It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…
The 5 O’Clock Club
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2026 opponent preview series: Wk 1 Eagles | Wk 2 Cowboys | Wk 3 Seahawks | Wk 4 Colts | Wk 5 Giants
Previewing Washington’s 14 opponents of the ‘26 season — one at a time
In 2026, the Commanders will, like every other team in the NFL, play 17 games against 14 opponents. With the amount of roster change that NFL teams
undergo annually along with the unusually large number of head coach and coordinator changes in 2026, it seems useful to spend some time to review each of Washington’s regular season opponents.
In a 7-game stretch from Week 4 to Week 11, the Commanders play in prime-time or stand-alone time slots FIVE times, which indicates to me that the networks and the league office are banking on Washington being a much better team than the oddsmakers would have you believe. This stretch of national stand-alone games begins with the London game against the Colts in Week 4; the first of the prime time games is this Monday Night Football matchup in San Francisco.
Week 5 Preview: Washington Commanders at San Francisco 49ers
Date: October 19, 2026, 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday Night Football)
Location: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California
The 49ers are off to Australia to open their season by playing Thursday Night Football in Victoria at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground, where I once watched Day 5 of a test match between South Africa and the Aussies (which Australia won handily).
San Fran then plays 3 home games in a row (presumably as payback for the Australia travel) before a short road trip to Seattle. They return to Levi’s Stadium for the MNF game against Washington — their 4th home game in 5 weeks!
The Niners should have at least a couple of wins on the board as they play the Cardinals and Dolphins in two of those home games (who were ranked 29th & 32nd, respectively, in ESPN’s latest Football Power Index). They may not be above .500, however, since their 3 other games are NFC & AFC West contests against the Rams, Seahawks and Broncos.
We know that Kyle Shanahan always feels a little extra motivation against Washington, where he felt he and his dad got the metaphorical bum’s rush out the door at the end of the 2013 season, the senior Shanahan’s final NFL coaching job after a probable Hall of Fame NFL coaching career.
The All-Time Series Numbers
Dating back to 1952, San Francisco and Washington have played each other 36 times, including 4 playoff games.
The Niners have had the best of both regular season and postseason, winning 3 of the 4 playoff games, and holding onto a commanding 23-12-1 lead overall. Washington’s sole playoff win over the 49ers came in the NFC Championship game after the 1983 season, on the way to the Redskins’ first Super Bowl (but 3rd NFL) championship.
Things have been a little less one-sided since 2017, with Washington winning 2 out of 5 regular season games. You may remember the not-so-classic mud bowl played in Landover during monsoon rain in 2019 when the 49ers won 9-0.
The last time Washington beat the 49ers, they were branded as the “Football Team” in the 2020 COVID-affected season. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the AP/DQ/JD5 era (though not the first of the Josh Harris ownership), so Dan Quinn will be looking to get off on the right foot against his former offensive coordinator — who may have cost Quinn a Super Bowl win with his 4th quarter playcalling against the Patriots on February 5th, 2017.
49ers Coaching Changes
The most notable changes included hiring Raheem Morris as the defensive coordinator and adding former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus assistant head coach/defense
Offense
Klay Kubiak returns as the offensive coordinator in 2026, but a few things should be clear. First and foremost, it is Kyle Shanahan, the head coach, who designs the offense and calls the plays. Just like Kyle is the son of Mike Shanahan, Klay is the son of Gary Kubiak, who played & coached under Mike Shanahan, and younger brother to Klint Kubiak, who is currently the rookie head coach of the Raiders — an unenviable job — and who also lists stops as an offensive coach in Denver and San Francisco on his resume.
This is a multi-generational family affair — involving both the Shanahans and Kubiaks — but in 2026, it is Kyle’s offense, one that he inherited from his dad, but one that he has continued to adapt and refine.
In a sense, an entire swath of NFL offenses are credited as direct or indirect descendants of the Shanahan offense, with Kyle often credited as the progenitor (as opposed to his father, Mike).
Kyle’s continued success in running an offensive scheme that seems to enhance the performance of offensive linemen, quarterbacks and running backs regardless of pedigree belies the idea that a superstar quarterback is a prerequisite for NFL success, as well as the belief that, once opposing defenses get film of your scheme, they’ll find a way to stop it.
The 49ers’ Kubiak/Shanahan offensive scheme relies on a heavy outside-zone running game perfectly matched with mirrored play-action passing concepts. By making running and passing plays look completely identical at the snap, the 49ers ruin defensive eye discipline and create hesitation. The system further stresses opponents by utilizing league-leading rates of pre-snap motion and versatile, positionless players to create structural mismatches. This lethal combination forces defenders to think rather than react, routinely resulting in blown coverages and massive gains.
