Commanders 2026 Schedule Release Predictions: Washington starts off against a top rival, gets some bye week relief, and more

The Commanders’ 2026 schedule is what every Washington fan has their eyes on, right now, and for good reason. Therefore, it’s time to have a little bit of fun and try to predict how everything shakes out.

We are just hours away from receiving the Washington Commanders’ official 2026 schedule, so why not make some final predictions that pull everything together?

Here are the three items that will obviously come true now that I’ve spoken them into existence. Let’s dive in!

3 predictions for the Commanders’ 2026 schedule

1. The Commanders will open 2026 on the road in Philadelphia

The Eagles have been a thorn in the Commanders’ side, winning three of the last five games (including playoffs). Jayden Daniels and Co. will get a chance for some payback on the Eagles’ home turf in Week 1.

The fact it’s a short trip for either team also plays into this decision. There’s plenty of reason to believe The Linc will see its fair share of Commanders fans and that always ups the ante in big-time rivalry games like these.

Commanders’ stats in the last five games vs. Eagles

The Commanders and Eagles have rekindled their rivalry over the last couple of years thanks to the arrival of Jayden Daniels. Here’s how Washington has done in a general sense:

• Record: 2-3
• Points per game: 23.8
• Points allowed per game: 32.0

Watching Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels square off in the first matchup of the season is too good to pass up and clearly the NFL will feel the same now that I’ve mentioned it.

In all seriousness, it makes sense logistically, as well. The Commanders already have two “home” games against the Seahawks and Colts in Weeks 3 and 4 (I put home in quotations for obvious reasons). Seven of the Commanders’ nine home games on the 2026 schedule have already been announced, as well.

It’s the exact opposite for the Eagles. Four of their 2026 games have been announced, but all four are road games.

The math maths. Expect the Commanders to be on the road in Week 1 and my bet is it’ll be a quick trip to Philly.

2. The Commanders will get an early bye week

Man, the Commanders have been hosed when it comes to bye week placement over the last 10 seasons. Just check out the following list of when the Commanders have had their bye week each season since 2016. Keep in mind the NFL added a 17th game in 2021, which changes the formula by a week:

• 2016: 9
• 2017: 5
• 2018: 4
• 2019: 10
• 2020: 8
• 2021: 9
• 2022: 14
• 2023: 14
• 2024: 14
• 2025: 12

The last few seasons have been especially bad, as you can see. That’s why the NFL is going to cut the Commanders a break on the 2026 schedule. The bye week will definitely be in the first half of the season – you can bank on that. I’m going to add some extra flare, though, and say Washington won’t have to wait past Week 7 for its break.

Week 5 after the London game against the Colts is a clear and logical target.

3. The Commanders will close the 2026 schedule with back-to-back division opponents

It’s just simply how the NFL does things, nowadays, and this year will be no different.

It won’t be like last year, however, where the Commanders had to close the season with four straight divisional matchups. That was simply brutal and unfair, even if I hate using the latter word in a football conversation.

So, I’m going to guess the opponents in order to spice this up a bit. One of them will definitely be the Dallas Cowboys and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a primetime matchup. The other would clearly be the Giants since one of these predictions is the Commanders opening the season against the Eagles and the Week 8 matchup between the two teams has been announced.

Process of elimination, but hey, it works. The Commanders’ 2026 season, like last year, will be sandwiched in-between a divisional opener and closer.