Hogs Haven
A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, and a sprinkling of other stuff
Call it the schedule Jayden Daniels built. His popularity is one big reason why Washington will play five prime-time games and 10 games in what’s considered a national window. The Commanders have seven national games in a row from Weeks 6-13, interrupted only by their bye — with three night games in four weeks. It ties the record for the most prime-time games in franchise history — they had five in 2013 and ‘17.
Dec. 20. The Commanders will face Philadelphia for the first time since losing the NFC Championship Game, 55-23. Numerous players were upset not just in losing the game but in the lopsided score. They clearly felt they could beat the Eagles. Washington spent the offseason trying to do what the Eagles have done for years — build strong lines on both sides of the ball. Their first meeting is so late in the season that the teams will be well-established. Has Washington closed the gap at all? This game will help answer that question.
It’s quite a jump for the franchise. Washington did go 2-1 in prime-time regular-season games last season — and 2-0 in the postseason. The Commanders were a fresh team down the stretch last season and that helped them win seven consecutive games before losing to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. But this schedule — the night games combined with the 10th-most miles traveled — will test their endurance.
The Commanders had a favorable travel schedule in 2024, as they only had to travel across the country for one game. This year will be a bit more challenging in terms of sheer travel miles.
The Commanders won’t travel as far as the Los Angeles Chargers, who will lead the league with 37,086 miles, but they do rank just outside the top 10 with 21,363 miles. Much of that will come from the game played against the Dolphins in Spain, but they will also have to travel to SoFi Stadium to play the Chargers as well as Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers and U.S. Bank Stadium to play the Minnesota Vikings.
It’s not all bad for the Commanders, though. The games between the Packers (Week 2), Chargers (Week 5) and Vikings (Week 14) are all spread out, meaning there will not be a similar situation to last year, when they had to play the Arizona Cardinals on the road less than a week after traveling to play the Cincinnati Bengals. The Commanders will also play two western...
