Now that we know the order and time in which the Washington Redskins will be playing their opponents in 2020, we can start to get a feel for how the season might play out. Our biggest takeaway from the Redskins schedule release comes on Thanksgiving and builds from there. The Redskins will travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys on Turkey Day, and that will start a three-game road trip that then goes to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, followed by a trip out west to play the San Francisco 49ers.
So while there are a few games on the docket in which the Redskins should definitely come out victorious, there are also a handful of games in which a win might seem miraculous. Here’s our ranking of those games, from tough to toughest.
No. 7 — at Arizona Cardinals (Week 2)
If you went back even a year ago, it would seem absolutely crazy to say that the Cardinals are going to be one of the tougher teams that the Redskins play this season, but I truly believe that Arizona will step up this season in a big way. QB Kyler Murray showed a lot of promise in 2019, and he’s been given All-Star WR DeAndre Hopkins to throw to, who will come in alongside veteran Larry Fitzgerald.
Arizona’s defense isn’t anything that will keep you up at night, but it’s going to take a solid gameplan to slow down their offense and keep points off the board. Washington’s defensive line may be able to get pressure on Murray, but there’s no guarantee that they can get him to the ground before he finds Nuke running wide downfield.
No. 6 — vs. Dallas Cowboys (Week 7)
Any game against the Cowboys is going to be extremely difficult to win this season, unfortunately. Even if it were just a regular AFC team who didn’t have a long-standing rivalry with the Redskins, the talent alone of Dallas’ roster is potentially devastating. With Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot, Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Blake Jarwin on the starting lineup, keeping all of them in check is a lot to ask.
Now throw in that every game between these two teams turns into a blood match of squads who hate each other, and it makes it that much harder to win. I’m not saying that the Redskins can’t put something together and at least make one of these games close, but walking away with a victory seems unlikely.
No. 5 — vs. Los Angeles Rams (Week 5)
It’s tough to predict what exactly the Rams will look like in 2020, seeing as their 2019 season was such a surprise. Just a year removed from making it to the Super Bowl, Sean McVay and the Rams failed to make the playoffs in 2019, and QB Jared Goff looked very ordinary. They also got rid of their star RB in Todd Gurley this offseason.
However, with McVay returning to Washington to face his former team, I’m sure he will be able to get them hyped up to beat the Redskins, and should the blue-chip pieces that they do have perform up to par, Washington is in for a tough matchup.
No. 4 — vs. Seattle Seahawks (Week 15)
Either the Seahawks are the best bad team in the NFL, or the worst good team. Either way, they find a way to win late in the game, and are almost impossible to put down. The Redskins will have the benefit of playing Seattle at home, but we’ve seen that the crowd at FedEx Field is less of an advantage than at most stadiums. What will be key here is how the Redskins can limit QB Russell Wilson and his ability to improvise when the play breaks down. I have no trouble believing that Chase Young and Washington’s front four will be able to create pressure on Wilson in the pocket, but it will then fall on the secondary to stay disciplined and hold up on the back end should the play break down.
Of all their ‘tough’ games in 2020, I think this is one of the most winnable, seeing as the Seahawks tend to lose game when they shouldn’t.
No. 3 — at Dallas Cowboys (Week 12)(Thanksgiving)
Again we come to the Cowboys, this time on the road, though. This game was big before the schedule came out, but the fact that it lands on Thanksgiving, kicking off a brutal road trip for the Redskins makes it that much more imperative. If Washington is able to play a good game and get away with a win, it will set them up with the confidence that they need to carry on to the next two weeks in Pittsburgh and San Francisco. However, if they get the doors blown off, things could start to fall apart. It will also be the only ‘primetime’ game that Washington plays all year, so they’ll want to make it count.
No. 2 — vs. Baltimore Ravens (Week 4)
Playing the Ravens at home might almost be more difficult for the Redskins than playing them on the road, mainly due to the breakdown of the crowd. With the Raven’s headquarters less than an hour’s drive away, I expect their fanbase to show out in full force at this game, looking to come to Washington and squash and reign they may think they have over the region.
On top of that, the Redskins will also have to figure out a way to slow down QB Lamar Jackson on the field, which few teams have done so far. Baltimore also has a very strong defense that will likely be able to get after Dwayne Haskins early and often, making this a potentially long day.
No. 1 — at San Francisco 49ers (Week 14)
You want storylines? You’ve got it. You want a team that was minutes away from winning a Super Bowl last year? You’ve got it. Anything you want to prop up as a reason that the Redskins might struggle in this game, you’ve got it. The matchup between the two in 2019 wasn’t as ugly as you would have thought, but that can be chalked up to the insanely wet conditions it was played under. Going into 2020, the 49ers have retooled in some key areas — mainly at LT with the addition of Trent Williams — and they have a chip on their shoulder knowing that they were so close to a championship last year.
The 49ers defense is among the best in the league, and their offense is ripe with weapons, playing under former Redskins OC Kyle Shanahan, who is thought of as one of the best offensive coaches in the league. In reality, I don’t think the Redskins can keep up, and even if they do manage to slow down Jimmy Garopolo and the San Francisco offense, it’s not like Haskins will be able to put up a ton of points on the 49ers defense.
This could be a tough game to watch, and I think it’s the most likely contest for the Redskins to lose in 2020.
