Now that the Redskins schedule has been released, let's take a look at some interesting points about this year's schedule.
First off, the Redskins will only have one prime time game this season (pre flex schedule), and that's in Week 3 against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. That goes to show you the league (and more specifically, the television networks) don't exactly think highly of the Redskins at this point. Not that it matters, as the Redskins have been horrible in nationally televised games in recent years.
Secondly, it was a nice gesture for the NFL to make the opening game between the New York Giants and the Redskins, honoring the tenth year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. It should be an emotional pre game ceremony and I'd expect a lot of festivities to transpire before hand.
The bye will come earlier than it has been in recent years for the Redskins, as they will be off in Week 5. Obviously most coaches like having the bye week come around Week 8 or 9 so the season is split into halves, but that will not be the case this year for the Redskins.
The Redskins will also have their first taste of playing football on foreign soil in quite some time. They will travel to face the Buffalo Bills in their Toronto home in Week 8. While we don't know if the Redskins or Bills will still be relevant at that point of the season, it should be quite an intriguing match up (and road trip for players and media alike).
When I initially brushed through the first half of the schedule, I was wondering where the tough opponents were. Then I saw the last five games of the season schedule, and boy is that brutal. They finish playing the Jets at home, Patriots at home, at the Giants, home for Minnesota, and at Philly. Who knows how many games the Redskins will win in that stretch.
This schedule illustrates that the Redskins will likely have to get off to a fast start (as they always do) if they hope to stay relevant enough to play meaningful games in December and January. And should they be able to do that, they'll still have a tough last five weeks to make a potential playoff push.