Robert Griffin III
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III Reuters

The Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints square off on Sunday afternoon in their 2012 NFL season opener.

The contest is set to get underway at 1 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game will be broadcast on FOX. If you can't get to a TV, you can watch a live stream online is you purchase NFL Sunday Ticket Max.

Robert Griffin III will make his regular season debut in New Orleans. The rookie looked good in three preseason games. The second overall draft pick went 11-of-17 for 74 yards and one touchdown in his third exhibition contest.

He'll have Pierre Garcon as his top wide receiver. Garcon signed a five-year, $42.5 million deal with Washington in the offseason, after catching 70 balls for 947 yards for Indianapolis. They also signed Josh Morgan from San Francisco.

Griffin III leads the Redskins against a New Orleans defense that is somewhat depleted. The Saints will be without linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who's year-long suspension for the bounty scandal was recently overturned.

If the Saints have to score a lot of points to win their opener, they shouldn't have a problem. They set a record last year by gaining 7,474 yards in 2011. Drew Brees also made history by throwing for 5,476 yards.

New Orleans can put up a lot of points, but they are even better at home. They scored over 41 points per game at home in 2011.

The Saints are expected to open the season with a victory. They are 7.5-point favorites.

Prediction: The Saints will be without head coach Sean Payton, but they're still better than the Redskins. Griffin III looked good in the preseason, but he might struggle in his first game that counts. Expect Brees to connect with Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston a few times in the end zone.

Predicted Score: New Orleans 34, Washington 17