Full coverage of the Redskins Week 1 battle in Arizona starts on NBC Sports Washington at 3 p.m.! Tune in!

Batten down the hatches. The NFL season is finally here.

Sunday will mark the first game of a new era at quarterback for the Washington Redskins. Alex Smith will bring a veteran presence to the position for the first time in many years, and armed with a long-term contract, there will be no wondering about the immediate future of the position.

After a long offseason and seemingly endless preseason, real football is here. The Redskins will take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and here are four things to watch:

From the trenches - The Redskins finished dead last in rush defense last season, and spent much of their offseason trying to fix that issue. The team added Alabama DL Daron Payne in the first round of the NFL Draft, and grabbed Virginia Tech NT Tim Settle in the fifth round. Payne and Settle, along with Jonathan Allen and Matt Ioannidis, should be much improved against the run. And they better start fast. Cardinals RB David Johnson will be a very tough test, and even though he missed most of last season with a wrist injury, expect him to be ready to go. Arizona's offensive line is suspect, and the 'Skins young defensive line should be able to get good pressure up front. If that happens, Washington could get good returns on their new investments.

About the new guy - Washington's acquisition of Smith to play quarterback ranked as one of the biggest stories of the NFL season. A former No. 1 overall pick, Smith is one of the most winningest QBs in the NFL. He's taken multiple teams to the playoffs, and led the NFL in passer rating in 2017. He's also been traded by two teams, an odd disclaimer for a franchise passer. In Washington, Smith replaces Kirk Cousins, and for all the good Cousins did in Washington, he struggled mightily in season openers. The Redskins have lost five in a row, and Cousins lost three straight. In those performances, he threw only two TDs compared to five INTs. Cousins also fumbled twice in last season's opener. Smith has been the opposite. He's won his last three openers and thrown nine TDs against just one interception. How much does the Week 1 succes matter? Let Smith answer: "I try to think about some commonality with these openers. It’s hard. I mean the opponents are all different. We’re all different every year, so I mean it’s hard, I think, to always find a commonality, I mean just to say that. I know that you can look at those and think there is some kind of correlation or something but I think these are all kind of their own kind of individual fights and we have to find a way to beat Arizona."

The other new guy - Derrius Guice was supposed to be the Redskins headliner at running back this season. That's the way it looked when the team drafted him in the second round, and Guice was certainly the star of training camp. That all changed when he hurt his knee in the first preseason game, and the results showed that Guice won't play this season. A few weeks later, Adrian Peterson arrived and now he is the headliner for the Redskins at running back. It's hard to know what to expect from 33-year-old Peterson, but he ran well in the preseason. Durability might be a question for later in the season, but for Week 1, he looks ready to go. Peterson is excited for the opportunity too, and has talked glowingly about the chance to run behind his good friend Trent Williams and the Redskins offensive line. Lastly, don't forget Peterson played for the Cardinals last season. He won't.

Need to but not must - It's hyperbolic to call any season opener a must win. The Redskins will play 16 games this year, at least, and whatever the outcome from Week 1 in Arizona, that will not dictate what happens the rest of the year. But, for Jay Gruden, it sure seems like he wants to win. The head coach is 0-4 in season openers, a stat he's been reminded of often so far this year. For his part, Gruden has been clear that turnovers have undone the Redskins in previous Week 1 games, and by and large, the coach is right. Should Washington lose this weekend, however, much of the conversation will turn to a preseason that saw very little work for starters on the offense and defense and a bigger question if the team was properly prepared during training camp. Is Arizona a must win for Gruden? No. But winning would be a very good idea.



They said it

Jay Gruden on Week 1 turnovers: "I think most games that you lose, you lose the turnover battle, and we did that in pretty much all of them. Key turnovers cost us in all four of those first games and it can’t happen. Like I said before, critical plays and critical situations, we failed to make, and the other team did make. That’s what football is all about really, protecting your quarterback, getting after the quarterback, protecting the football, getting the ball, and obviously big players making big plays at critical times."



Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks on facing Adrian Peterson: "AP is AP. He’s tough, he’s hard-nosed, he’s physical, and he’s going to run with a mission. As I just talked about, we have to do a great job tackling and getting off blocks. So, he’s going to be ready to play, I know that for a fact and we are going to have our hands full."



Alex Smith on making big plays: "I mean that’s the big defining thing for quarterbacks all the time. When to take the shots, when to take a little risk, and then when you do, to hit them, be accurate, be on time, miss in the right places. You can’t go out there cautious but I mean at the same time you’ve got to see things, trust your eyes, trust what they are telling you and I think like I said, when those opportunities present themselves you’ve got to try to hit them."



Jordan Reed on his expectations for Week 1 after offseason surgery: "You should expect to see a healthy Jordan Reed. I ain't going to talk about it, man. I'm just ready to play and I'm excited."



Chris Thompson on returning from a broken leg: "I have a statement, I'm playing this week."



Want more? Listen up

Don't forget to subscribe to the #RedskinsTalk podcast, hosted by JP Finlay.

Click here for the #RedskinsTalk on Apple Podcasts, here for Google Play or press play below.