One thing to consider in Week 1 is scoring usually is down. That was the case last year as 10 of the 12 Sunday games went Under opening week.

This matchup has the makings of being lower-scoring than the oddsmaker perceives.

Jay Gruden is beginning his fifth season as Washington's head coach. The Redskins have averaged 12.2 points in their previous four opening week games under Gruden.

Former Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks will be making his head coaching debut for Arizona. Wilks has been preparing for the Redskins the entire off-season. He wants to set a strong defensive tone. The Redskins averaged 21.4 points last season. They have less of a downfield passing threat now with Alex Smith at quarterback replacing Kirk Cousins. Smith is learning a new system, too. Arizona gave up an average of 20 points at home last season.

The Redskins have good linebackers and a shutdown cornerback in Josh Norman. Their major defensive weakness is stopping the run.

The Cardinals are going to be far more conservative under Wilks than they were when Bruce Arians was coach. So it's easy to project David Johnson to get a lot of carries. The Redskins know this, too. So they'll be stacking the line. Arizona has one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.

Sam Bradford is like Alex Smith in that he's more game manager than gunslinger. So the Cardinals' attack is going to consist of a lot of running and short passes, both of which keep the clock moving.