At this point in the season, with little else to do, we’ve examined the Washington Redskins 2020 schedule about every which way we can. The truth of the matter is that there are several tough games sprinkled in there, but a few stretched of highly-winnable games as well, should the team be able to get their act together.
While the start of the season may be a bit arduous, with games against the Eagles, Cardinals, Ravens, and Rams, there is a stretch of games during the middle of the year that the Redskins absolutely have to take advantage of, when they play the Giants, Lions, and Bengals in consecutive weeks.
The really crucial part of the season, however, is in December, when the playoff picture is getting set. Few people expect Washington to be in the playoff picture this year, but if a few breaks go their way, they could end up making a run at things in the very end. Luckily for the Redskins, their new head coach Ron Rivera is a savant when it comes to winning in December.
Rivera was asked what he wanted the Redskins to be in December. “On a roll,” he said. Pointed out success in that month in Carolina. Indeed, the Panthers were 25-14 in reg season games in Dec/Jan from 2011-18. That’s fifth best in the NFL during that time; @ESPNStatsInfo
— John Keim (@john_keim) May 20, 2020
It’s going to be incredibly hard for the Redskins to be ‘on a roll’ during that month this year when you consider some of the teams that they will be facing. This is how the December schedule shakes out as of now, barring any schedule changes:
- December 6th: at Pittsburgh Steelers
- December 13th: at San Francisco 49ers
- December 20th: vs. Seattle Seahawks
- December 27th: vs. Carolina Panthers
Add to that the fact that Washington will play the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, and you have quite possibly the toughest stretch of games coming at the most important time of year for the Redskins.
If Rivera wants to keep that winning record up in December, it’s going to be a big ask of his team.
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