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After a nice win over the Rams the Redskins have moved up the rankings from various pundits and some are starting to believe that the Redskins can be a bit of a surprise team this year. Here's a look at how the Redskins rank around the league with some of my thoughts afterwards:
First off PFT is just trolling at this point. While I can understand not everyone jumping on the bandwagon and putting the Redskins up too high, 28th is pretty ridiculously low after a good win and a tough loss. It's not like the Redskins were blown out by the Dolphins or that they were lucky to win the Rams game. They played the Dolphins well throughout and had chances to win. Versus the Rams the Redskins were pretty much in control for the entire game. Regardless of how low you thought they were to start the season, having them just at 28th overall shows little thought in their process.
Now saying all of that I do think there are reasons to be optimistic, but there are also reasons to doubt whether or not this is real or not. Remember last year at this time the Redskins were coming off a blowout win over the Jaguars where the defense looked unstoppable and the offense was clicking with Kirk Cousins. Week 1 versus the Texans last year wasn't as promising as the Dolphins game, but it also wasn't a horrible loss either. The defense played well that game and the running game showed some promise. After two weeks last year I don't think anyone thought this was a 4-12 team that wouldn't even be competitive in a number of games.
This year does have a bit of a different feel to it and there are some reasons for optimism. Compared to last season the Redskins have had two tougher tests in their first two games. The Redskins are also proving to be very good on the ground which has shown to be a key for carrying teams to .500 records and above. Last year at this time they were solid running the football, but now they are the top team in the league. Perhaps they don't finish that high with their rushing attack, but it should be pretty good. If they are a top 10 rushing team. That alone might not be enough to make the Redskins .500 or better, but it's a start.