Commanders key numbers: The good and the bad from Week 1 triumph vs. Cardinals

What key numbers were evident throughout the good and the bad of what ended up being a dramatic win for the Washington Commanders in Week 1?

With Dan Snyder out and Josh Harris' ownership group in, things were looking up for the Washington Commanders. For 45-plus minutes on Sunday, the new regime's deserved honeymoon phase seemed to be at risk, but a late comeback changed all that.

In front of a lively, sold-out crowd, the Commanders almost let the home opener slip away. But the resilience that the team has demonstrated countless times under head coach Ron Rivera came through once again.

Harris was able to get his storybook first win as the Commanders' new owner and the fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief. But this story had a bunch of speed bumps and sloppiness before it came to its conclusion.

As the clouds darkened and the rain poured down, boos began to reverberate throughout FedEx Field in the second half. The patience of this fanbase was beginning to wear thin.

At that moment, you had to imagine Snyder was somewhere on his yacht, rolling around in his money, and laughing at the struggles of his old team. But as the saying goes, it’s always darkest before the dawn.

After three first-half turnovers, the Commanders had gained a grand total of two net yards on their first two second-half possessions. Down 16-10, it was clear that the offense needed help, and Montez Sweat answered the call.

Sweat forced a fumble deep in Arizona Cardinals territory and Daron Payne scooped the recovery. As the Commanders entered the fourth quarter, they had some much-needed momentum.

Then Sam Howell - who had been harassed all game showed he wasn’t done. On third and goal, in a play reminiscent of Taylor Heinicke, the quarterback scrambled for a six-yard touchdown.

After kicker Joey Slye's extra point, the Commanders regained the lead and maintained it for the remainder of the game.

And with that, the sky began to clear, and the sun emerged again. Was this symbolism at its finest? The beginning of greater things to come? We'll just have to wait and find out.

Let's get into the key numbers from Week 1.

The Good: Commanders defense is legit

30: After the Arizona Cardinals went up 16-10 following their first possession of the second half, the Washington Commanders' defense held them to 30 net yards for the remainder of the game. The front four came up big numerous times and Emmanuel Forbes ultimately put the game away with a pass breakup on 4th-and-10 on their final possession.

10: All 10 of the Commanders' second-half points were off of turnovers forced by Montez Sweat. His first forced fumble led to a Sam Howell touchdown run, and his second forced fumble and recovery allowed Washington to add to its lead late.

Sweat finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He is setting up for a big payday this offseason.

4-0: Dating to last season, the Commanders are now 4-0 when Brian Robinson Jr. notches a touchdown. He kicked off the scoring on Washington's season with a seven-yard reception on Washington's second drive. The Commanders went 91 yards in six plays, largely benefitting from 67 yards from penalties.

0: The Commanders' defense continues to thrive in the red zone with its bend-but-don't-break strategy. Although they allowed four big plays (passes over 25 yards/rushes over 10 yards), they gave up 0 offensive touchdowns in the game.

Other key Commanders stats:

The Bad: Commanders OL questions linger

6: Is it too early to start panicking about the offensive line? Coming in as one of the weakest position groups on the Washington Commanders, the line gave up 6 sacks and 6 quarterback hits. Sam Howell already took a big shot on an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit early in this game, and if the sacks continue, questions will linger if he can withstand a full season.

-1: It is hard to win when you don't win the turnover differential. Although the Commanders forced two turnovers, the team coughed up the football over three times, resulting in a -1 differential.

69: The Commanders were in the bottom half of the league last year in penalty yards per game, and that trend seemed to have carried on into this season. Washington finished with eight penalties for 69 yards. This is an area that needs to be cleaned up as the campaign goes on as the penalties wiped out a 10-yard punt return by Jamison Crowder and multiple potential first downs.

26: The Commanders have struggled with slow starts in both halves. Last season, the team only scored on their first drive of the second half in five of their 17 games. Against the Arizona Cardinals, the offense went scoreless and had a grand total of 26 yards of net offense in the entire third quarter.

60: Over his first two starts - including the Dallas Cowboys game last season - Sam Howell has averaged a 60 percent completion percentage, which would have put him third to last in the NFL, ahead of Baker Mayfield and Zach Wilson. However, the sample size is too small to be significant as just in the NFC East, Daniel Jones and Dak Prescott both completed under 60% of their passes in Week 1.

Regardless of his stats, Howell is now 2-0 as a starter and it is too early to make any sort of assessment on his play. Kirk Cousins went 0-7 after his first win as a starter and went on to become one of the better quarterbacks in Washington franchise history.

Yes, Howell still has a ways to go in terms of decision-making and getting rid of the ball quickly, but you can see he is quick to bounce back from mistakes. He also has the respect of the team, which was evident from the scuffle that occurred after the former fifth-round pick suffered a late hit out of bounds early in the game.

The key early on will be maintaining a more balanced offense and not needing Howell to play the hero. It looks like Washington realized that in the second half, with the signal-caller only attempting seven passes and the Commanders going to a 2:1 run-pass ratio.

Next week, the story continues and Howell will get a chance to face off against Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos. It will be the first start of his career away from FedEx Field and the first road game for the Commanders in the Josh Harris era.

Can Washington keep the momentum going?