John Matthews
WMAL.com
ASHBURN, VA — (WMAL) The Redskins went into their bye week with a tie in a foreign land – not exactly a big confidence booster to start the second half of a long season.
Yet, with eight weeks left, Washington has to be encouraged with where it sits. If the regular season ended today, the Redskins would be the sixth seed in the NFC, set to travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.
That’s not bad for a team that started its season with two losses at home, including one winnable game to a Dallas team which suddenly appears to be the best team in the NFC.
The Redskins are maddeningly inconsistent, but that appears to be the norm in the NFL this season, with teams that were expected to be juggernauts playing to the median on a weekly basis.
Pundits have warned all along that the Redskins needed to come out of the first half of the season with a strong record, because the second half of the season is going to be brutal, and on that score, the Redskins have been a bit disappointing at 4-3-1.
But have you noticed? Suddenly, that imposing first-place schedule they inherited thanks to last season’s unlikely NFC East title doesn’t appear to be as soul-crushing as originally thought.
Minnesota? Losers of three straight following a 5-0 start.
Green Bay? Playing .500 ball after losing at home to a mediocre Colts team.
Carolina? The Panthers have won three straight, to bring their record to 3 – 5 on the season, but without Josh Norman, they are a shadow of their 2015 NFC Champion selves.
Arizona? Last year’s NFC runner-up has lost its way as well, sitting at 3-4-1.
The Redskins do have a second go-round within the NFC East, and that’s likely where the difference between playing in January and staying home will be found. Washington has already beaten both the Giants and Eagles once, and came within a Kirk Cousins red zone interception of beating the Cowboys, too.
Speaking of the Red Zone, that’s where the Redskins need to improve the most if they are going to return to the post-season for a second straight year.
Kirk Cousins has proved in his franchise tag-year that he can move his team almost at will between the 20-yard-lines, but if he wants a long-term deal in the future, he’ll need to find a way to score more touchdowns when his team gets close to the goal line. Washington finds pay dirt just 41 percent of the time when it has the ball inside the opponent’s 20 yard line, ranking 30th in the NFL, down from 11th in 2015.
And for the next four games, Cousins will have to make that progress without the protection of his best offensive lineman. Trent Williams’ suspension for substance abuse leaves the Redskins razor-thin along the line. Ty Nsekhe has proven to be a capable backup for Williams, but his use on a regular basis leaves the team with no room for error or injury, and one stumble could be fatal for the offense.
On defense, the Redskins have to continue to work on stopping the run, which has been a weakness throughout the season. The biggest test will come on Thanksgiving Day, when Washington travels to Dallas to try and stop MVP candidate and rookie phenom Ezekiel Elliott, who leads the NFL in rushing.
Still, in a year when only Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots can make the claim to be truly great, the door remains wide open for the Redskins.
The only question is… will they take that step?
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