Defense
Based on what I’ve seen from Raheem Morris over the past few years and what I’ve read about him this offseason, the defensive scheme that he implements with the 49ers will likely integrate a hybrid, multiple-front structure that, like so many other NFL defensive schemes, is designed to elevate post-snap ambiguity. While it should rely on a traditional four-down base defensive alignment, Morris should also incorporate odd-front looks, such as 3-4 and five-man structures, to disguise pressure and confuse offenses.
Within this scheme, Nick Bosa is expected to shift from a rigid wide-9 path to alternate styles where he occasionally stands up or aligns tighter inside, allowing the defense to manufacture isolated matchups and run tactical stunts. This variable look should force opposing blockers to diagnose what’s happening on the fly. It is almost guaranteed that Fred Warner will wear the green dot, tasked with managing the defense.
The secondary structure under Morris transitions away from predictable, stationary coverage shells toward a system heavily reliant on simulated pressures and back-end disguise.
The coverage should rely on cornerback Renardo Green to utilize his physical press-man capabilities on the boundary, disrupting wide receiver route timing right at the line of scrimmage.
By tightening coverage on the perimeter, Morris can simultaneously elevate the team’s blitz rates and manipulate safe-zone depth, leveraging safety Ji’Ayir Brown to mask post-snap rotations and eliminate vertical passing lanes over the deep middle.
This integration of flexible front-seven alignments and aggressive boundary techniques, common to many NFL defenses, aims to keep offensive protection schemes off-balance and force opposing QBs into costly mistakes.
Summary
In ESPN’s recent Power Index, the 49ers were ranked #5 while the Commanders were ranked #21, which indicates that this Week 6 Monday Night Football game won’t be much of a contest, but, as I alluded above, the league’s scheduling of the Commanders in 2026 — 5 prime time games, an international game, 2 late-afternoon NFC East games to open the season (that’s 8 high-profile games out of 14) — indicates that networks and Roger Goodell expect a lot more out of this re-tooled Washington team than do ESPN or the oddsmakers. If the league office and the networks are right, this early-season NFC Monday night matchup could be critical to both teams’ playoff hopes.
Key statistical 2025 rankings
The 49ers will have as much continuity on offense as any team in the league, with no change at head coach and offensive coordinator and limited roster change outside of the wide receiver group. Defensively, the 49ers were ranked in the top half of the league under Robert Saleh, who left to take over as head coach of the Titans. The core defensive roster is back, bolstered by 4 mid-round draft picks and former Cowboy Osa Odighizuwa.
Offensive Rankings
- Total Offense: Ranked 7th in total yards (5,974 yards).
- Scoring Offense: Ranked 10th in points scored, averaging 25.7 points per game.
- Passing Offense: Ranked 5th in passing yards per game, averaging 244.5 yards.
- Efficiency: Ranked 4th in quick-passing efficiency on first-read throws released under 2.5 seconds.
Defensive Rankings
- Scoring Defense: Ranked 13th in points allowed, giving up 21.8 points per game.
- Total Defense: Ranked 20th in total yards allowed per game, yielding 340.2 yards.
- Yards Allowed: Ranked 13th in overall net defensive yards allowed (5,784 yards).
Roster Moves: Trades, Free Agency, and the Draft
Trades and Free Agency
Player trades
The San Francisco 49ers strengthened their interior DL by acquiring veteran Osa Odighizuwa from the Dallas Cowboys for a 2026 3rd-round draft pick. The 27-year-old DT brings 17 career sacks and five seasons of experience to the Bay Area, and is expected to provide three-down versatility and bolster a run defense that struggled last season.
Free agent signings
- WR Mike Evans
- WR Christian Kirk
Free agent losses
- WR Kendrick Bourne
- WR Jauan Jennings
- DT Jordan Elliott
The 2026 NFL Draft
Round 2, No. 33: De’Zhaun Stribling (WR, Ole Miss) – A speedy receiver who ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash.
Round 3, No. 70: Romello Height (EDGE, Texas Tech) – A pass rusher expected to serve as a third-down specialist.
Round 3, No. 90: Kaelon Black (RB, Indiana) – A running back pick added to compete for the backup role.
Round 4, No. 107: Gracen Halton (DT, Oklahoma) – A defensive tackle known for leading the FBS in run-stop rate.
Round 4, No. 127: Carver Willis (OL, Washington) – A developmental offensive lineman who played tackle in college.
Round 4, No. 139: Ephesians Prysock (CB, Washington) – A tall, long developmental cornerback.
Round 5, No. 154: Jaden Dugger (LB, Louisiana) – A converted safety filling a depth need at linebacker.
Round 5, No. 179: Enrique Cruz Jr. (OT, Kansas) – A highly athletic tackle added for depth and roster competition.
Betting Lines
Oddsmakers have established the home team as the solid favorite for this matchup.
- Point Spread: 49ers -5.5
- Game Total (Over/Under): 50.5 points
A 5.5-point spread represents a large margin indicating that bettors are heavily leaning into the Niners to win this early-season home game. The point total is set at 50.5, reflecting expectations of high offensive output from at least one of the offenses.
