Redskins Reality Checks: Realistic predictions for Week 6 vs. the Panthers
By Tim Payne
1. Reality is, the Redskins are in first place through one quarter of the season and will be no more than a half-game back by the end of this week.
Yes, after that Eagles’ win on Thursday, they are technically behind Philly via tiebreakers, but the Redskins are essentially tied for first place in their division. Before the season began, any logical Redskins fan would have taken these NFC East standings after five weeks in a heartbeat. The Redskins have the record most people expected them to have at this point in the season (though many thought they would have lost to Green Bay and beaten Indianapolis), and the Eagles have at least one more loss than anyone anticipated.
Anyone acting like the Redskins are dramatically underperforming expectations is crazy. The Giants are dramatically underperforming expectations. The Redskins, as much as many fans would love to think otherwise, are a middle-of-the-pack team that could make the playoffs if a few things break right for them.
Reality is, four games in, the results are mixed for the Redskins. Odds are, after four more games, they’ll still be just that…mixed.
Prediction: No teams will clinch playoff spots or be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs this week, so there’s really not much to talk about here in terms of short-term predictions.