Response after the bye signifies resilience from Washington

After a loss to the Denver Broncos on Halloween, the Washington Football Team seemed like a group dead in the water. At 2-6. heading into a bye on a four-game losing streak, it seemed as if the back half of the season would be forgettable.

Fast forward to today and the season has a totally different outlook. On a two-game winning streak, at 4-6, the Washington Football Team has new life. They seem like a completely different team.

They are playing fast and with elevated confidence, which was not visible in the first eight games. Despite injuries to multiple stars and starters, the team keeps fighting. And all of a sudden the Washington Football Team is just a game out of the seventh seed in the NFC East. The win put them right in the slog of the other four- and five- win NFC teams fighting for the Wild Card spots.

That “p” word could get really real if Washington puts a few more wins together.

Even if Washington cannot string together enough wins to make the playoffs, this is a positive sign for the future for the Washington Football Team, and here is why.

Why fans should be encouraged by the continued fight for Washington

At 2-6 with little room for error to make the playoffs, it would have been easy for the Washington Football Team to pack it in on the season. Yet they have not. That now makes it two years in a row that a seemingly hapless Washington Football Team has continued to fight and begin to stretch some wins together.

Last year the Washington Football Team was 2-7 before they won their last 5 of 7. This year, Washington has rejuvenated life when it fell to 2-6.

This has created a clear trend that the players will not quit on this coaching staff. And that shows that a positive culture is being cultivated. The easiest tell that your culture is not up to par is when adversity strikes, the players quit.

Washington is far from quitting. Sure, it would be nice for Washington to figure out how to string together wins before they have their backs completely against the wall. But it should be remembered that Washington went 3-13, securing the second pick, just two years ago.

This franchise, on and off the field, is still in a rebuilding stage. There will be definite growing pains. Roster holes still need to be shored up, but it is certain that Washington will always be a resilient bunch under Ron Rivera’s lead.

And that will eventually lead to success. The most resilient, tough teams are typically the hardest outs the later it gets in the season.

I am not here to say that Ron Rivera will magically flip Washington from a bottom-dweller into a perennial contender. I am not saying they are destined to win a Super Bowl under his lead. But it is very encouraging that two years in a row now Washington has continued to fight when they had every incentive to pack it in on the season.

Leave the quarterback debate for the offseason. Washington is a resilient and fun team to watch right now. We’re looking at you, the folks reading this that want Washington to tank for a great quarterback.

That does not work. Losing breeds poor habits and a losing mentality. The best thing Washington could do for a potential rookie quarterback, if that comes to fruition, is by cultivating a roster and culture that best allows him to succeed. And right now, Rivera is setting the foundational blocks to doing just that.

And who knows, if Taylor Heinicke continues this stretch of play, he may vault himself into the conversation for the quarterback position as well.

Whether it is Heinicke, a rookie, or a veteran, Washington very well could be producing a culture that breeds success. Teams with bad cultures pack it in on after a disappointing 2-6 start. This one did not.