The NFL schedule is now official, and we know the who, what, where, and when for most all 17 games the Washington Commanders will play this season.
They start the season with two division road games, which is not ideal. The season opener is against the Philadelphia Eagles who won the division last season, but immediately flamed out in the playoffs. Washington opened up as 4.5-point underdogs for that game, but Week 1 games can be unpredictable with shortened preseasons and big changes every offseason.
Week 2 has the Commanders in Dallas to take on the Cowboys. Washington needs to at least split those two games, or they will start the season at the bottom of the division and fighting to break even.
The Commanders get their first home game in Week 3, and they’re hosting the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. They played Seattle in Week 9 last season, and that was the game that Jayden Daniels suffered an ugly-looking elbow dislocation. A win over Seattle early in the season would be a big confidence boost after a tough two-game start, but Seattle’s defense could be too much for a team that just hit the reset button on two of their coordinators.
Washington heads overseas to London in Week 4. They will play host to the Indianapolis Colts, who brought back QB Daniel Jones for another season. “Indiana Jones” was having a good year until he tore his Achilles’ tendon in December, and he might not be ready to return by early October. That means either Riley Leonard, Anthony Richardson, or QB X will get the start. This should be a win for Washington, and a makeup for Dustin Hopkins’ missed field goal in London a decade ago.
The Commanders aren’t taking a bye after their international game like many teams do, which avoids the dreaded Week 5 early bye. They will instead play their third division game in the first five weeks of the season, hosting the New York Giants. This will be the team’s first game against the John Harbaugh-led Giants, but they will have some tape to study on the new roster and coaches. The Commanders swept the Giants last season, and need a win at home here to maintain momentum early in the year.
The San Francisco 49ers had injury issues as bad as Washington last season, but were still able to get to the playoffs (and eliminate the Eagles). Their depth and coaching were strong enough to push the team to a 12-5 record. The Commanders have to travel to California to play them this year, and this looks like a loss before the team heads into their Week 7 bye to recover and reassess for the rest of the season.
The Commanders return from the bye with another division game early in the season. They host the Eagles and get an opportunity to take them down after a rest week. Washington needs to split the series with Philly, and winning division games at home is critical to winning franchises.
The Rams are the next NFC West team on the schedule, and they’ll be visiting Northwest Stadium. The best division in the NFL will be a tough out, and the Rams are right up there with the Seahawks and 49ers as opponents. The Commanders can win this game, but more likely they’ll leave Landover with the loss.
The Commanders should be a better team than the Giants this season, but I can see them splitting the series this year, and an away game on a short week seems like the game they would drop to them. This is the only Thursday Night Football game on the schedule, and it would be a very disappointing loss.
Let’s get back to the win column with another primetime game. The Commanders host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals for a big rematch from Jayden Daniels’ rookie season on Monday Night Football. That game was Daniels’ MNF introduction to the NFL audience, and he shined, leading the team to victory. I expect some similar magic to start a small winning streak in the middle of the season.
The next two games are on the road, but the Commanders need to win them both to be a legit playoff contender. First up is a trip across the country to face their old division rivals, the Arizona Cardinals. and they follow that with a road game against the Tennessee Titans. Both of these teams were picking in the top five of the draft this year and it wasn’t because of a trade up. Washington should sweep them and get back home for a much harder game.
The Houston Texans’ defense was a menace last season, and helped them make the playoffs. They won their first postseason game, but got eliminated by the eventual AFC Champions in the New England Patriots. Washington will need to be executing at a high level on offense to get past the Texans’ defense, and they will need to frustrate QB CJ Stroud. This looks like a loss in May, but will depend on a lot of things later in the season.
Looking through the schedule, the next three games all look very winnable, and a sweep in the last quarter of the season would likely lead the Commanders to a playoff berth. They will host Michael PenixJr. and the Falcons in a winnable game. The two teams have been playing one another in each of the last five seasons, with Washington winning four out of five. Last year was the lone loss.
Washington goes on the road the next two weeks, visiting the Vikings and the Jaguars. The Minnesota quarterback situation is still up in the air with Kyler Murray enrolling in Kevin O’Connell’s NFL QB Rehabilitation program and J.J. McCarthy struggling to stay on the field, healthy or not. Minnesota still have weapons, but are a very beatable team. Washington will need to step up there, and then travel south to face the Jacksonville Jaguars who won their division last year.
The season ends with another division game. The Commanders finish the season at home, and this game should play a big part in who wins the NFC East this year. The Eagles are on the road against the Giants, and that should be a win for Philly unless they decide to sit their starters and lose position in playoff seeding like they did last year. Will the Cowboys be in the playoff/division hunt in Week 18? Will Washington?
Commanders 2026 schedule, game-by-game predictions:
Week 1 – @ Philadelphia Eagles L
Week 2 – @ Dallas Cowboys W
Week 3 – vs Seattle Seahawks L
Week 4 – vs Indianapolis Colts W
Week 5 – vs New York Giants W
Week 6 – @ San Francisco 49ers L
Week 8 – vs Philadelphia Eagles W
Week 9 – vs Los Angeles Rams L
Week 10 – @ New York Giants L
Week 11 – vs Cincinnati Bengals W
Week 12 – @ Arizona Cardinals W
Week 13 – @ Tennessee Titans W
Week 14 – vs Houston Texans L
Week 15 – vs Atlanta Falcons W
Week 16 – @ Minnesota Vikings W
Week 17 – @ Jacksonville Jaguars W
Week 18 – vs Dallas Cowboys L
Washington Commanders Season Prediction: 10-7
