Four weeks ago, did anyone really give the Washington Redskins a chance at making the playoffs? After the tragic loss of Sean Taylor and a tough 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills the following Sunday, the Redskins were left with a 5-7 record and with little hope of making the playoffs. A hard fought 24-16 Thursday night win against the Chicago Bears got them to 6-7 and still with faint hopes of playing into 2008... A week later, a very convicing 22-10 win in New Jersey against Eli Manning and the Giants got them to .500. Then came a dominating 32-21 effort last weekend in Minnesota against a Viking team that had won five straight games... At 8-7 and going into the final week of the regular season, the Redskins suddenly controlled their own playoff destiny. All that was needed to secure the #2 NFC Wild Card spot was a win against the Dallas Cowboys at home on Sunday.
The Redskins not only rose to the occasion they simply CONTROLLED every phase of the game, holding QB Tony Romo in check and rendered the Cowboys ground game useless as they could only manage a franchise record low of one yard rushing as a team in a 27-6 Redskins rout.
On the offensive side, Clinton Portis contined to carry the memory of his slain friend with him, wearing a Sean Taylor shirt under his jersey. Portis rumbled for 104 yards and two scores on 25 carries. Santana Moss also had a huge game receiving, catching eight passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Todd Collins was again a steadying force at quarterback, completing 22 of 31 passes for 244 yards. In four games now, Collins has completed 67 of 105 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns, most importantly without throwing an interception.
Inspired and unified. I think those two words probably best describe this Redskins team. After making that huge mistake by calling back to back timeouts to ice the Bills kicker and turning a 51 yard field goal attempt into a the game-winning 36 yarder, coach Joe Gibbs has proven to be a resilient and steadying voice and force.
Ironically, the Redskins will now face the team that I've probably picked on more than any other in this blog in 2007: the Seattle Seahawks. Since winning their week one matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks failed to defeat another team with a winning record this season. More than anything, the Seahawks are a team in search of an identity. Coming into the season, people took them as a "run first, pass second" team with a good defense... With running back Shawn Alexander suffering through an injury plagued season, the Seahawk running game has been virtually non-existant. QB Matt Hasselback has ignited the offense at times, but more often than not, that offense has sputtered. Yes, the Seahawks are 10-6 and have the home field advantage for the Saturday afternoon game, but the Redskins are the team with all of the momentum, and right now there is not a team playing better football in the NFC... Are you excited, well I certainly am! Go Skins!
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