Redskins Reality Checks after a Week 5 Win vs. Carolina

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LANDOVER, MD – OCTOBER 14: Running Back Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins takes the field prior to the game against the Carolina Panthers at FedExField on October 14, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /

The Redskins hold on to first place with an ugly win over the Panthers. Postgame Reality Checks are here for Week 6.

The Redskins needed a win. They needed to silence the critics. They needed to step up to the challenge. They needed to get some confidence back. They needed to find a way to wipe away the embarrassment of the loss in New Orleans. They needed to come together as a group and get some things straightened out.

And that’s just what they did on Sunday at FedEx Field.

The Carolina Panthers came in at 3-1 off the emotional high of a last-second 63-yard game-winning field goal seeking to keep pace with New Orleans in the NFC South. And this Redskins team — that found themselves on shaky ground after a confidence-sapping loss last week — did just enough to come up with the win.

Shout out to the special teams, and especially Dustin Hopkins and Tress Way for their clutch kicks throughout. Special teams let down the Redskins all too often over the last 20 years, so we need to give them their due when they step up and win a game.

So, what did we learn about the Redskins this week? Let’s take a look back at our Reality Checks for Week 6.

1. Reality Is, the Redskins are in first place through 1 quarter of the season and will be no more than a half-game back by the end of this week.

If you tracked with social and local media at all this week, you might have been under the impression that the Redskins were in last place in the division. But with this win, they are actually in sole possession of first place.

Reports surfaced after the game that there were multiple team meetings last week, one among the DBs and one with the entire defense. This would seem to indicate the team knew how big of a spot this was, knew how much in danger their season was of really getting off track if they couldn’t buckle down and pull out a win this week.

I predicted, tongue firmly in cheek, that there would be no playoff spots clinched nor any teams mathematically eliminated this week, and that is obviously true. However, given the context of it being a home conference game, coming off an embarrassing loss, and with the Cowboys and Eagles putting together solid wins, this game was significant.

Reality Check: The Redskins’ season wouldn’t have been over had they lost, but let’s be honest, it might have felt a bit like it was on life support. A win over Dallas this next week might tempt me to think the Redskins really have turned a corner, though.

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