The Washington Football Team made a dramatic charge to the playoffs in 2020 going 7-9 to win the NFC East. Although it was a weak division, one could see the potential of the team as head coach Ron Rivera is building something special in the Nation's Capital. The formula is there for Washington to not only go deep in the playoffs, but to win a championship. Now, the question as to whether they are a serious contender is a difficult one to answer, but Washington might be ready to take it to the next level. That being said, let's preview Washington for the 2021 campaign.
The Offense
Let's be real about 2020, the offense was absolutely atrocious. Washington had the worst quarterback rating in the entire league which might have held them back from any sort of better success than the team had. But with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fold now, the offense should be better handled at quarterback and there should be more success and productivity. Washington already has some great weapons like running back Antonio Gibson, wide receiver Terry McLaurin, and breakout tight end Logan Thomas, but with acquisitions such as wide receivers Curtis Samuel and Adam Humphries and drafting wide receivers Dyami Brown and Dax Milne and as well as offensive lineman Sam Cosmi, this should be a much improved offense. The offensive line was also a weakness last season despite it improving as the campaign went a long and was highly rated, but with it being lead by guard Brandon Scherff and center Chase Roullier, plus re-acquiring Ereck Flowers makes this offensive line potentially one of the best in the NFL.
The Defense
The defense is the biggest strength of the team, but it also might be the best in all of the league. This defense has the makings of potentially one of the best ever, but leading the way is a dominant defensive line such as Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Matt Ioannidis, and Tim Settle as it's a deep corp that is also so incredibly talented. Others players that will make a difference are safeties Landon Collins, Deshazor Everett, and Kam Curl, cornerback Kendall Fuller, and linebacker Cole Holcomb, but they also acquired cornerback William Jackson which should make them even more solid covering receivers. Plus with drafting linebacker Jamin Davis, defensive back Benjamin St Juste, and defensive end Shaka Toney, it makes this defense more athletic and deeper. It should be a lot of fun to watch this defense in 2021.
Special Teams
The special teams is pretty straight forward, but one of the biggest changes is dealing with the loss of long snapper Nick Sundberg as he was a mainstay for Washington for many seasons. Now with drafting his replacement Camaron Cheeseman it will be interesting to see how he handles the snaps. Tress Way is a Pro Bowl punter, plus they have a consistent kicker in Dustin Hopkins, the team has a solid special teams.
The NFC East Competition
The division was weak last season, but Dallas was dealing with injuries including to their quarterback Dak Prescott. Now that they are healthy, Dallas should be the biggest threat to Washington's repeat in winning the division. Those two games should be the most important to the team's chances at winning the NFC East title. The Philadelphia has a lot of question marks as they are in a state of transition and New York are also an unknown, but those matchups should be easy games for Washington. While Dallas has improved, it is still a weak division that favors Washington. If the team can win the majority of the division games, they'll be in good shape.
Analyzing The Schedule
Game 1: vs Los Angeles Chargers
Game 2: vs New York Giants
Game 3: at Buffalo Bills
Game 4: at Atlanta Falcons
Game 5: vs New Orleans Saints
Game 6: vs Kansas City Chiefs
Game 7: at Green Bay Packers
Game 8: at Denver Broncos
Game 9: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Game 10: at Carolina Panthers
Game 11: vs Seattle Seahawks
Game 12: at Las Vegas Raiders
Game 13: vs Dallas Cowboys
Game 14: at Philadelphia Eagles
Game 15: at Dallas Cowboys
Game 16: vs Philadelphia Eagles
Game 17: at New York Giants
First thing when looking at this schedule is it's a very difficult one as they have to play so many great teams like Kansas City, Seattle, Buffalo, and Tampa Bay and going .500 in those games will be crucial. The next stretch that will be interesting to watch and be crucial is the last five games of the season as they will be playing division rivals. That could determine who wins the NFC East in that time. That being said, expect a division title in still a somewhat weak competition.
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