My official 2026 season prediction
September 2, 2026
by Steve Thomas
Well, that was a fun preseason, wasn’t it? I’d say that this was certainly one of Washington’s most successful and productive offseason efforts in quite a while . . . or not. In all seriousness, things didn’t go well, and I have a tough time not imposing these difficulties onto the regular season. Washington is installing new offensive and defensive systems, yet somehow didn’t feel the need to play the non-injured first string players more than one series over three games, and looked bad, then really, really bad, in two straight preseason games. My fear is that Jayden Daniels’ lack of experience in this new offense, coupled with the obvious offensive line problems doesn’t bode well for the early part of the season. I’d love to predict a better result, but I have to be honest. Sorry.
The fact that the NFC East is faced off against the NFC West and the AFC South this year is a poor stroke of luck in terms of schedule difficulty, because both divisions have several teams that did very well in 2025 and there’s no reason to suspect that any of them will be noticeably worse in this coming season. Also, the fact that Washington has a home game in London, without a bye week immediately before or after the trip, is a tough ask.
This is a pretty unfortunate schedule, overall, for a team that was as bad as Washington in 2025. As a result, they’ll need to get off to a strong start to have a chance at a good season. As always, I don’t have a target record in mind before I go through this exercise – my method is to predict each game individually, and the final record is what it is.
First quarter
This is just about the toughest start to a season Washington could have been handed by the NFL’s scheduling overlords. It isn’t going to go well.
Week 1: Sunday, Sept 13, at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 pm ET, FOX
This game should appropriately be titled, “Things sure to go horribly wrong”. The Eagles are once again a legitimate NFC title contender this year. Washington’s starting defense didn’t get any playing time in the preseason and had a couple of serious injuries. Throw into the equation that this is opening day and in Philadelphia, and this spells blowout.
Steve’s prediction: Eagles via blowout
Record: 0 – 1
Week 2: Sunday, Sept 20, at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 pm ET, FOX
At the end of the day, the Cowboys are a better team than Washington. This game is also Dallas’ home opener. I don’t necessarily think Dallas is a conference leader, but given the circumstances, the Cowboys are going to easily win this game.
Steve’s prediction: Cowboys, big
Record: 0 – 2
Week 3: Sunday, Sept 27, Seattle Seahawks, 1:00 pm ET, FOX
There’s zero chance that Washington is able to escape with a win against the reigning Super Bowl champs, even despite the fact that this is Washington’s home opener. I don’t think Washington’s offense will have gelled enough yet to overcome such a superior team, particularly given the offensive line problems. The Seahawks get an easy victory.
Steve’s prediction: Seahawks blowout
Record: 0 – 3
Week 4: Sunday, Oct 4, Indianapolis Colts, 9:30 am ET, NFL Network (London)
The Colts’ early schedule is just as challenging as that of Washington, so I suspect both teams will be 0 – 3 leading into this London game. The Colts took steps to improve their defense this offseason, but they also have Daniel Jones as their quarterback. I’m going to give a small edge to the Colts here, mainly because of how their improved defense will match up against Washington’s limited offensive line. This game will be an improvement for Washington, but still a loss.
Steve’s prediction: Colts in a close one.
Record: 0 – 4
Steve’s first quarter prediction: 0 – 4
Second quarter
I wouldn’t call this quarter of the season “easy”, necessarily, but it is significantly more reasonable than what Washington is going to go through in the first quarter. Things will start to get better in this quarter, at least somewhat, in play if not by actual win – loss record.
Week 5: Sunday, Oct 11, New York Giants, 1:00 pm ET, FOX
The Giants do have some talent on both the offensive and defensive sides of their roster, and I think they’ll be better this season. That having been said, I don’t believe in Jaxson Dart nearly as much as I do Jayden Daniels, even despite Washington’s offensive line issues and predicted early season struggles. I think Washington gets its first win of the season this week in a close win over the rival Giants.
Steve’s prediction: Washington in a close one.
Record: 1 – 4
Week 6: Monday, Oct 19, at San Francisco 49ers, 8:15 pm ET, ESPN
This is another “things sure to go wrong” game. This is a prime time game for which Washington will have to travel all the way to the west coast. The 49ers simply have too many weapons on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball for Washington to overcome. Washington has performed better in prime time games under this coaching staff than under previous leadership, but still: this game screams loss.
Steve’s prediction: 49ers win comfortably, but not a blowout.
Record: 1 – 5
Week 7: BYE
Washington should be able to survive week 7 without a loss.
Week 8: Sunday, Nov 1, Philadelphia Eagles, 8:20 pm ET, NBC
Ummm….no. Sorry, kids. Philadelphia is a much better team. Washington isn’t going to overcome such a big deficit, even at home.
