The Redskins moved on from their blowout loss to the Falcons to hold the Buccaneers high scoring offense to 3 points. It was an ugly game, that saw the Redskins give up a ton of yards, but they forced 4 turnovers and left Tampa Bay with the win. Washington moves to 6-3 and thanks to the Cowboys win over the Eagles Sunday, they have a 2 game lead in the NFC East.
The Redskins move back up in the rankings after last week’s big drop. People still don’t trust them to win consistently, but they have the inside track on a playoff spot right now. That should be good enough to put them in the Top 12 in a lot of rankings.
Where should this year’s Washington Redskins team be ranked?
Highest Ranking: W1: 14 W2: 8 W3: 12 W4: 7 W5: 7 W6: 13 W7: 9 W8: 9 W9: 6 W10: 11 W11: 9
Lowest Ranking: W1: 26 W2: 23 W3: 27 W4: 20 W5: 19 W6: 20 W7: 20 W8: 20 W9: 19 W10:20 W11: 21
Average Ranking: W1: 20.5 W2: 15.5 W3: 22.7 W4: 15.1 W5: 14.3 W6: 16.4 W7: 14.3 W8: 11.2 W9: 9.8 W10: 15 W11: 12.3
9. SB Nation
Washington also is climbing the rankings. Its offense is nowhere near the NFL’s best (19.6 points per game and 337.4 yards per game) but Jay Gruden is finding ways to win in spite of that. Washington is the only team currently in position to make the playoffs that doesn’t have a top 16 offense in terms of points per game. Last Week: 12
The Redskins were dominated statistically in Tampa but didn’t turn the ball over and benefited from the Buccaneers’ miscues. That’s not an exciting way to win. But it works. With the rest of the NFC East retreating from the Redskins, they again look like a solid favorite to win the division. Last Week: 14
9. USA Today
If slow and steady wins the race, Washington is — ever methodically — building cushion that may be too much for Eagles or Cowboys to pop. Last Week: 14
9. MSN
The Redskins aren’t very good - if the Bucs weren’t historically awful inside the red zone on Sunday, Washington would by 5-4 and hanging on by a thread in the NFC East. Now they have a two-game lead with one of the easiest schedules left in the NFL and need to hold off a mediocre Philly team that has the second-hardest schedule.
Things are looking so good for the Redskins that it’s not at all hard to imagine them getting swept by the Eagles and still winning the division. Last Week: 16
10. Fansided
Talk about really bending but not breaking? Greg Manusky’s defensive unit allowed a whopping 501 total yards to the Buccaneers. And Tampa quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick lit up Washington’s secondary for 406 yards. But Jay Gruden’s team surrendered only a field goal and bounced back strongly after last Sunday’s debacle against the Falcons. The Redskins played turnover-free football while the club totaled four takeaways, three of those at the expense of Fitzpatrick. And kudos to a makeshift offensive line that paved the way for a respectable 116 yards rushing on 25 carries, more than half of that by veteran Adrian Peterson. Last Week: 11
11. The Score
The rest of the NFC East apparently has no desire to win the division. The Redskins lack sizzle, but they’re the East’s most consistent team this season. Last Week: 13
11. NESN
The NFC East is a dumpster fire this season and it looks like the Redskins might be the lone team to make it out alive. Last Week: 13
11. NJ.com
Circle this game on your calendar: Redskins at Eagles in Week 13. Washington will likely have the chance to bury Philadelphia and all but wrap up the NFC East on that night. Last Week: 14
11. Sporting News
The Redskins decided to go back to winning ugly in Tampa Bay, and no one can argue with the results. And now, suddenly, they’re back to having a two-game cushion in the NFC East. Last Week: 14
They are 6-3 and in first place in the division. But they still have a lot of issues. Last Week: 15
The Redskins won at Tampa Bay for their fourth victory in five games. They lead the NFC East by two games. They host the Texans. Last Week: 14
12. Bleacher Report
The Washington Redskins are not an especially entertaining team to watch. They aren’t exactly piling up style points and highlight clips this season.
But somehow, the team keeps piling up wins.
