The Washington Commanders began the 2023 season with a 20-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. There were moments in the game, at least early, where it looked like the Commanders may win convincingly, but three first-half turnovers not only gave Arizona life but also a lead until the fourth quarter.
Commanders quarterback Sam Howell ran the ball in for the go-ahead score in the final quarter for the decisive score, and Washington’s defense did the rest.
Buy Commanders TicketsPro Football Focus released player grades Monday, and we break down the best — and worst — performers on both sides of the ball for the Commanders.
Top 5 offense
- LT Charles Leno Jr.: 78.2
- TE Cole Turner: 73.3
- RG Sam Cosmi: 71.1
- RT Andrew Wylie: 69.9
- WR Curtis Samuel: 68.5
A great day for left tackle Charles Leno Jr. Leno is often maligned by Washington because he isn’t Trent Williams. However, Leno had a solid day. The Commanders allowed six sacks, but not all were on the offensive line, as Howell held the ball too long at times, waiting for something to develop downfield.
Turner didn’t play a lot, but he made an impact. He had one big catch on a big-time throw from Howell in the first half. Cosmi had a solid day as the right guard. Andrew Wylie gave up a horrible sack, the one where Howell fumbled and led to Arizona’s only touchdown. The fumble wasn’t Wylie’s fault, but he was beaten badly.
Curtis Samuel caught all five of his targets, leading the Commanders in receptions and receiving yards.
Top 5 defense
- DT Jonathan Allen: 90.2
- DT Abdullah Anderson: 89.8
- DE Montez Sweat: 86.4
- DE James Smith-Williams: 79.0
- S Kamren Curl: 77.9
A dominant day for Washington’s outstanding defensive line. Allen, Daron Payne and Sweat all each had two tackles for loss. Sweat made the game-saving play with a strip-sack of Arizona quarter Joshua Dobbs and Payne recovered the fumble.
Anderson played only 10 snaps, but they were impactful, as he had two tackles, one for loss and a half-sack. Curl led the Commanders with 10 tackles, including one for loss, and defended one pass, which happened to be a third-and-goal that forced a touchdown.
We aren’t quite sure how PFF didn’t grade Payne higher.
Bottom 5 offense
- RG Saahdiq Charles: 55.6
- TE Logan Thomas: 55.1
- WR Dyami Brown: 53.6
- TE John Bates: 49.9
- RB Antonio Gibson: 39.9
Charles had some good moments in the game. PFF graded him outstanding as a pass blocker, but poor in the run game. That matches what we saw from the entire offensive line.
Thomas led the Commanders with eight targets, securing only four. Three of those hit him in the hands, including Sam Howell’s first pass, which was beautifully thrown.
Brown played 19 snaps and did not have one target. Bates was called for an offensive pass interference penalty, which was questionable at best. He, too, graded lowly in run blocking.
Gibson had the lowest grade. A big reason for that was his fumble in the red zone that took points off the board for Washington.
Bottom 5 defense
- DT John Ridgeway: 62.9
- S Darrick Forrest: 62.8
- DE Andre Jones Jr: 60.9
- CB Benjamin St-Juste: 59.5
- LB Cody Barton: 37.3
Ridgeway played limited snaps. Forrest didn’t have a bad game. He was active as usual. PFF graded him the lowest in coverage, but as you see on the above play he broke up a pass to Zach Ertz.
Jones also played limited snaps but made one error on a run from the Cardinals. St-Juste graded poorly against the run and in coverage. He didn’t really have a lot of opportunities in coverage.
Ouch on Barton. Tough day for him.
Other notable grades
- QB Sam Howell: 61.4
- WR Terry McLaurin: 61.8
- WR Jahan Dotson: 65.0
- RB Brian Robinson Jr: 66.5
- DT Daron Payne: 64.8
- LB Jamin Davis: 75.0
- CB Kendall Fuller: 71.6
We aren’t sure why PFF always grades Payne so low. He was outstanding on Sunday. Davis had a strong game for the Commanders at linebacker, the opposite of his fellow linebacker, Cody Barton.
It was an up-and-down day for Howell. There were two turnovers and two touchdowns. He made some impressive throws. He also held onto the ball for too long on more than one occasion. Howell’s play was still a net positive for Washington in his second career start.
Robinson did the best he could, considering the run blocking wasn’t very good.