Steve’s prediction: The Eagles get another big victory.
Record: 1 – 6
Week 9: Sunday, Nov 8, Los Angeles Rams, 1:00 pm ET, FOX
This is yet another game against a much better team overall. I recognize that this is a home game and the Rams will have to travel to the East coast, which is a tough ask, but this still isn’t a game that Washington can win. Matthew Stafford and company get the victory, albeit in a closer game that anyone expects.
Steve’s prediction: The Rams get a close win.
Record: 1 – 7
Steve’s second quarter prediction: 1 – 3
Overall record: 1 – 7
Third quarter
This is the point in time in which Washington’s schedule starts to get dramatically easier, even taking into account that three of these four games are on the road. The team will finally start to get some wins in this quarter of the season.
Week 10: Thursday, Nov 12, at New York Giants, 8:15 pm ET, Amazon Prime
Recognizing that this is a prime time game on the road, it’s still the Giants, and I remain steadfast that Washington is the better team. This will be a tough, hard fought game, but I expect Washington to eek out a victory here.
Steve’s prediction: Washington wins a close one.
Record: 2 – 7
Week 11: Monday, Nov 23, Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 pm ET, ESPN
The Bengals actually have a significant amount of talent on offense, and most analysts expect them to be much better than last year’s 6 – 11 record. This is a home game for Washington, which matters, but it’s a short, easy travel day from Cincinnati. I think this is too much for Washington to overcome.
Steve’s prediction: The Bengals get a hard-fought win.
Record: 2 – 8
Week 12: Sunday, Nov 29, at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 pm ET, FOX
The Cardinals stunk last season and will continue to stink this season. Yes, they drafted the best running back in college football, Jeremiyah Love, but that won’t help them nearly enough. Washington will overcome a tough travel day to get their easiest win of the season.
Steve’s prediction: Washington gets a comfortable win.
Record: 3 – 8
Week 13: Sunday, Dec 6, at Tennessee Titans, 1:00 pm ET, CBS
The Titans were one of the worst teams in the NFL last year, and they did improve at least somewhat in terms of talent, including a receiver I liked in the draft, Carnell Tate, but Washington can get yet another road win to make it two in a row for the first time this season, both on the road
Steve’s prediction: Washington wins a close game.
Record: 4 – 8
Steve’s third quarter prediction: 3 – 1
Overall record: 4 – 8
Fourth quarter
I’d rank this quarter third in terms of schedule toughness, behind the first half of the season. This isn’t as easy as the third quarter, but there are a couple of winnable games to finish the season.
Week 14: Sunday, Dec 13, Houston Texans, 1:00 pm ET, CBS
The Texans are a much better team than Washington – I think they’ll be in contention for the AFC South division title, at a minimum. The Texans will need to get a win against an inferior team, and will do so, albeit not by blowout.
Steve’s prediction: Houston gets a fairly decisive victory
Overall record: 4 – 9
Week 15: Sunday, Dec 20, Atlanta Falcons, 1:00 pm ET, FOX
Drake London is a very talented receiver, and Bijan Robinson is one of the best running backs in the league, but I am not a believer in either Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix at quarterback. The Falcons should be improved this year, but won’t be great. This is a home game, and they’ll get a win this week.
Steve’s prediction: Washington wins a close game.
Overall record: 5 – 9
Week 16: TBD, at Minnesota Vikings
Kylar Murray isn’t good. He’s never been good, and he won’t start being good now. That having been said, Washington won’t be able to overcome better overall talent and a team which will still be playing for something this late in the season. The Vikings win at home.
Steve’s prediction: Minnesota gets a solid victory.
Overall record: 5 – 10
Week 17: TBD, at Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville was 13 – 4 last year, and while that will be a tough record to match, they are still a much better team than Washington and will not be able to afford to give a game away against a team that’s out of it.
Steve’s prediction: Jaguars win big.
Overall record: 5 – 11
Week 18: TBD, Dallas Cowboys
We all want Washington to beat the hated Dallas Cowboys. I get it. But I’m sorry to say that they are a better team this year and will most likely still be in the running for a Wild Card spot, at least to some degree. As a result, I don’t think Washington will be able to finish the season strong here.
Steve’s prediction: Dallas gets an close victory.
Overall record: 5 – 12
Steve’s fourth quarter prediction: 1 – 4
Overall record: 5 – 12
So there you have it, kids. My official prediction is that Washington matches its 2025 record, neither improving nor getting worse. At the moment, I just can’t get past what I view as a terrible preseason. What do you think? Put your prediction in the comment section below.