Week 1 2018 has arrived in the NFL and the Washington Redskins have the daunting task of beating the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona. Not only does head coach Jay Gruden have more than the usual pressure to win because of his history of losing the opener for the last four years; the Redskins have a veteran quarterback who is expected to be ready despite the fact that he is in a system new to him.
Cards running back David Johnson is back healthy this year and veteran QB Sam Bradford will be under center throwing to the always-dangerous Pro Bowl receiver, Larry Fitzgerald. With the Redskins recent investments in the defense, there will be pressure on the front seven to stop all of them.
They should be able to.
Out of the seven, four are high-round draft picks. Defensive linemen Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Matt Ioannidis are all young but all extremely talented. The first two of the three were first-rounders (Ioannidis is a fifth-round pick). Outside linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith are first- and second-round selections respectively.
Redskins vs. Cardinals: the final Prediction
Gruden’s offense is as whole as its been since this time last season. Having RB Chris Thompson and TE Jordan Reed on the field and healthy should be like have two bright, shiny new weapons. But neither played during the preseason so have no in-game mileage since last year. That they are also playing with a new quarterback could be a concern against an Arizona defense that NFL.com ranked third in the league. Veteran but new to the team, rusher Adrian Peterson — and any other back that takes the field — needs to be effective running the ball so that Smith can employ the many offensive options available in Gruden’s scheme to move the ball. Arizona’s defense, with DE Chandler Jones, has a scary pass rush.
Wideout Jamison Crowder is finally healthy and can be an integral part of Washington’s offense. Hopefully, Josh Doctson will have made progress since 2017 and will prove why he was worthy of a first-round selection. Smith may still be working toward his chemistry with Reed but he has been throwing to Doctson and new teammate Paul Richardson since OTAs. This will be important because Cardinals Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson is the pillar of that defense and safeties Tre Boston and Antoine Bethea are no slouches.
Given the challenges of this game, it’s going to be tough. A win would not only break the cycle of slow starts and set a nice tone for the season, but it would mean players did their jobs and executed as planned.
If Washington pulls out a victory, any number of guys could be worthy of the MVP moniker after the game. Who will it be?
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