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2022 Washington Commanders Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info
May 13, 2022
The Washington Commanders are entering year three of the Ron Rivera era.
The first season ended with a seven-win campaign, but a dreadfully weak NFC East led Washington to a division title.
The second season also featured seven victories, but the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles vastly improved and pushed Washington down to third and out of the playoff picture.
Now Washington starts anew in 2022 with quarterback Carson Wentz, who arrives in the nation's capital via trade from the Indianapolis Colts.
Washington has also cut ties with a bunch of players including Ereck Flowers Sr., Matt Ioannidis, Landon Collins and Deshazor Everett. Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff is out after leaving for a fat deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The team will gladly welcome back edge-rusher Chase Young, whose 2021 season ended prematurely with a torn ACL.
Other standouts who are returning include Da'Ron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Antonio Gibson and Terry McLaurin.
Washington also brought in some potential studs in the draft, including Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson, who should be the No. 2 wideout behind McLaurin. Alabama defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis comes aboard to join a stout defensive line, and ex-teammate Brian Robinson Jr. slides in behind Antonio Gibson in the backfield.
Ultimately, this team may only go so far as Wentz takes it. If he looks like the quarterback that helped lead the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl, then Washington could be a stout playoff participant this year.
If he looks as he did during a down 2020 year or the tail end of 2021 with the Indianapolis Colts when turnovers became a serious problem, then this could be a one-year experiment with a significant rebuild on the horizon.
We don't know how it will all go down, but we do know when Washington is playing who, when and where after the schedule dropped today. Here's a look at what the Commanders got, alongside some analysis on the entire slate and some pivotal matchups to watch.
Schedule
Full television schedule can be found on the team's official website.
Analysis (Non-Divisional)
The non-division games don't look too daunting on paper, but anything can happen year-over-year, week-to-week and day-to-day in the NFL.
Washington has the NFC North this year. Three of those four teams had losing records last year, with the 6-11 Chicago Bears and 3-13-1 Detroit Lions struggling in particular.
Back-to-back NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers is back for the 13-4 Green Bay Packers, but they just lost one of the best players in football (wideout Davante Adams) to the Las Vegas Raiders via trade.
The 8-9 Minnesota Vikings could be in line for a bounce-back year with talented ex-Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell calling shots as head coach.
Washington also has the AFC South, a division featuring two teams in serious rebuilding mode in the three-win Jacksonville Jaguars and four-win Houston Texans.
The 12-win Tennessee Titans should still pose a threat, and the nine-win Indianapolis Colts looked like a playoff darkhorse before a late-season collapse, but Washington looks like it should split these games on paper.
Washington's extra game will be at home this year with the Cleveland Browns coming to town. With three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson now calling shots there, that could be a tough one for the Commanders.
Otherwise, a cross-country trip to the NFC runner-up San Francisco 49ers is going to be one of the toughest battles of the year, but a home matchup against an Atlanta Falcons team that appeared lucky to even get a 7-10 record last year and just traded Matt Ryan to the Colts looks like a win for Washington.
Pivotal Matchups
Washington was 6-6 going into the final five games of the year. The first four of them were home-and-away battles with the Cowboys and Eagles.
Washington fell 27-20 at home to Dallas in a game it trailed 24-0. The Eagles overcame a 10-0 deficit to score 27 of the final 34 points in a 27-17 win the next week.
Reeling at 6-8, Dallas then smoked Washington on Sunday Night Football, leading 42-7 at halftime and 56-7 early in the fourth quarter before settling for a 56-14 win.
Philadelphia then finished Washington off with another comeback win. Trailing 16-7 at half, the Eagles scored 13 unanswered points in the final two quarters for a 20-16 win.
Needless to say, Washington has its sights set on those teams this year. Dallas and Philadelphia represented the NFC East in the playoffs, going 12-5 and 9-8 respectively.
With the New York Giants in full-on rebuilding mode, it appears Dallas and Philly are Washington's biggest competitors for the division crown. Last year's rough outings plus this season's expectations make the Cowboys and Eagles games pivotal ones this year.