For the Skins Every Game From Here Out Could be a Must Win
By author
With a narrow yet impressive win against the Titans in week 11 the Skins have managed to keep their playoff hopes alive for at least another week. However though like their win in week 11 they are holding on by a thread and at this point a loss would more than likely shatter any hope or chance they have of making the playoffs….
So lets break down how the NFC stands at this point
NFC East- Eagles 7 and 3, Giants 6 and 4, Redskins 5 and 5, Cowboys 3 and 7
NFC North- Bears 7 and 3, Packers 7 and 3, Vikings 3 and 7, Lions 2 and 8
NFC South- Falcons 8 and 2, Bucaneers 7 and 3, Saints 7 and 3, Panthers 1 and 9
NFC West- Seahawks 5 and 5, Rams 4 and 6, Cardinals 3 and 7, 49ers 3 and 7
At this point in the season I really don’t see the Cowboys, Vikings, Lions, Panthers, Cardinals or 49ers making a push for the playoffs. So that takes takes 6 teams out of the running and leaves 10 teams vying for only 6 spots in to the playoffs. Those teams are the
Redskins- still have to play the Vikings, Bucaneers, Cowboys, Jaguars and Giants twice
Eagles- still have to play the Bears, Texans, Giants, Vikings and Cowboys twice
Giants- still have to play the Jaguars, Vikings, Eagles, Packers and Redskins twice
Bears- still have to play the Eagles, Lions, Patriots, Vikings, Jets and Packers
Packers- still have to play the Falcons, 49ers, Lions, Patriots, Giants and Bears
Falcons- still have to play the Packers, Bucaneers, Seahawks, Saints and Panthers twice
Bucaneers- still have to play the Ravens, Falcons, Redskins, Lions, Seahawks and Saints
Saints- still have to play the Cowboys, Bengals, Rams, Ravens, Falcons and Bucaneers
Seahawks- still have to play the Chiefs, Panthers, 49ers, Falcons, Bucaneers and Rams
Rams- still have to play the Broncos, Cardinals, Saints, Chiefs, 49ers and Seahawks
I really don’t see the Seahawks or the Rams being much of a factor in to whether or not the Redskins will make the playoffs. They are both in the NFC West and by default the division winner will make it but no wild card team will come out of the West. Honestly I would not be surprised if every team in their division finished with a losing record.
As for the other 8 teams (including the Redskins) they all have at least 3 to 5 games that could prove to be very tough games for them. So if the Redskins continue to put together some wins they could be helped out by the schedules of the other teams in the playoff race.
Plus remember they still have to play two games vs the Giants and a game vs the Bucaneers so wins in those games would greatly improve the Redskins chance at the playoffs. Washington also owns the tie breaker over the Bears and the Packers having beat them head to head and they split the series vs the Eagles so if they finish with the same record it would be broken by who had the better record in the division (if thats a tie there are 10 other possible tie breakers).
So Washington is still very much alive in the playoff race they just need to continue to come in each week and play to the best of their ability and hope to gain ground as the season progresses. This week a number of the teams in the NFC playoff hunt have to go against some tough competition
Saints vs a rebounding Cowboys team that has won two straight
Giants vs a Jaguars team that has won 3 straight and is 6 and 4 on the season
Packers vs Falcons both have more wins so no matter who wins Skins could gain ground
Eagles vs Bears both have more wins so no matter who wins the Skins could gain ground
Bucaneers vs a Ravens team that is 7 and 3 and is definitely no easy win for the Bucs
So needless to say a Skins win this week vs a beatable Minnesota Vikings team could definitely help the Skins chances at the playoffs.