NFC East Round-Up Week 15

On victory Mondays like today yesterday I like to delve into stats - because winning streaks end, eventually - and before I begin my weekly worry/hope ritual building up to the Redskins clash against the Eagles in Philly- I like to take the first day of the week to enjoy the good stuff that's already in the books.

Here are some of the stats, aside from the 5 straight W's, that show the Redskins are heading in the right direction. For a bonus, I threw in a few league-wide stats I found interesting

1.) #Redskins/ Rookie QBs. Only 1 other team in NFL history has won road games with 2 rookie QB's. Can any of you longtime Hogs name the other team? It was the 1994 Redskins, who despite going 3 and 13, won in New Orleans with Heath Shuler and a few weeks later in Indianapolis with Gus Frerotte.

2.) #Redskins/Potent O. Only the Patriots (10) and the Broncos (8) have scored 30+ more times than the Redskins, who have done it 7 times so far through fourteen games. The last time the Redskins scored 30+ seven times in a season was 1991, when they did it 8 times. In all the years between 1991 and this year, the Redskins hadn't scored 30+ more than four times in a season.

3.) #NFL/No Shows. There were 3 Shut Outs in Week 15 (Seattle, Atlanta, Oakland). There had been only 2 shut outs before that in 2012. Last time there were 2 Shut Outs in the same week was 2009 Week 17. Last time there were 3 Shut Outs in the same week was 2008 Week 17. Excluding week 17 - when I guess out-of-it teams tend to just not show up - there hadn't been 3 shut outs in a week since Week 14, 2006.

4.) #Redskins/Shanahan's RBs. Gaining 87 more yards Sunday at Cleveland, Alfred Morris became the first 6th round draft to pick to rush for over 1,300 yards in a season since Mike Anderson did so in 2001. Morris, Anderson and all-time great running back, Terrell Davis (all Shanahan selections) are the only 6th round draft picks or later to rush for over 1,000 yards since the Falcons' Jamal Anderson (a 7th round pick) did so in 1998.

5.) #NFL/Fireworks. After the Seahawks became the first team to score 50 in back to back games since 1950, there now have been seven 50+ scores so far in 2012. The last time there were as many as five 50+ performances in a season was 1979. Last time there were seven was 1966, the year the #Redskins beat the NY Giants 72, 41. Can you guess the only year to have more big, big scores? You guessed it: 1950, when there were nine 50+ scores - including 135 point scored in 2 weeks by the Greatest Show on Dirt, aka the 1950 Los Angeles Rams.

6.) #Redskins/Receivers. This one via ESPN980 Redskins beat-reporter, Chris (all-muscle) Russell: When Josh Morgan gets 2 more yards and Pierre Garcon gets 11 more yards that will give 4 Redskins receivers (Morgan, Garcon, Leonard Hankerson and Santana Moss) 500 yards for the season. The last time the Redskins had 4 or more receivers with 500 yards was 2000 when they had 5.

(That's not counting our tight end position, Logan Paulsen has 294 yards Fred Davis had 325 before he was placed on IR.)

At first that stat seemed outstanding. I thought, man - we must have one of the most balanced passing games in the league if are about to have four different receivers reach 500 yards. Then, just of curiosity, I checked the other NFC East receivers...and found that the Giants, the Cowboys, and the Eagles are all likely to boast four 500-yard pass-catchers as well. The Eagles already have 4 over 500. The Cowboys might have 3 receivers reach 1,000 yards this season. (This just in: Tony Romo isn't bad).

Still, that stat is kind of telling. Having 4 pass catchers reach 500 yards isn't an oddity for most teams. This is a passing league and most teams that have done anything the past decade have seem to pass the wall pretty well from to time to time.

We're there now. We're one of those teams. 27 points per game. 390 total yards per game. Less than 1 turnover per game. These are the numbers we should strive to get used to - this type of excellence is what we should expect with all these new offensive weapons.

7.) #Redskins/Division History. This just in: If the Redskins win these last two games, they will clinch the NFC East. 2012 then would mark their 14th division title in their 81 year history.

Here is the breakdown of Redskins division crowns over the years.

1932-1939 2 Division Titles
1940-1949 4 Division Titles
1950-1959 0 Division Titles
1960-1969 0 Division Titles
1970-1979 1 Division Titles
1980-1989 4 Division Titles
1990-1999 2 Division Titles
2000-2010 0 Division Titles
2010-2019 ???

What do you think is a realistic goal for the decade? We're already 0-2 in two years - the Eagles and the Giants both have won so far in the Oughts, and the Cowboys you know will want a few. So what's a realistic number? We're a young team. We're a good team. We have the Michael Jordan of football - and, by the way, he's young too. And - if you haven't heard - we're number 1 in the division right now. Can we break our record by securing a once unthinkable 5 of the next 8 division titles? What's your number?

I'll leave that to you, fellow fans. My number you wouldn't believe.