In no small part because of an offensive line and wideout corps that’s been ravaged by injuries, the Redskins were held under 300 yards of total offense Sunday in Tampa. Washington had just 15 first downs for the game and was merely 5-of-13 on third down.
But thanks to a ball-control offense and an opportunistic defense that forced four turnovers, the Redskins scored the game’s only touchdown Sunday and maintained their pace atop the NFC East.
Davenport can’t quite figure them out:
”The Redskins are hard to get a bead on. I want to dismiss them as any real threat in the NFC; the offense just isn’t good enough to hang with teams like the Rams and Saints (who blew Washington out earlier this year). But Washington’s defense keeps it in games week after week. This team isn’t going to Atlanta, but it may just be able to win a postseason game and spoil some wild card’s fun in January.” Last Week: 14
12. ESPN
Defining stat: 19.44. That’s the number of points allowed per game, which is tied for fourth in the NFL with Chicago. The Redskins haven’t finished among the top 10 in scoring defense since 2008 and have been 17th or worse since that season -- until now. The Redskins rank 17th in yards per game after playing Atlanta and Tampa Bay in back-to-back weeks. But they’re 6-3 in part because they don’t give up a lot of points. Washington struggles to defend the pass, so it will continue to give up yards when facing a good passing attack. Last Week: 14
Nobody believes in the Redskins, and they’ve given people plenty of reason for skepticism. But they keep picking up wins, getting one on Sunday when they practically had no offensive line. The Eagles are reeling, the Cowboys are 4-5 and offensively challenged … at what point do we just have to admit the Redskins are the favorites in the NFC East? Last Week: 15
12. Athlon Sports
This may not be the same ol’ Redskins if they’re gutting out road wins like that. Still, the lack of offense the past few weeks is certainly a concern. Last Week: 17
Washington doesn’t really deserve to move up this far. They didn’t even play all that well against the Bucs. But with other teams ahead of them losing, they get to move up here. Last Week: 18
Guessing you’ve heard the saying “It’s better to be lucky than good” by this stage of your football-watching career. An offshoot of that decades-old axiom is the lesser-known “It’s better to watch your opponent implode in the red zone than to be fully healthy or particularly good.” Don’t misunderstand: The Redskins’ defense forced major errors from the Bucs, like Preston Smith tearing around the edge late in the fourth quarter to strip-sack Ryan Fitzpatrick (although Smith was so busy pulling a John Travolta he appeared to have no idea the ball had been ripped loose) or Greg Stroman’s brilliant interception, when he anticipated O.J. Howard’s in-cut, then burst in front of the tight end to pick off Fitzmagic’s fourth-quarter delivery. Washington got outgained almost two-to-one, yet quintupled the Bucs’ point total. Odd, but win-ffective. Last Week: 14
14. Chicago Tribune
Cornerback Josh Norman would prefer for all of the games to be on the road, so that gives you an idea of how well the fans are buying into the NFC East leaders. Last Week: 16
No commentary this week, but MMQB has the Redskins tied with the 4-5 Cowboys at #15. Seriously, do better.
Last Week: 16
18. Scout.com
Winning 49 Percent of Neutral Field Simulations PROJECTED RECORD: 9-7
They have a 3.8 percent chance of reaching the Finals (Odds stand at 40/1). The odds of them winning the Super Bowl are 80/1 and they win it all in 1.3 percent of our latest simulations. Their chances are down from 2.3% on November 2. While the odds are still in their favor, there is a 19 percent chance that they slide out of the playoffs. Their power ranking is up 3 spots since 10/9. They are not as good as their projected win-loss record would indicate. Their rank based on projected wins is #9. Last Week: 21
20. Walter Football
The Redskins scored just 16 points on Tampa’s awful defense and surrendered about 500 net yards of offense. And yet, Washington won by nearly two touchdowns. Unreal.
I’d talk smack about the Redskins, but Dave Cokin said it best: Last Week: 19
20. NumberFire
Last Week: 20
21. OddsShark
Last Week: 20
Poll
Where should the Redskins rank this week?
This poll is closed
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12%
Top 8
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80%
9-16
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6%
17-24
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1%
Bottom 8