The Arizona Cardinals finished the preseason with a record of 2-1 with wins at home against the Denver Broncos by a score of 18-17 and on the road against the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 18-17 while losing at home against the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 10-38. Arizona finished last season with a record of 4-13 which led to a last place finish in the NFC North and to the firing of Kliff Kingsbury as the head coach. 

The Cardinals hired Jonathan Gannon to become the new head coach for Arizona, Gannon most recently served as the Defensive Coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2021-2022. This season, Arizona enters the year with an over/under win total of 4.5 wins which is one of the lowest over/under totals in the NFL this season and based on Vegas odds are projected to finish in last place in the NFC West as the Cardinals are +3160 to win the NFC West this season.

The Washington Commanders finished the 2023 NFL preseason with a record of 3-0 with wins at home against the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 29-28 and 21-19 against the Cincinnati Bengals while winning on the road against the Cleveland Browns by a score of 17-15. Washington finished last season with a record of 8-8-1 which led to a 4^th place finish in the NFC East and the Commanders missing the playoffs for the 2^nd year in a row. 

This season, the Washington Commanders enter the season with an over/under win total of 6.5 wins which means they are likely to miss the playoffs for a 3^rd consecutive season and based on Vegas odds are projected to finish in last place in the NFC East as the Commanders are +1445 to win the NFC East this year.

BookMaker has the Washington Commanders listed as 7-point favorites at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in week 1 of the NFL season. Washington has won seven of the last ten and two of the last three games while going 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The Arizona Cardinals finished last season 8-9 ATS overall, 4-4 ATS on the road, and 7-7 ATS as an underdog while the Washington Commanders finished 8-8-1 ATS overall, 4-4-1 ATS at home, and 4-3 ATS as a favorite.

Washington is projected to finish with a better record this season as the Commanders enter the season with an over/under win total of 6.5 wins while Arizona enters the season with an over/under win total of 4.5 games. The Commanders have been the better team in the series, winning seven of the last ten and two of the last three games while going 2-1 ATS in those matchups. 

Washington finished with a slightly better record ATS last season going 8-8-1 ATS overall while Arizona went 8-9 ATS overall. I look for those trends to continue in this matchup on Sunday which is why I am taking the Washington Commanders -7 on BookMaker for this matchup on Sunday afternoon.