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I've always hated labeling games this early in the season as a "must-win" but if the Redskins want to compete for a playoff spot then that just may be the case in Tampa this weekend. 2-2 sounds a lot better to everyone than 1-3, especially with the high flying Falcons coming to town. Looking beyond ourselves, this may be a week to turn our eye to rest of the division and an opportunity to bump ourselves up in the NFC East standings.
The Cowboys have the tallest order this week as they head to Chicago to take on the 2-1 Bears. The good news for the Boys is that the Bears have been struggling a bit the past two weeks against the Packers and Rams. But the bad news is, beyond their team website now being a gay dating site, is that starting strong safety Barry Church has been lost for the season. We are all aware of the Cowboys struggles at the safety position over the years and this is a big blow for a team that finally had their secondary in order. It is still unknown who will step in at safety, some have suggested free agent pick up Brandon Carr, others point to unproven backups like Mana Silva.
Our other two division rivals face off this week in Sunday Night Football. The Eagles have looked pretty terrible this year despite being 2-1. Michael Vick seems to be suffering from Rex Grossman Syndrome (I told you it was contagious) and has struggled enough to invoke a public quarterback controversy between him and second round draft pick Nick Foles. The Giants are also 2-1 after escaping the Buccaneers two weeks ago and destroying the Panthers last week. They come off of ten days of rest which is much needed with key injuries to Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw, and others.
Why is all of this important? If everything goes as planned and the Redskins can also upset the Bucs then three division teams will be 2-2. The real season begins Week 7 for us and it's important that we are AT LEAST a .500 team after playing the Falcons and Vikings heading into the meat of our schedule. Anything less and we'll likely start the second round draft pick chatter.