Redskins Realistic Predictions Week 7: Ready to get off the Tilt-A-Whirl?
By Tim Payne
It’s time for Redskins Reality Checks for Dallas Week (Week 7 vs. the Dallas Cowboys) as we check in to see if they can sustain success for the first time this season.
When I was a kid, I loved going on the tilt-a-whirl at Busch Gardens. Many of my friends would get sick from the g-forces, but it didn’t bother me, and I loved holding on for dear life, trying not to slide up and down the bench.
So far this season, being a Redskins fan has been a lot like that experience…an endless cycle of ups and downs. The difference is, I’m not a kid anymore, and now, that makes me nauseous. The season thus far has looked like this: Impressive road win against Arizona; dizzyingly bad home loss to Indy; solid home win against Green Bay; horror-show road loss to New Orleans; gutsy home win against Carolina.
ESPN’s John Keim recently wrote a great piece about Jay Gruden’s desire to get the team off of the roller coaster. In many ways, this isn’t just about this season. The Redskins have been maddeningly mediocre for the better part of a decade. Sadly, that’s an improvement over what they were for most of the prior decade, but it sure does feel like the ups and downs just aren’t ever going to end.
But they have yet another chance to hit the eject button on that cycle this week in a big way. Coming off that important home win against Carolina, they now play host to Dallas in a key mid-season battle for first place in the division. Dallas is only a half game behind the Redskins in the standings after a beatdown of Jacksonville in which they played their best game of the season.
The Redskins are faced with their third opportunity this year to stack back-to-back wins. Let’s take a look at some reality checks and predictions on what to watch for and expect as the Redskins try to live up to the hype of Dallas Week and get off the tilt-a-whirl that has been the season so far.