TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- When the Washington Redskins play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night, it will be strength against strength and weakness vs. weakness.

The Redskins' high-scoring, mistake-free offense will go against an Arizona defense that's ranked fifth in the NFC. Arizona's sputtering offense faces a Washington defense that's ranked 31st out of 31 NFL teams.

So what?, said Arizona's Jake Plummer, who expects to play despite a hip pointer he got in last weekend's 14-3 victory over the New York Giants.

"Yeah, they're ranked low in the league in defense, but that doesn't mean anything," Plummer said. "They could come out on Sunday and play great defense and shut us down just as easily as we could go out there and put up a lot of yardage. We've got to be worried about ourselves, and try to go out and perform up to our abilities and run our offense. If we do that the way we're supposed to, we won't have any problems, I don't think."

Washington had last week off to try to straighten out a defense that has been susceptible to big plays. Redskins coach Norv Turner hired Bill Arnsparger to help defensive coordinator Mike Nolan iron out the problems.

Plummer said he doesn't expect any big changes in Washington's defensive scheme, despite the hiring of Arnsparger.

"There could possibly be something that we haven't seen, but it's tough for a change to change too much in just one week, or to throw out anything too different than what they've been doing, so we're not worried too much," Plummer said. "The looks we've seen in the weeks prior are the ones we've got to be concerned with."

The Redskins offense has blossomed under the direction of Brad Johnson, acquired in an offseason trade with Minnesota.

"I've always thought he was a good quarterback when he was at Minnesota and we played against him," Arizona coach Vince Tobin said. "He goes to the right person. He's got good zip on the ball. He doesn't get rattled back there. He's really improved their football team."

Washington ranks second in the NFL in total offense, and Johnson is second only to Kurt Warner of St. Louis in efficiency ratings.

"Their quarterback is making a huge difference," Cardinals defensive coordinator Dave McGinnis said. "He's thrown zero interceptions, which is large. They're averaging 37{ points a game, and you can see why. They're moving the ball. Stephen Davis is running it with a lot of authority and a lot of power."

That opens the way for play-action passes.

"Norv has always done a great job with play-action, and play-action is what's getting Albert Connell and Michael Westbrook deep," McGinnis said. "It's not so much dropback stuff, it's all play-action deep stuff. If it's not there, he's throwing it away or dumping it off to backs. He's not making the turnovers. Consequently, they've been able to score a lot of points." The Redskins (3-1) are tied with Dallas for first in the NFC East. The Cardinals are 2-3 and have next week off.

Washington should have tight end Stephen Alexander, who hurt his back in a 38-36 victory over Carolina two weeks ago. That adds firepower to an offense that already has plenty.

Arizona, the No. 28 offense, might regain the services of receiver Rob Moore, who missed the last two games with a strained hamstring.

Turner calls this the most talented and most mature team he's had in Washington.

"There are a lot of veteran guys who are very serious about wanting to win and are serious about doing what it takes to win," Turner said. "There are a lot of guys who say they want to win, but this group has done a good job from the beginning since training camp of doing what I ask them to do and doing it at a high level and doing what it takes to find a way to win."

One of those leaders is Larry Centers, who the Cardinals let go for salary cap reasons in the offseason. Centers was a two-time Pro Bowl fullback and the acknowledged team leader in his nine seasons with the Cardinals.

"The thing I'm trying to get used to is saying to these guys, `Hey, we're playing the Cardinals.' It just doesn't roll off the tongue the way I think it should," Centers said. "We play the Cardinals. It just doesn't sound right to me, because for so many years I was with the Cardinals."

WASHINGTON Season schedule and results

ARIZONA Season schedule and results

September 12 Dallas L 35-41 September 19 @NY Giants W 50-21 September 26 @NY Jets W 27-20 October 3 Carolina W 38-36 October 17 @Arizona 8:20pm ET October 24 @Dallas 1:00pm ET October 31 Chicago 1:00pm ET November 7 Buffalo 1:00pm ET November 14 @Philadelphia 1:00pm ET November 21 NY Giants 4:15pm ET November 28 Philadelphia 1:00pm ET December 5 @Detroit 1:00pm ET December 12 Arizona 1:00pm ET December 19 @Indianapolis 1:00pm ET December 26 @San Francisco 8:20pm ET January 2 Miami 4:15pm ET

September 12 @Philadelphia W 25-24 September 19 @Miami L 16-19 September 27 San Francisco L 10-24 October 3 @Dallas L 7-35 October 10 NY Giants W 14-3 October 17 Washington 8:20pm ET October 31 New England 4:05pm ET November 7 @NY Jets 1:00pm ET November 14 Detroit 4:15pm ET November 21 Dallas 4:15pm ET November 28 @NY Giants 1:00pm ET December 5 Philadelphia 4:05pm ET December 12 @Washington 1:00pm ET December 19 Buffalo 8:20pm ET December 26 @Atlanta 1:00pm ET January 2 @Green Bay 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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