Washington Redskins 2017 Opponents

Redskins 2017 Opponents
Home		Away
	Arizona Cardinals		@ Los Angeles Rams
	San Francisco 49ers		@ Seattle Seahawks
	Denver Broncos		@ Kansas City Chiefs
	Oakland Raiders		@ San Diego Chargers
	Minnesota Vikings		@ New Orleans Saints
	Dallas Cowboys		@ Dallas Cowboys
	Philadelphia Eagles		@ Philadelphia Eagles
	New York Giants		@ New York Giants

The playoffs start today, starting the final part of the 2016-2017 season. The Washington Redskins will be sitting at home this year due to an extremely disappointing final month, and a heartbreaking Week 17 home loss to the New York Giants that eliminated them from the playoffs. The Redskins finished with an 8-7-1 record, their second straight winning season, but no playoffs is not what many people were expecting from 2016.

NFL schedules are set from year to year due to a rotating schedule, and all the teams are known except for two for years in advance.

The scheduling formula implemented in 2002 with realignment guarantees that all teams play each other on a regular, rotating basis.

Under the formula, every team plays 16 games as follows:

Home and away against its three division opponents (six games).

The four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (four games).

The four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (four games).

Two intraconference games based on the prior year’s standings (2 games). These games match a first-place team against the first-place teams in the two same-conference divisions the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place, and fourth-place teams in a conference are matched in the same way each year.

The Redskins play two divisions this year, the NFC West and the AFC West. Washington will get to travel to Seattle in 2017, something that would have happened in the playoffs with a win last week. They also will play at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first time since 1974 when they play the Rams. The Redskins will face the Cardinals for a 2nd year in a row, hosting them at FedEx Field this year. The 49ers host the Redskins this year, and there could be a familiar face leading the team with former OC Kyle Shanahan and and current OC Sean McVay both interviewing for the HC job.

The AFC West has two teams currently in the playoffs and another that won last year’s Super Bowl. The Redskins will host the Denver Broncos, who are also looking for a new HC after Gary Kubiak’s retirement. The Raiders will also come to town after a better than expected season, that could end soon due to QB injuries. Washington makes another trip to California when they visit the San Diego, another team without a head coach. Finally, they will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Redskins finished 3rd in their division and will place the 3rd place finishers from the NFC North and NFC South in 2017. They will host the Minnesota Vikings, and Preston Smith should have another career day against Sam Bradford. They also travel to the Super Dome to face the New Orleans Saints.

The NFC East went from having the 2nd worst division record in the league in 2015, to having the best division record and almost having 3 teams make the playoffs this year. The Redskins finished 3-3 in the division, and will need to improve on that next season if they plan on returning to the playoffs. The Cowboys and Giants are in the playoffs, and the Eagles are trying to build a team around Carson Wentz. The Redskins just fired their defensive coordinator, and three of their top weapons, including their QB, and free agents this year. A lot of questions on both sides of the ball going into 2017.