Sunday’s Redskins-Eagles winner will take the NFC East title. It doesn’t matter that 11 more games remain for Washington and 10 for Philadelphia. Forget the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys as contenders. Ignore common sense that title games don’t come in October.
Washington (3-1) has a chance to knock out Philadelphia (1-4) and earn national respect it didn’t receive after its narrow victories against mediocre competition. Conversely, an Eagles win shows Philadelphia can rally to win the division that might only require a 10-6 mark.
One of these teams will see the postseason — it’s just hard to say which.
Philadelphia was supposed to be the “Dream Team” after quarterback Michael Vick’s breakout play last season and the addition of several prominent free agents. Instead, a nightmarish series of turnovers has resulted in four straight losses.
If Washington beats Philadelphia, the Eagles would need at least an 8-2 finish for a postseason bid, maybe 9-1. Philadelphia’s offense is so good it’s hard to discount a strong run, but 8-2 rarely follows 1-5 starts.
The last thing Washington wants is to provide Philadelphia momentum.
“Anything could happen to that team because they have so much talent,” Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman said. “They are eventually going to get it right, and they’re eventually going to get on a roll, so we want to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Aside from burying its division rival, Washington also can validate a 3-1 start. A revamped defense can keep the Redskins contending for the first time in four years. Beating the Eagles would infuse confidence, which is vital for losing teams to become successful.
“I think as a coach and even as a player, you get a feeling that good things are happening,” defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said. “It’s kind of a feeling within your organization, and guys work hard and guys have fun being around one another. Guys enjoy going out to practice and guys like being in the meeting rooms. I would say that it’s night and day from last year to this year with this football team that I feel. I think the players probably feel the same way.”
Shanahan is bemused by playoff talk just one month into the season. Then again, he hasn’t had to endure the 20-year stretch in four playoff appearances since winning the Super Bowl 20 years ago. Still, the coach can’t let players lose focus of simply worrying about the next game.
“We talk about ‘Don’t worry about what happens three weeks from now. Just take care of business,’?” Shanahan said. “If you do that, you have a chance for good things to happen. I think our football team really thinks that way. We understand that this is a big game and a division game in the NFC East. I don’t even think about first place. That’s the furthest thing from my mind.”
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
