continue to do so moving forward.

A win is a win, and it's encouraging that the Commanders squeaked one out on an afternoon where they did not play their best football by any stretch. However, they also won't have the luxury of playing the Cardinals at home every week.