Jonathan Allen opened his account for the season with a sack, two tackles for loss and three hits on the quarterback in the Washington Commanders' 20-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 before a soldout crowd at FedEx Field.
"It feels good, it feels good, anytime you can start a season with a win it puts you in a position to continue to have success," Allen said during his weekly appearance on Monday with 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies, which is presented exclusively by our partners at MainStreet Bank — Cheer Local. Bank Local. Put Our Team in Your Office."
"We know how important every game is in the NFL," Allen said on The Fan, "so to come away with a win in this one was huge, huge for us."
And while it was natural for the media and the fans to view Sunday's home opener as a must-win against a team that appears to be tanking and starting a quarterback they just traded for and Washington debuting the Sam Howell - Eric Bieniemy offense in the first game of the post-Dan Snyder era with new owner Josh Harris on the sideline, Allen said the players saw it that way too.
"We definitely felt that this was a must-win... This is definitely a must-win," Allen told The Junkies. "Just got the fans back on board, sold-out, home opener. This was a good opportunity to kick off the season right, get the fans into it for the rest of the season. So we looked at this game like 'We need this win.'
"You know how the NFL goes, you can't take anything for granted. And I just tried to remind the guys that when we played the Steelers on Monday night in 2020, I'm pretty sure they weren't looking at us as a serious threat when they were 11-0, and we won. You just gotta remind the guys that a lot of times just because what people say on the outside, that should have no impact on what you do on the field. Luckily, we came out there and made a lot of mistakes, but we did what you have to do to win the game. And at the end of the day, that's what's important."
Speaking of the sold-out crowd, Allen said "it felt really good" to have a stadium full of home supporters.
"That was the best crowd environment at FedEx Field that I've seen in my entire career," the seven-year veteran said on 106.7 The Fan. "And when the fans come out and support like that, I wanna win for them. I wanna play harder for them.... it was a really fun game for us."
In the fourth quarter, with Washington holding a one-point lead, the Commanders held Arizona to 27 total yards on 16 plays with a fumble and turnover on downs. Allen told the Junkies that came down to a very "attention to detail orientated" defense with everyone – defensive backs, linebackers and defensive linemen – all being "all locked into our jobs."
On the d-line, Allen added that defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio put his trust in those players on the field, by not calling blitzes or 'games' from the front four, to get pressure on the quarterback and make life easier for the rest of the defense. "And we, honestly, want that challenge, and we want that opportunity and we were able to take advantage of it this game."
Allen said he didn't even know he got a sack on Arizona's final drive of the game on his swinging arm hit on Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs as he felt like he was on the verge of cramping up after playing 57 of 62 snaps, but was determined not to come out of the game.
"I wasn't [thinking], just spinning, rushing and just playing hard, clawing to get to the quarterback," Allen said on The Fan. "That's just kinda the way it happened."