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Washington Redskins' schedule 2020: Low expectations for Ron Rivera's crew

The Washington Redskins' schedule for 2020, the 28th hardest schedule in the NFL, was released Thursday.

The regular season kicks off with the Houston Texans visiting the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, Sept. 10 (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). The opening doubleheader for Monday Night Football will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers at the New York Giants (7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos (10:20 p.m. ET) on Monday, Sept. 14.

Check out the full week-by-week schedule here. Here's what is in store for the Redskins:

Game-by-game prediction

Redskins reporter John Keim is predicting a 6-10 finish:

Sept. 13: vs. Philadelphia, Win

Sept. 20: at Arizona, Loss

Sept. 27: at Cleveland, Loss

Oct. 4: vs. Baltimore, Loss

Oct. 11: vs. L.A. Rams, Loss

Oct. 18: at N.Y. Giants, Win

Oct. 25: vs. Dallas, Loss

Nov. 1: BYE

Nov. 8: vs. N.Y. Giants, Win

Nov. 15: at Detroit, Loss

Nov. 22: vs. Cincinnati, Win

Nov. 26: at Dallas, Loss

Dec. 6: at Pittsburgh, Win

Dec. 13: at San Francisco, Loss

Dec. 20: vs. Seattle, Loss

Dec. 27: vs. Carolina, Win

Jan. 3: at Philadelphia, Loss

Strength of schedule: 28th, .465

Breakdown

After a disastrous 3-13 season in 2019, it's clear the NFL isn't anticipating much from Washington in coach Ron Rivera's first season, with no prime-time games and only one prominent game -- at Dallas on Thanksgiving, for the third time in five years. Every other game, with the exception of two games out West, will start at 1 p.m. ET. Of the previous six coaches hired by franchise owner Dan Snyder, none had a winning record in their first seasons -- but they did average 6.5 wins.

Monday Night shutout

The Redskins won't play on Monday Night Football for the first time since 1999. Perhaps that's not such a bad thing. Since 2010, Washington has lost 13 of its past 15 games on Monday nights. Their .133 winning percentage during that time was easily the worst in the NFL. But keep this in mind: In 1999, the Redskins were predicted by some to win three games but instead won 10 and captured the NFC East title.

Familiar faces

Rivera no doubt will look forward to a Dec. 27 matchup against Carolina, whom he coached for eight-plus seasons until being fired with four games remaining in 2019. But it'll be fun to watch former Ohio State quarterbacks Joe Burrow vs. Dwayne Haskins on Nov. 22. Burrow broke his hand in 2017 and Haskins emerged as the No. 2 quarterback behind J.T. Barrett. He then beat out Burrow that spring, prompting the latter to transfer to LSU. Another Ohio State alum, Redskins rookie end Chase Young, might want to show why he was the best player in the 2020 NFL draft, despite going one pick after Burrow.