Game Preview, Week 1: Arizona at Washington

September 8, 2023

by Steve Thomas

Welcome to week 1, everyone!  It’s the dawning of a new day in Redskins Washington Football Team Commanders Washington football.  Washington actually had a good preseason for once, which doesn’t normally mean anything in particular for the regular reason, but in this case, we all saw a new, far more positive attitude from the team, no doubt brought on by the tone set as a result of the change in ownership from He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned to the Josh Harris group.  Fortunately for Washington, the team couldn’t have a better week 1 matchup to start this new era, as the 4 – 13 Arizona Cardinals get to travel across the country for a 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time start while missing their starting quarterback.  Washington has a good chance of beginning the season on a winning note here, thanks to Arizona’s porous defense and questionable quarterback situation.  You never know what might happen, of course, but Washington fans should go into this week 1 matchup with a sense of optimism.  Everything you need to know about this game is in our preview below.

Game time & location:           Sunday, September 10, 2023, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fed Ex Field, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open                                                           11:00 a.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 8:00 a.m.; all other parking lots 9:00 a.m.

Television:                               Fox

Television announcers:         Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink

TV broadcast map:                click here

DC-area radio:                         BIG-100 (WBIG FM)

Washington radio network:   click here

Cardinals radio network:      click here

Satellite radio:                         SiriusXM: 226 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831

 

Washington roster:                 click here

Washington depth chart:       click here

Cardinals roster:                     click here

Cardinals depth chart:           click here

 

Records (2022): Washington 8 – 8 – 1 (home 4 – 5); Arizona 4 – 13 (away 3 – 6)

All-time head-to-head record vs Cardinals: 77 – 47 – 2 (last 10: 7 – 3; streak: 0 – 1)

Last meeting: L, September 20, 2020, 15 – 30

Early odds: Washington, -7

3 KEYS TO THE GAME

Solid start

Washington needs to have a solid, professional start on both sides of the ball in this game.  That may seem a bit obvious, but in this situation, given that Washington is starting a new era, it’s particularly important.  Chaos in the form of bad defense and a weak 3 and out, or worse, would be more detrimental than normal.  Check out how Washington starts the game.

Stop Arizona’s run game

Arizona’s quarterback situation . . . stinks.  Kylar Murray is out, and the Cardinals are stuck with some combination of Joshua Dobbs and Clayton Tune.  That’s suboptimal, and good for Washington.  Given that fact, Arizona will likely need to rely heavily on James Conner, who’s an above average starting running back who averaged 4.3 yards per carry on 183 attempts last season.  Washington needs to stop Conner and force Arizona to have to go to their passing game.

Take advantage of Arizona’s pass defense

The Cardinals might have had the worst overall pass defense in the entire NFL last year, and it doesn’t appear – on paper, at least – that it’s noticeably improved this year.  Washington’s new offense needs to take advantage of this deficiency, both to establish an offensive tone, and to get new quarterback Sam Howell some valuable experience.  Look for Washington to try to go pass-heavy in this game.

3 KEY MATCHUPS

Terry McLaurin vs Marco Wilson

Best on best.  Obviously, Terry McLaurin is Washington’s Pro Bowl offensive leader, and Wilson is the Cardinals’ best corner.  I anticipate that these two will face off quite a bit in this game.  There have been a few corners that have been able to keep McLaurin in check, but I don’t anticipate Wilson to top the leaderboard in this regard.  Keep an eye on McLaurin’s stats.

Montez Sweat vs. Paris Johnson

Sweat has something to prove this year, and this year’s sixth overall pick, Johnson, is about to play his first professional game, presumably at right tackle.  We’ll get a chance to see both how good Johnson is, and whether Sweat can begin to take a step into the upper echelon of NFL pass rushers and earn an extension.  This will be one of the highlighted matchups in the trenches.

Marquise Brown vs. Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St–Juste

To the extent that the Cardinals have a passing game this week, their #1 receiver, Brown, will need to play a major role.  Both Fuller and St-Juste will be the primary players on deck to slow him down. Watch out for how much Brown is open in this game, even if Arizona’s quarterback isn’t good enough to get him the ball.

OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)

LP – limited practice                          FP – full practice                    DNP – did not practice

NIR – not injury related                      Q – questionable                     O – out

D – doubtful                                        NL – not listed

Washington	Cardinals
WR D. Milne, groin; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: to IR	OL K Beachum, hand; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O
WR T. McLaurin, toe; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP	WR M. Brown, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q
DE C. Young, neck; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q	TE Z. Ertz, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q
CB B. St-Juste, ankle; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP	LB D. Gardeck, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
DE J. Smith-Williams, oblique; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: LP; game: Q

Steve’s Prediction

Washington wins 24 – 10.  This is a big game for the home team, against an inferior opponent, and Washington will take advantage of them.

 

Inactives

DE William Bradley-King

T Trent Scott

G Chris Paul

TE Curtis Hodges

WR Mitchell Tinsley

DE Chase Young

 

Elevated from Practice Squad

WR Jamison Crowder