3 important takeaways after Commanders' preseason win at the Browns

What were some important takeaways from the Washington Commanders' success against the Cleveland Browns in Preseason Week 1?

The Washington Commanders won their first preseason game on the road at the Cleveland Browns 17-15 on Friday night. Here are three of the biggest takeaways.

Sam Howell looks the part as Commanders QB1

Sam Howell has shown a lot of flashes in training camp leading up to the preseason, but it was time to see how he commanded the offense in live game action. The signal-caller finished the game 9 for 12 for 77 passing yards and a touchdown to the outreached hands of Jahan Dotson.

Howell showed poise and moved around the pocket to buy some time to find the open pass-catcher on plays throughout the night. This included a fourth down conversion which would ultimately lead to the touchdown to Doston.

The second-year quarterback didn't force any ill-advised throws when nothing was there. Howell also had no problem keeping the drive alive by throwing the ball away twice.

Howell also put his running game on display early, with a big-time eight-yard rush on third and six on the opening drive of the game. The former North Carolina stud talked about his performance after the game with the media and gave himself an assessment.