Photo by Fred King

Robert Griffin III has until 7:10 p.m. on Monday, September 9 to get his right knee in shape, or the Washington football team’s 2013 season will usher in the Kirk Cousins era. A season after winning their first division title in 13 years, the team will try to improve on last year’s 10-6 record with a Monday Night Football opener against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedEx Field.

The team will get its first three games at home before heading to its first road match, a September 29 visit to the Oakland Raiders. Washington also gets a bye in Week 5, a much nicer reprieve than last year, when the team had to wait until Week 10 for a break.

Aside from the season premiere against the Eagles and a Week 6 trip to Dallas, the Washington football team’s division rivalries are backloaded. Of the five final games on the schedule, one is against the Cowboys and two are against the New York Giants, including the season closer in East Rutherford, N.J.

ESPN analyzes the team’s schedule as relatively comfortable. There’s the early bye, plus the fact that the team will only be on the road in two consecutive weeks once during the entire season. And two of its outdoor games in cold-weather cities—Green Bay and Denver—come during the first half of the season. Down the stretch, the team won’t visit any place colder than Northern New Jersey.

As for who will be taking the snaps in that first game against the Eagles? Griffin, who left the team’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks after tearing two ligaments in his right knee, has repeatedly said he’ll be ready to go in Week 1. Griffin underwent surgery in early January and has since been undergoing rehabilitation.

Here’s the schedule:

• Week 1: Monday, Sept. 9, Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
• Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 15, at Green Bay, 1 p.m.
• Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 22, Detroit, 1 p.m.
• Week 4: Sunday, Sept. 29, at Oakland, 4:25 p.m.
• Week 5: Bye
• Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 13, at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
• Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 20, Chicago, 1 p.m.
• Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 27, at Denver, 4:25 p.m.
• Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 3, San Diego, 1 p.m.
• Week 10: Thursday, Nov. 7, at Minnesota, 8:25 p.m.
• Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 17, at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
• Week 12: Monday, Nov. 25, San Francisco, 8:30 p.m.
• Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 1, New York Giants, 8:30 p.m.
• Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 8, Kansas City, 1 p.m.
• Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 15, at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
• Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 22, Dallas, 1 p.m.
• Week 17: Sunday, Dec. 29, at New York Giants, 1 p.m