Redskins unveil 2020 schedule

A Trent Williams showdown. A chance for revenge for coach Ron Rivera. A battle between Joe Burrow and Dwayne Haskins.

Those storylines are just some of the highlights from the Redskins’ 2020 schedule, which was formally released Thursday. As the Redskins unveiled their schedule with an extravagant release party online — their star-studded list of guests included coaching legend Urban Meyer, director Peter Berg and actors Matthew McConaughey and Jon Bernthal — logging on remotely to share their optimism about the season.

In a year when Tom Brady starts over in a new town while Patrick Mahomes, the young star poised to replace him as the face of the NFL, looks to add to his own legacy, the Redskins are generally expected to fly under the national radar.

But with dates and times now attached to the team’s upcoming 16 games— the NFL insists the show will go on, pandemic or not — here’s a week-by-week guide to some of the juicy drama baked into the Redskins’ schedule:

— Eagles, Sept. 13: The season opens with a critical NFC East division matchup, just like year. Lately, this series has been nothing but one-sided for the Eagles. Washington hasn’t beaten Philadelphia since 2016 and has been outscored by 77 points in the six meetings since.

— at Cardinals, Sept. 20: The Cardinals made the most stunning move of the offseason, acquiring wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans. That trade should immensely help quarterback Kyler Murray, the first overall pick in 2019. Murray and Haskins have yet to meet in their careers.

— at Browns, Sept. 27: The Bill Callahan revenge game. The former Redskins interim coach landed with the Browns this offseason as their offensive line coach. But the real attraction to this matchup is the Browns’ offense featuring names like Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and Austin Hooper.

— Ravens, Oct. 4: If fans are allowed in stadiums this fall, there could very well be more Lamar Jackson jerseys at FedEx Field than the people in Redskins gear — including the players. The 23-year-old quarterback is a sensation, which makes him a must-see. This game may be a blowout, sure, but Jackson is worth the price of admission.

— Rams, Oct. 11: The Rams no longer figure to be an offensive juggernaut, cutting Todd Gurley and trading Brandin Cooks in the offseason. But Los Angeles still has former coach Sean McVay and added former Washington offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell this offseason.

— at Giants, Oct. 18: The Giants will be a good test to see how Haskins has progressed in Year 2. As a rookie, Haskins made his regular-season debut against the Giants in Week 4 — a “humbling experience,” he admitted this week on the team’s website. He’ll get another shot against Daniel Jones, who is 2-0 against Washington so far.

— Cowboys, Oct. 25: For the first time in 10 years, Jason Garrett won’t be standing on the opposing sideline of the Redskins as coach of the Cowboys. Instead, Dallas hired former Packers coach Mike McCarthy in an attempt to make them a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Combined with a stellar draft, the upgrades Dallas made provide a new wrinkle to this long-standing rivalry.

— Giants, Nov. 8: After a bye week, the Redskins return to face the Giants at home. Like the Cowboys and Redskins, the Giants overhauled their coaching staff this offseason, hiring former Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge.

— at Detroit, Nov. 15: Last year’s game between the Redskins and the Lions turned out to be a memorable one for two reasons: Haskins earned his first victory with a first fourth-quarter comeback and then forgot to go back on the field because he was too busy taking a selfie. It’s hard to get excited about the rematch.

— Bengals, Nov. 22: Teams coming off 2-14 and 3-13 records shouldn’t be appointment viewing, but there are plenty of storylines to make this one interesting. Burrow once lost a quarterback competition to Haskins, and now they’re slated to go against each other for the first time as pros. Then, there’s also Young, who was drafted one pick behind Burrow in April. This is a fun matchup between two young teams.

— at Cowboys, Nov. 26: The Redskins’ Thanksgiving tradition continues after taking a year off. This the fourth time in five years Washington will play on the holiday, the third against Dallas.

— at Steelers, Dec. 6: Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury that caused him to miss all but two games last season has overshadowed the career-high 5,129 yards the quarterback threw for in 2018. But there is no guarantee that the 38-year-old is still the same caliber of passer, given his age and injury history.

— at 49ers, Dec. 13: What a way to cap off a brutal three-game road trip. There’s no better matchup in terms of intrigue for the Redskins in 2020. Chase Young against Trent Williams? Sign us up for that. Last year’s rain-filled 9-0 Niners shutout was a snooze, but this year’s meeting should provide more entertainment. It would also be a statement win for the Redskins if they can go into Santa Clara and upset the runner up of the Super Bowl.

— Seahawks, Dec. 20: The last time these two teams met in 2017, Kirk Cousins led a thrilling upset over Seattle to keep Washington’s playoff hopes alive. So much has changed since. But Russell Wilson remains the Seahawks quarterback, and his MVP-caliber play is a good enough reason to tune in.

— Panthers, Dec. 27: Who doesn’t love a good revenge story? In 2019, the Redskins’ win over Carolina cost Rivera his job with the Panthers. But now the new Redskins coach gets a chance to face his former team deep into the season.

— at Eagles, Jan. 3: The Redskins end the season with another NFC East matchup against the Eagles.