National Football League

Cardinals-Redskins Preview

Published Sep. 14, 2011 2:12 p.m. ET

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Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was pleased with the Week 1 result, but he knows his team has to get back to work.

Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt feels likewise following his team's season-opening victory.

The Redskins and Cardinals will each try to open 2-0 on Sunday when they meet at FedEx Field.

Tied at the bottom of the NFC East standings last season, the Redskins opened 2011 on Sunday with a 28-14 victory over the New York Giants. Led by Rex Grossman, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 305 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in his first season-opening start since 2007 with Chicago, Washington snapped a five-game losing streak in the nation's capital.

Still, the Redskins' postgame calls for 'Victory Monday' - which was started by Shanahan's Denver Broncos in the 1990s - were quieted by London Fletcher and the other captains, who wanted no part of taking a day off following their win.

"There has never been a time in the past, where the players said, 'We're going to come in and work - we're not going to take a day off,'" eighth-year tight end Chris Cooley said.

Shanahan knows that's exactly what his team needs.

"The mindset is not what we did before, but what we're going to do today," he said Monday. "I think we have that sense of urgency about us that we'll approach things that way. If you do it that way, then I think you have a chance to get better."

While Grossman was impressive in the season opener - finding tight end Fred Davis five times for 105 yards and completing six passes to Santana Moss for 76 yards - the Redskins' offensive line has to improve after allowing four sacks.

"We're not getting our (butts) kicked,'' center Will Montgomery said. "We're just not clean on a few things, which is very correctable."

If Washington can shore up its offensive line play, Grossman could have more time to pick apart a Cardinals secondary that allowed No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton to tie an NFL rookie record with 422 passing yards in Sunday's 28-21 victory over Carolina.

"There were a lot of those guys, especially in the back end, that were not playing our coverages the correct way or not making the correct adjustments," Whisenhunt said. "Part of it is having young guys outside (rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson and A.J. Jefferson) and part of it is just not getting it done well enough. That's what we have to work on. Like I said, I'd much rather work on it after a win.''

There's also work to be done on the offensive side. The Cardinals came up empty twice in the second quarter after getting inside the 6-yard line.

"Look, it's got to be our point of emphasis to clean up those details, especially when they're that critical, the ones we had down there in the red zone, some of the plays on defense, everybody," said Kevin Kolb, who went 18 for 27 for 309 yards and two TDs in his Cardinals debut. "The good thing is we have a good veteran group of guys that know that.''

Beanie Wells, who became the Cardinals' starting running back following the offseason trade of Tim Hightower to Washington, rushed for 90 yards and a score Sunday while also catching four passes.

Hightower, who ran for 1,733 yards and 23 TDs for Arizona over the last three seasons, carried 25 times for 72 yards and a TD in his Redskins debut.

He's expecting a better effort after Washington had just 2.8 yards per carry in the Giants victory.

"We're going to win this game,'' Hightower said. "I want to win this game. This one means a lot to me.''

Washington, which won 24-17 on Sept. 21, 2008, in the most recent meeting between the teams, has won six straight at home and seven in a row overall versus the Cardinals.

Arizona's last win in the series came Nov. 5, 2000, when it still played in the NFC East.