We are up three games on them with 5 left. They probably can't catch us and if they do, it'll be because we had a complete collapse. They maybe could still get a wild-card spot but not ours.
One thing I'll say is having all three division home games in the final four weeks did not help them at all. Silly not to have played one before December.
That's all that matters to them. After that they are done.
Sheehan and Cooley on DC radio think the Skins get in the playoffs at 9-6-1. They also think it's highly likely the Giants finish at 9-7. Not on my watch. They can take the Skins schedule lightly, but that would be foolish. There is nothing more dangerous than a team with its back against the wall:
@AZ - AZ has one breath left and it's at home. Back to the wall.
@Philly - If Philly beats Cincy, they have life as well. Back to the wall.
Caro - Caro can still score and the Skins defense is average. Hopefully Caro gets LK back on defense.
@Chi - I've got nothing. As far as I am concerned, the Skins are guaranteed at least seven wins.
Giants - Toughest game on their schedule. Offense meet defense.
I'll repeat: no game is a gimme, no team is a pushover for the Giants. They must fight and scrape on every play.
I know they have some injuries too, but the players out there yesterday were pathetic.
We'll know a lot come Sunday. Given how tough the rest of the schedule is, Pitt might be the most winnable game. Everything changes if the Giants win the next two. The eagles will be out of it by the time the Giants play them, and Washington might be as well.
That's how that fan base rolls. They would be pissing their pants right now if the Panthers and Cardinals were close to what they were last season.
The good news is, there is always some controversy in DC. Cousins contract is getting a lot of air time. Cousins has McCloughan and the organization by the balls. He clearly feels disrespected from the Griffin saga and the contract ordeal.
No home team discount here. It's Luck money and not a penny less or franchise him two more years ($58 million total) or let him walk. Under the tag, he will definitely walk after 2018.
Cousins would have been happy with $20 million per long-term last offseason, but McCloughan offered $16 million. Not sure where Snyder stands on this. Would be great if Snyder feels McCloughan blew this one and chases him out of there. BTW, McCloughan looks like hell.
There is one other scenario where the Skins franchise and trade. Teams looking for a QB are the Browns, Bears, Jets, 49ers, maybe Buffalo, and maybe Denver. I could see that happening.
I don't think McCloughan has the stomach for a $25 million/per year QB. He saw first hand what the 49ers were able to do with Kaepernick and the Seahawks with Wilson. It enabled both teams to stack the roster with talent. However, the closest thing the Skins have had to a franchise QB since Sammy Baugh was Theismann. Can they afford to give up Cousins for uncertainty yet again?
The first step is keeping the Skins out of the playoffs. The poo will hit the fan in DC and it will be awesome.
That's what I was just thinking.
But mostly dead, they still have something to play for: like maybe, they're a half-game behind the Redskins, who will obligingly lose to the Giants and open the door for Philly to grab the sixth seed by knocking off the Cowboys.
So, here's a plausible best-case scenario going into Week 17:
DAL 12-3
NYG 11-4
DET 9-6
WAS 8-6-1
PHI 8-7
MIN 8-7
TAM 8-7
GNB 8-7
Even Chris in Philly would ring in the New Year as an Eagles fan... for three hours.
Beating the Giants would be a good consolation prize even if they we're 0-15 when they play. And if they get to knock the Giants out of a playoff berth, cherry on the pie.
Regardless of the record, they'll give Giants all they have & then some.
Quote:
Listening to the Redskins fans, they're the first 6-4-1 juggernaut in the history of the league.
That's how that fan base rolls. They would be pissing their pants right now if the Panthers and Cardinals were close to what they were last season.
The good news is, there is always some controversy in DC. Cousins contract is getting a lot of air time. Cousins has McCloughan and the organization by the balls. He clearly feels disrespected from the Griffin saga and the contract ordeal.
No home team discount here. It's Luck money and not a penny less or franchise him two more years ($58 million total) or let him walk. Under the tag, he will definitely walk after 2018.
Cousins would have been happy with $20 million per long-term last offseason, but McCloughan offered $16 million. Not sure where Snyder stands on this. Would be great if Snyder feels McCloughan blew this one and chases him out of there. BTW, McCloughan looks like hell.
There is one other scenario where the Skins franchise and trade. Teams looking for a QB are the Browns, Bears, Jets, 49ers, maybe Buffalo, and maybe Denver. I could see that happening.
I don't think McCloughan has the stomach for a $25 million/per year QB. He saw first hand what the 49ers were able to do with Kaepernick and the Seahawks with Wilson. It enabled both teams to stack the roster with talent. However, the closest thing the Skins have had to a franchise QB since Sammy Baugh was Theismann. Can they afford to give up Cousins for uncertainty yet again?
The first step is keeping the Skins out of the playoffs. The poo will hit the fan in DC and it will be awesome.
Skins wont have a top 10-15 pick to draft a high caliber prospect QB & let Cousins walk. Even then, its not sure thing in the draft. Cousins, Prescott, Wilson, & Brady are the exception to the rule (finding a franchise QB in later rounds), not the norm.
Unless Cousins asks for a ridiculous contract ($25m is high but not ridiculous), they have no choice but to sign him IMO. They can tag him again of course, but they'd face the same dilemma in 2018.
They're like $45m under the cap (not including Cousins) next year. They should be able to sign him and still have room to be active in FA.
DAL 12-3
NYG 11-4
DET 9-6
WAS 8-6-1
PHI 8-7
MIN 8-7
TAM 8-7
GNB 8-7
I conceded the West to Seattle weeks ago, and their finale in San Francisco will probably be the Trevone Boykin Bowl. But it's still possible for Arizona make a run.
It wasn't a prediction, just a possibility. The path to 8-7 (in this best-case scenario) would be wins over CIN, WAS and BAL, followed of course by a soul-crushing loss to the Giants. Meanwhile, WAS would beat CHI, lose to PHI and split vs. ARI and CAR to reach 8-6-1. NYG beats DAL, PHI and either PIT or DET. DAL loses to NYG plus one of MIN, TB and DET.
Heck, you want an implausible best-case scenario? NYG win the next four, while DAL loses two additional games. Giants clinch the East and the #1 seed at 12-3, and Ryan Nassib plays all but the first offensive series against Washington.
Okay, I don't actually cringe. But I still don't understand the need to include the tag. Is it a BBI legacy thing prior to 2005 (when I began lurking)?
This^^^^^^^
And even then, they will still find a way
Skins actually dropped to 5-7, then won four straight. The difference is they didn't trail a team by three games. The Eagles trail us by three games with 5 left.
While New York wilted in November and December, Washington reeled off seven straight wins. The sixth eliminated the Giants in the East. It took Washington just six games to not only overcome the 3.5-game deficit, but render the Giants-Eagles finale moot. (The Redskins still had to beat Dallas in Week 17 to clinch the division.)
This year, the Eagles don't look like a team primed for any kind of run. But stranger things have happened.