The Washington Commanders' 2025 schedule has officially been released by the NFL. Here are five takeaways from this year's slate of games.

1. A home opener.

Jayden Daniels' second season will begin in front of thousands of Commanders fans at Northwest Stadium for the fifth time since the 2020 season.

Washington will begin the season by hosting the New York Giants, who will likely be led by veteran quarterback Russell Wilson. The Commanders have fared well in their home openers over the last five seasons, as they have gone 4-1 in such matchups. They have not started a season against the Giants since 2011 -- a game they won 28-14 thanks in part to 305 yards and two touchdowns from Rex Grossman.

The Giants will come to Northwest Stadium looking to get a win over Washington after being swept by the team in 2024. It will be the first time Washington will have to deal with rookie pass-rusher Abdul Carter, who was drafted No. 3 overall to join a Giants defensive front that already had Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence.

The Giants will also have a reworked quarterback room. With Daniel Jones gone, the team signed Wilson to be their next starter. However, the Giants also drafted Jaxon Dart in the first round believing he could be their future at the position. Regardless of who they start under center, Malik Nabers is still poised to be a threat for Washington's new secondary, which now includes second-round pick Trey Amos.

2. More attention from the national spotlight.

Although the Commanders ended the 2024 season with more primetime games than originally intended, there's no doubt the team's success has garnered more national attention.

This year, the Commanders will start the season with at least five primetime games, including a Thursday night football game in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers. Some of Washington's most marquee matchups will be played in front of a nationally-televised audience, such as a Week 8 game against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs as well as a rematch with the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. There's also a stretch from Weeks 6-9 where the Commanders will play a primetime game three times in four weeks.

But Washington has also been given other high-profile games that are not considered to be in primetime. They will be playing the Miami Dolphins in the first-ever NFL game in Spain on Nov.16. About a month later, they will host the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day, which will be aired on Netflix. It's the first time the Commanders will play on Christmas and the first for the Cowboys since 2010.

Daniels has become one of the league's most exciting players, and the entire league wants a piece of him.

3. A busier travel schedule.

The Commanders had a favorable travel schedule in 2024, as they only had to travel across the country for one game. This year will be a bit more challenging in terms of sheer travel miles.

The Commanders won't travel as far as the Los Angeles Chargers, who will lead the league with 37,086 miles, but they do rank just outside the top 10 with 21,363 miles. Much of that will come from the game played against the Dolphins in Spain, but they will also have to travel to SoFi Stadium to play the Chargers as well as Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers and U.S. Bank Stadium to play the Minnesota Vikings.

It's not all bad for the Commanders, though. The games between the Packers (Week 2), Chargers (Week 5) and Vikings (Week 14) are all spread out, meaning there will not be a similar situation to last year, when they had to play the Arizona Cardinals on the road less than a week after traveling to play the Cincinnati Bengals. The Commanders will also play two western division teams (the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks) at home.

Still, the Commanders will be moving around the country far more often in 2025.

4. Four straight division games to close out the season.

Division games are always important, but the NFL has tried to increase their significance by scheduling more of them near the end of the season to up the drama for teams in the playoff hunt.

That will be the case for the Commanders in 2025, as they will close out the season with four straight NFC matchups. It is reminiscent of the 2021 season, when they had five straight division games to finish the year. Washington entered that stretch with a 6-6 record and a chance at making the playoffs but lost four straight and missed the postseason.

This year, the Commanders will start their NFC East gauntlet with a road game against the Giants before playing the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday at an undetermined time and the game against the Cowboys on Christmas. Adding to that challenge will be the time between games; the Commanders will play three matchups in the span of 12 days. They should benefit from the Week 12 bye, but it's still a physical toll the coaches and players will need to prepare for.

That leaves us with the season finale, which will be against...

5. A challenging season finale.

...the Eagles, last year's Super Bowl champions, who dismantled the Chiefs in the championship matchup.

Not to put any assumptions on what could happen in January of 2026, but there's a chance that game could be meaningful, not just for playoff seeding but also for the division crown. While the Eagles won the NFC East in 2024, the Commanders were firmly in second place with a 12-5 record. Both regular-season games between the two teams were competitive, and both squads have found ways to improve their rosters. If the division could be decided in that game, then it could be flexed into another primetime slot.

Regardless of the date and time, neither of which has been decided at this point, the Commanders will face a difficult environment in the season finale. They will be playing in Philadelphia, which is always a challenging venue for the Eagles' opponents thanks to its fan base.

The last time the Commanders played the Eagles on the road was for the NFC Championship, which resulted in a 55-23 win for the eventual Super Bowl champions.