Redskins Reality Checks: Realistic predictions for Week 9 vs. Falcons

6. Reality Is, The Redskins have an opportunity to earn respect.

In spite of leading the NFC East, having a top-tier defense, and being on a three-game winning streak, the Redskins are not garnering much respect from national pundits. In a quick scan of power rankings, the Redskins are consistently ranked below the Eagles and Panthers and somewhere in the 7-13 range in the NFL.

Hopefully, the ‘Skins players are taking that as an insult and will use it as motivation this week. But given how severely they were throttled the last time they played a good offense, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. However, if the Washington defense holds this Falcons team under 24 points and the Redskins come away with the win, heads will begin to really turn in their direction.

Expecting a shutout or an easy game against the Falcons would be crazy. Expecting the Redskins to not dramatically outperform their effort against New Orleans would be equally foolish.

Prediction: The Redskins’ defense proves it belongs in the “elite” discussion, holding the Falcons to 23 points on the afternoon. The offense makes strides with Jordan Reed and Adrian Peterson leading the way, putting up 27 points on 5 scoring drives. The Redskins do close out the first half of the season at 6-2 very much on the minds of the broader NFL community, and more importantly, in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth.

Agree? Disagree? Join the conversation @TheRealityIs__ on Twitter or in the comments below.