The Redskins are hoping to quickly change their fortunes in the first year of new coach Ron Rivera’s tenure. After a 3-13 season that had them finish last in the NFC East, they will try to use their 2020 NFL schedule to show some improvement.
Washington is rebuilding in many forms, especially defensively under Rivera. There’s hope that No. 2 overall pick Chase Young will have a big impact on everyone else with his elite edge pass-rushing.
NFL OFFSEASON 2020:
Draft grades | Power rankings | Best free agents available
Offense still carries big question marks, though, as the team goes from Jay Gruden and Bill Callahan’s West Coast-based scheme to Ehrhardt-Perkins with Scott Turner. There’s also some uncertainty at quarterback after the Redskins traded for former Panthers fill-in Kyle Allen, who should compete with Dwayne Haskins for the starting job.
Can the Redskins get better record-wise based on their 2020 schedule and roster changes?
Here is a complete breakdown of the Redskins’ 2020 schedule, including dates, start times and analysis for all 16 games.
Redskins schedule 2020
Below is the Washington Redskins’ complete schedule for 2020.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Kickoff time | TV |
| 1 | Sept. 13 | vs. Eagles | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 2 | Sept. 20 | at Cardinals | 4:05 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 3 | Sept. 27 | at Browns | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 4 | Oct. 4 | vs. Ravens | 1 p.m. ET | CBS |
| 5 | Oct. 11 | vs. Rams | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 6 | Oct. 18 | at Giants | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 7 | Oct. 25 | vs. Cowboys | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 8 | Bye | – | – | – |
| 9 | Nov. 8 | vs. Giants | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 10 | Nov. 15 | at Lions | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 11 | Nov. 22 | vs. Bengals | 1 p.m. ET | CBS |
| 12 | Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving) | at Cowboys | 4:30 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 13 | Dec. 6 | at Steelers | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 14 | Dec. 13 | at 49ers | 4:25 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 15 | Dec. 20 | vs. Seahawks | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
| 16 | Dec. 27 | vs. Panthers | 1 p.m. ET | CBS |
| 17 | Jan. 3 | at Eagles | 1 p.m. ET | Fox |
(For Canadian viewers, each game can be streamed on DAZN.)
The Redskins have some interesting geographical highlights beyond their usual six-game run of Dallas, New York and Philadelphia in the NFC East. Washington also gets a Beltway visitor in Baltimore and a “revenge” home game for Rivera against Carolina. There’s also a second road trip to Pennsylvania to face Pittsburgh.
Playing the rest of the AFC North also gives Young a shot at Cincinnati and sacking No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow. A last-place schedule draws the team that finished next to worst in the NFL, Detroit, in Ford Field. The Redskins also will play their two former offensive coordinators in the NFC West, at home against Sean McVay’s Rams and away against Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers.
MORE: Strength of schedule for all 32 teams in 2020
Redskins strength of schedule
The Redskins have the fifth easiest schedule based on the combined 2019 record and winning percentage of their opponents (118-136-2, .465). That stems from playing the Bengals, Lions, Giants, Panthers, Cardinals and Browns, six other teams that were bad enough for top-10 overall draft picks in 2020.
Then again, that’s balanced out by the Ravens, 49ers and Seahawks. The Steelers are candidates for a big rebound, and both the Cowboys and Eagles can be better on top of the division. The Redskins’ schedule is a lot tougher than it appears at first glance.
Toughest tests: The Cowboys, Eagles and Giants all look much better with their upgrades in relation to those of the Redskins, mainly because they all have strong quarterback answers. That’s a tough floor for Washington before even getting out of the division.
The Ravens and Seahawks (in order) are the hardest home games outside of the division. Staying in the AFC North and NFC West, the Steelers and 49ers hold those honors for the Redskins’ road schedule. They also have two sneaky-tough away games against the revamped Cardinals and Browns.
Biggest breaks: The Redskins’ best shot at a division win is still against the Giants. With Young and Rivera motivated, their best home games are those against the Bengals and Panthers.
With some rising teams such as Arizona and Cleveland on the slate, Washington’s easiest road game is in Detroit. When you can’t count too many real breaks, you know a team is in trouble.
Bottom line: The Redskins might need to get worse with Rivera and take more lumps so they know where to go in Phase 2 of the rebuild. They’re implementing a lot of scheme changes while also incorporating new personnel in a more challenging than usual offseason environment.
Rivera will bring some much needed energy, organization and accountability to Washington. He will make the team physically and mentally tougher with Jack Del Rio and is trusting Turner to make the offense more explosive with some underrated, remixed skill pieces.
Washington, however, is stuck in an ultra-competitive division, and its getting both the AFC North and NFC West were poorly timed draws in the interdivision rotation.
Record prediction: 4-12