Hogs Haven
The 5 o’clock club is published from time to time during the season, and aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.
2026 opponent preview series: Wk 1 Eagles | Wk 2 Cowboys | Wk 3 Seahawks | Wk 4 Colts | Wk 5 Giants
In 2026, the Commanders will, like every other team in the NFL, play 17 games against 14 opponents. With the amount of roster change that NFL teams undergo annually along with the unusually large number of head coach and coordinator changes in 2026, it seems useful to spend some time to review each of Washington’s regular season opponents.
In a 7-game stretch from Week 4 to Week 11, the Commanders play in prime-time or stand-alone time slots FIVE times, which indicates to me that the networks and the league office are banking on Washington being a much better team than the oddsmakers would have you believe. This stretch of national stand-alone games begins with the London game against the Colts in Week 4; the first of the prime time games is this Monday Night Football matchup in San Francisco.
Date: October 19, 2026, 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday Night Football)
Location: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California
The 49ers are off to Australia to open their season by playing Thursday Night Football in Victoria at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground, where I once watched Day 5 of a test match between South Africa and the Aussies (which Australia won handily).
San Fran then plays 3 home games in a row (presumably as payback for the Australia travel) before a short road trip to Seattle. They return to Levi’s Stadium for the MNF game against Washington — their 4th home game in 5 weeks!
The Niners should have at least a couple of wins on the board as they play the Cardinals and Dolphins in two of those home games (who were ranked 29th & 32nd, respectively, in ESPN’s latest Football Power Index). They may not be above .500, however, since their 3 other games are NFC & AFC West contests against the Rams, Seahawks and Broncos.
We know that Kyle Shanahan always feels a little extra motivation against Washington, where he felt he and his dad got the metaphorical bum’s rush out the door at the end of the 2013 season, the senior Shanahan’s final NFL coaching job after a probable Hall of Fame NFL coaching career.
Dating back to 1952, San Francisco and Washington have played each other 36 times, including 4 playoff games.
The Niners have had...
