Cardinals Coach Drew Petzing Challenged by 'Very Talented' Commanders Defense

The Washington Commanders defense is poised to give the Arizona Cardinals a few fits in Sunday's game.

The Washington Commanders defense may not know who is starting under center for the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday's season opener, but the unit is prepared to give its opponent some fits.

"I think it's a very talented defense," Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said. "It's a really well-coached system. It's very sound. I think they play very hard. Certainly the front makes that defense go, and they got a lot of dynamic players up front to get after the passer and they can stop the run. But I think overall, all 11 guys they put on the field are really well-coached and do a really nice job of making it hard on offense."

The Cardinals know who will start Sunday, but they are keeping that card close to the vest to make the Commanders prepare for both Josh Dobbs and fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune.

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The defense is stacked with veterans in the trenches, led by Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. Then, Montez Sweat leads the pass rush unit along with Chase Young, but the latter is questionable to play as he deals with a neck injury suffered in the preseason.

The linebackers are arguably the biggest question mark for the defense, but new signee Cody Barton is expected to make his Commanders debut and lead that position group.

In the secondary, first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes is expected to make his NFL debut as a starter alongside Kendall Fuller, Benjamin St-Juste, Kam Curl and Darrick Forrest.

The Cardinals and Commanders kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday at FedEx Field.