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Turnover Differential - The Key to Redskins 3-2 Record

There has been speculation as to how and why this Redskin Team, with a mediocre offense and a defense that is 32nd in the league in yards given up, could possibly be 3-2. Well, I would have to say the key to winning in the NFL today is turnover differential. An offense that doesn't turn the ball over often forces an opponent to drive pretty much the length of the field to score. An offense that turns the ball over often gives the opponents short fields, and allows them to drive less than half the field to score. With McNabb at the helm, we have been limiting our turnovers (i.e., he doesn't fumble the football everytime he's sacked ala Jason Campbell). On the flip side we have a defense that creates turnovers and forces offenses to make mistakes. This creates short fields for our offense and helps us get those extra possessions every game that have proven to be the difference. If you rank NFL teams by turnover differential you'll find that the cream rises to the top. We find ourselves in elite company in turnover differential right now at +4. The New York Jets lead the pack with +11 turnover differential.

The Redskins could actually be at +8 in turnover differential, as there have been at least 4 separate plays that I can recall where Carlos Rogers dropped potential interceptions that hit him right in the hands. In any case here's the list of teams at the top of the turnover differential list. The key to victory for this Redskins team down the stretch will be our ability to hold onto the football on offense and create turnovers on defense. If we can continue to improve our turnover differential on a regular basis I can see this team making the playoffs and potentially going even further than that.

Here are the top teams in turnover differential:

1. New York Jets +11

2. Pittsburgh Steelers +7

3. Philadelphia Eagles +7

4. Atlanta Falcons +7

5. Tampa Bay Bucs +5

6. Washington Redskins +4

7. New England Patriots +4