We're hours away from learning the Washington Commanders' 2024 schedule. We've known the full list of home and away opponents for months, but who the Burgundy & Gold will play in Week 1, how many primetime games are in their future and more will be revealed by the NFL at 8 p.m. tonight.
In the meantime, let's use this time to get some more information on what we do know about the upcoming schedule. Here are 24 things to know about the upcoming slate of games.
1. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had one of his worst seasons in 2022, both from an injury and performance perspective, hitting career lows in completions (261), QBR (59.9) and interceptions (15) on top of throwing for just 2,860 yards. He responded by having one of the best in his career in 2023, leading the league in completions (410) and touchdowns (36) and ranking third in passing yards (4,516).
2. The Giants brought some of the most pressure in the NFL last season under Wink Martindale, blitzing opponents 45.4% of the time. No matter what new Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen does with the unit, expect the Commanders to be under duress on significantly fewer snaps, as the Titans -- Bowen's previous team -- blitzed only 22% of the time and had one of the lowest hurry rates (6.3%) in the NFL.
3. Jalen Hurts generated the second most rushing first downs in the NFL, many of which were a result of the infamous "tush push." The Eagles aren't going to abandon the play now that Jason Kelce has retired, but it will be interesting to see how the play will be affected by his absence.
4. The Commanders will play the Falcons for the fourth consecutive season, and who knows how the addition of Kirk Cousins will affect his new team, but we can expect the matchup to be close. The last three games between the two squads were all decided by less than a touchdown and came down to the last drive.
5. Bryce Young was one of the most harassed quarterbacks in 2023, experiencing 150 pressures. He had a completion rate of 39.1% under duress, which ranked 61st among all active quarterbacks, compared to 69.6% when clean.
6. Nick Chubb experienced a scary injury that ended his 2023, but assuming he comes back healthy, he's probably still going to be a load to bring down. He ranked in the top three in yards after contact in 2021 (2nd) and 2022 (3rd).
7. There's a reason why the Steelers have never had a losing record under Mike Tomlin: his teams normally win late in the season. Since 2007, the Steelers have a 47-28 record in December.
8. The Titans have done significant work over the last two seasons to overhaul their receiving corps, signing DeAndre Hopkins last offseason and bringing in Tyler Boyd and Calvin Ridley this offseason. While most teams are trying to get younger at the position, the Titans are taking a different approach. They are the only team in the NFL to have their receiving corps average over 30 years old.
9. The Commanders have had their issues at quarterback, but the Bears have a much longer history of woes at the position. They have never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns. Not that college numbers should matter much in the NFL, but Caleb Williams has a shot at making franchise history. Although his numbers at USC were down in 2023, his passing yards would have ranked fifth on the all-time single season list.
10. The Saints' season didn't end the way they wanted, despite winning four of their last five games, but they still had one of the most productive offenses and stingiest defenses. Theywere one of only five teams with a top 10 scoring offense (9th) and defense (8th).
11. It was a career year for Mayfield in several categories, all of which highlighted that the former No. 1 overall pick can still deliver as a passer. He had 2,103 completed air yards -- his most since 2020 -- which ranked 11th in the NFL last year.
12. Despite there being only 37 miles between their stadiums, the Commanders and Ravens don't play that often. There are only seven matchups in "the Battle of the Beltway," the last of which came in 2020. Aside from two games where Baltimore won by two touchdowns, five of the games were decided by less than seven points.
13. The Commanders are playing the Cardinals in Arizona for the first time since 2020, and history shows that they usually have success against them. They lead the all-time series, 78-47-2, which comes out to a .622 winning percentage. That ranks as the franchise's sixth best win-loss rate among active teams.
14. Despite not having their quarterback for half the year and having one of the worst defenses, the Bengals made the most of their situation with Jake Browning, who gave them two overtime wins en route to a 9-8 record. Browing, an undrafted free agent from Washington, led the league with a 70.4% completion rate.
15. The Commanders are tied for 16th in strength of schedule based on the results from 2023 with their opponents combining for a record of 145-144.
16. So much for long road trips. The Commanders will travel 10,550 miles this season -- the lowest total in the NFL.
17. Chicago is Washington's most common playoff opponent. They have met seven times in the postseason with Washington holding a 4-3 advantage.
18. It's been a long time since the Commanders have gone to the Bengals' home field. Cincinnati was technically the home team in 2016, but that game was played in the United Kingdom. You must go all the way back to 2008 for the last time Washington played the Bengals in Ohio, when Jason Campbell led the team against the Bengals and future Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
19. Washington has scored 41 points twice against the Cowboys, the most recent game coming on Thanksgiving in 2020.
20. Washington has scored 3,572 points against the Eagles, the most it has scored against any team.
21. All of Washington's wins over the Panthers have been decided by eight points or fewer.
22. The Commanders have an all-time winning record against 10 of their 14 opponents.
23. The Commanders will play six playoff teams from the 2023 season.
24. The most points scored by Washington came against the Giants in 1966, when Sonny Jergensen, A.D. Whitfield, Bobby Mitchell and Joe Don Looney combined for seven touchdowns.
