What is the Washington Football Team’s 2021 NFL schedule, how many times will we see them in primetime games, and who are the toughest and easiest opponents on their schedule?
Washington Football Team Preseason Schedule
All times listed below are Eastern Time.
PS1: at Patriots | 7:30 PM
PS2: vs. Bengals | TBD
PS3: vs. Ravens | TBD
Washington Football Team Schedule | 2021 Regular Season
All days are Sunday unless otherwise noted. All times listed below are Eastern Time.
Week 1: vs. Chargers | 1 PM | CBS
Week 2: vs. Giants | TNF | 8:20 PM | NFLN
Week 3: at Bills | 1 PM | FOX
Week 4: at Falcons | 1 PM | FOX
Week 5: vs. Saints | 1 PM | CBS
Week 6: vs. Chiefs | 1 PM | CBS
Week 7: at Packers | 1 PM | FOX
Week 8: at Broncos | 4:25 PM | FOX
Week 9: Bye
Week 10: vs. Buccaneers | 1 PM | FOX
Week 11: at Panthers | 1 PM | FOX
Week 12: vs. Seahawks | 8:15 PM | ESPN
Week 13: at Raiders | 4:05 PM | FOX
Week 14: vs. Cowboys | 1 PM | FOX
Week 15: at Eagles | (Flex)
Week 16: at Cowboys | 8:20 PM | NBC
Week 17: vs. Eagles | 1 PM | FOX
Week 18: at Giants | 1 PM | FOX
How many primetime games does Washington play in 2021?
The Washington Football Team will play three primetime games in 2021. They will be against the Giants in Week 2, Seahawks in Week 12, and Cowboys in Week 16.
When is Washington’s bye week?
The Washington Football Team’s bye is in Week 9.
Washington’s strength of schedule and win/loss prediction
After winning the NFC East in 2020, the reward for Washington is a schedule in 2021 which ties for the seventh toughest in the league. The main area that the schedule is tough is at home, where Washington faces the fourth most difficult set of games in the league. On the road, the strength of schedule eases, coming in 24th overall.
Toughest opponents
Washington’s 2021 schedule sees them set to play a total of nine games against teams expected to finish with nine wins or more. Four of them come against teams expected to win double-digit games.
The two home matchups among those games come against last year’s Super Bowl teams in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs. The game against the Buccaneers is a revenge game for the new Washington QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, as well as for the team after the Buccaneers eliminated Washington from the playoffs last season.
The other two games will come on the road against the Green Bay Packers and in their “17th game” against the Buffalo Bills. Both games should be extremely tough, with the Bills’ game yet another revenge game for Fitzpatrick. The matchup with the Packers is highly dependent on whether the Aaron Rodgers’ situation is resolved in Green Bay ahead of the season.
Easiest opponents
The Washington schedule in 2021 actually has five games against teams projected to win seven or fewer games. Four of them come against two division rivals in the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. One concerning element for Washington is that they have not beaten the Giants in the last five attempts. They did, however, sweep the Eagles in 2020, breaking a six-game losing streak that had spanned the previous three seasons.
The other game comes against the Atlanta Falcons, who are looking to improve in 2021 after a down period over the last three years. Playing against the Falcons in Atlanta is never easy. Nevertheless, the Falcons’ defensive frailties should allow the Washington offense to score enough points to give themselves a chance for their defense to keep Atlanta’s scoring down.
2021 season prediction
With a developing defense and hopefully improvements to their offense, Washington would have been looking to build on their NFC East division crown in 2021. However, having one of the hardest schedules in the NFL is less than ideal for Washington in the 2021 season.
With a tough schedule, Washington really needs to get consistency out of their quarterback play. If they do not, then they could be left looking at a tough season in what should be a very competitive division once again.
Projected 2021 record: 8-9
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