Washington Football Team 2021 schedule release, list of opponents, matchups
The 2021 NFL schedule will be announced in full on Wednesday. I know, I know, it’s not as exciting as events like the NFL Draft, but it’s still a fun look ahead to the 2021 season.
Last year, the NFL announced the schedule after the NFL Draft for the first time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apparently, they liked that format because they’re sticking with it again in 2021. It does give the team one more important event before their news cycle is largely regulated to minicamps and OTAs, so it was a sensible decision.
Last year, the Washington Football Team went 7-9 in Ron Rivera’s first season in charge of the club. They had a relatively favorable schedule as a part of the weakest division in football, the NFC East, and that’s why they were able to make the playoffs.
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That said, ahead of the 2021 NFL season, the teams within the division are looking stronger. That’s always the case after the offseason, but it could be argued that Washington, which bolstered its roster even without adding a top-tier quarterback, is still the team to beat in the division.
However, Washington is going to be facing a first-place schedule after winning the NFC East, so that will complicate their route to a repeat title.
Here’s a reminder of Washington’s opponents for 2021. And remember, while some teams may look weaker on paper, you simply never know what will happen at the NFL level. Remember, nobody expected Washington to make the playoffs last year, yet they did.
Home: Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks
Away: Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills
A couple of things to note: First, the Washington Football Team, and the rest of the NFL, are set to play a 17-game schedule for the first time in 2021. As such, each team gets an extra out-of-conference opponent. That means Washington will be taking on the Bills this year in a ninth road game for the team.
Elsewhere, Ron Rivera will get another chance to take on his former team, the Panthers, and avenge a loss from last year that led to Dwayne Haskins being released. Additionally, the team has both of last year’s Super Bowl participants from last year on the schedule in the Bucs and the Chiefs. Those games won’t be easy, but Washington does get them at home, so that’s a positive.
Here’s what we know about the 2021 NFL schedule so far. We’ll continue to update this post throughout the day with news about the Washington Football Team’s matchups along with other important schedule tidbits.
Washington Football Team 2021 schedule
Last Updated: 2:57 p.m.
Week 1: vs. Chargers
Week 2: vs. Giants (via Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala)
Week 3: @ Bills (via The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler)
Week 4: @ Falcons (via Jhabvala)
Week 5: vs. Saints (via Dov Kleiman)
Week 6: vs. Chiefs (via Fowler)
Week 7: @ Packers (via WDUZ’s Marques Eversoll)
Week 8: @ Broncos (via Jhabvala)
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: vs. Buccaneers (via Fowler)
Week 11: @ Panthers (via The Athletic’s Joseph Person)
Week 12: vs. Seahawks (via Fowler)
Week 13: @ Raiders (via NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay)
Week 14: vs. Cowboys (last remaining unreported game)
Week 15: @ Eagles (via Fowler)
Week 16: @ Cowboys (via Fowler)
Week 17: vs. Eagles (via Fowler)
Week 18: @ Giants (via Art Stapleton of Record Sports)
For the first time since 2018, Washington won’t be playing the Eagles in Week 1. This year, they get to take on the Chargers in what should be an exciting matchup between last year’s two Rookies of the Year, Chase Young and Justin Herbert. That will be a nice test for Washington overall, but it will also be a winnable game.
After that, Washington will have a quick turnaround to play the Giants on Thursday night. That’s good news though because Washington will get its Thursday Night Football game out of the way early and they shouldn’t have to play on Thanksgiving this year. That’s a nice change of pace for the team.
That said, the final stretch of the season will be a doozy. They’ll have four of their final six games on the road and will close the year with a whopping five consecutive divisional games. That won’t be easy, but if Washington has built momentum, they could have a chance to finish strong, especially depending on the state of the Cowboys and Eagles defenses.
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We’ll have more updates on the schedule as they become available ahead of the NFL’s schedule release at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network. Stay tuned for the latest schedule leaks.