2021 Washington Football Team Betting Preview: Odds, Lines, & Predictions

2021 Washington Football Team Betting Preview

After soundly winning the laughably bad NFC East in 2020, the Washington Football Team will look to repeat as champions in 2021.

The road back to a home playoff game won’t be easy for Washington as their schedule and division got tougher from last year. But that shouldn’t be too much of a problem since Washington also got better this offseason.

They now have a solid but temporary option at quarterback as NFL journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick is now the man in charge. The Football Team also got an additional weapon for Fitzpatrick to throw to in WR Curtis Samuel, who will be a great threat on the field opposite of stud WR Terry McLaurin. RB Antonio Gibson will only look to improve off of his superb rookie campaign alongside J.D. McKissic.

But the real reason Washington will win the division will be because of their vaunted defense. Washington used their first-round pick to add LB Jamin Davis to make their already terrifying defense even scarier. He now joins monsters like Chase Young, Da’ron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, Landon Collins, William Jackson, and Kendall Fuller.

The Football Team has talent at all three stages of their defense and it will be hard for any offense to get anything going on them. The Football Team only needs an average at best offense if they want to win the division as their defense will carry them throughout the season.

2020 Washington Football Team Team Stats

• Points For: 346
• Points Against: 336
• Passing Yards Per Game: 216.6
• Rushing Yards Per Game: 100.7
• Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 191.8
• Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 112.8

Key Offseason Transactions

Washington only really needed to focus on offense this offseason because the defense is already elite.

The Football Team struggled to throw the ball last season and needed a real quarterback. So they decided not to trade picks so they could get a quarterback in the draft but instead decided that the bearded wizard, Ryan Fitzpatrick, is their answer at quarterback for the time being. They also resigned legendary playoff performer, Taylor Heinicke, to a contract in case Fitzpatrick has one of those games where he throws 4 interceptions. They also signed WR Curtis Samuel from free agency to take some of the pressure off of WR Terry McLaurin.

The other big move that Washington made was selecting athletic LB Jamin Davis with their first-round pick to add more talented to one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Washington is almost a complete team and a quarterback away from being the frontrunners to win the NFC East.

2020 Washington Football Team Betting Stats

• Record: 7-10
• MOV: -2.6
• ATS: 10-7
• ATS +/-: +3.6
• Over/Under: 6-11
• Total +/-: +4

2021 Washington Football Team Betting Outlook

Washington was an interesting season to bet on last season and should be a little chaotic to bet on this season.

The weird thing about Washington last season was that they were the only division winner to have a negative margin of victory.

Looking ahead to this season, expect some close spread covers and unders. The Football Team plays a methodical brand of football where they like to run the ball and let their defense shut the other team down instead of trying to throw the ball to win games. This is unique to about 4 teams in the NFL, but wildcard Ryan Fitzpatrick can always throw a wrench in those plans.

Fitzpatrick is a gunslinger, which means that he can complete some passes he probably shouldn’t with his great arm, and other times he will throw right at defenders.

Washington is rolling the dice with Fitzpatrick at quarterback and it will be interesting to see which version of him we see week to week.

Washington Football Team Super Bowl Odds

The Football Team has below-average odds to win Super Bowl 56 at +5000, which is weird to think about a former division winner. These odds are tied with the Chicago Bears and are the 9th worst odds in the entire league.

Where do I begin with teams that have better odds than the Football Team? Let’s name teams like the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Bills, Rams, 49ers, Ravens, Browns, Packers, Broncos, Colts, Seahawks, Saints, Cowboys, Titans, Dolphins, Chargers, Patriots, Cardinals, Steelers, and Vikings.

These odds seem kind of disrespectful to the Football Team, but a lot of these teams are better than Washington is. I think the only reason the Football Team has such low odds is because of their shaky quarterback situation.

But if you believe that Ryan Fitzpatrick can get the job done, then hammer the Washington Football Team.

Washington Football Team Playoff Odds

The odds are stacked against the Football Team to make the playoffs in 2021.

Their odds to make the playoff are +160 and their odds that they miss the playoffs are -189.

The only way that I can see Washington missing the playoffs is if they don’t win the NFC East. Winning the NFC East is crucial for anyone on that division because there is no way a team can make it into the playoffs through a wildcard spot in the loaded NFC. The Cowboys are Giants are good enough to beat the Football Team and the Cowboys are even the favorites to win the division.

Washington is going to need to win the division if they want a spot in the playoffs so every divisional game matters for them.

Washington Football Team Win Total Odds

The oddsmakers predict a losing season from the Football Team at 8 wins for the season.

The over is set at -130 while the under is set at +107.

Looking at their 2021 schedule, there aren’t many letdown weeks where Washington can snag an easy win. Their best chances at wins are against their division mates in the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles. Apart from that, Washington has to play teams like Chargers, Bills, Falcons, Saints, Packers, Broncos, Buccaneers, Panthers, Seahawks, and Raiders.

This is a pretty hard schedule to face and I don’t expect the Football Team to sweep through their division either. So depending on how their offense performs, 8 wins seems like the right number with a higher chance at the under than over.

Washington Football Team Player Futures Odds

The defense is the main selling point for Washington with one player that stands above the rest.

DE Chase Young is the star player with his combination of blinding speed and underrated strength. His odds to win the DPOY are +1800 which is the 6th highest among EDGE players. He has a slim chance to win as he is behind perennial DPOY candidates like T.J. Watt, Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Myles Garrett, and Khalil Mack. But Chase is a superstar in his own right and he could easily get enough sacks to put himself in the conversation of DPOY.

Their other defensive player that can take home an NFL award is rookie LB Jamin Davis. He has +925 odds to win the DROY award which is 5th highest among all rookie defenders. He is behind guys like Micah Parson, Jaelan Phillips, Kwity Paye, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Davis will have a tough time winning the DROY as he will probably not get the same counting stats as the other rookies because his defensive teammates are some of the best players in the league.