The Redskins Blog

Redskins Lone NFC East Team in Top-10

The 2013 season is in full swing as free agency enters its third full week of wheeling and dealing. Pieces are being collected as teams look to build depth and are gearing up for a Super Bowl run in New Jersey in a little less than 11 months.

Power rankings have been created as a way to judge teams for the first time since the confetti finished falling from the roof of the Superdome in February.

This time last year, even with the pending additions of Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III and record-setting running back Alfred Morris, many across the league felt that the Redskins would once again be dwelling in the cellar of the NFC East for the fourth time in five years.

An improbable seven-game winning streak to end the season and the first playoff game in front of a sellout crowd at FedExField in 13 years put any doubts about this team to rest and tore apart preseason “expectations”.

Find out where the league ranks the team in its ever-so-early debut of the 2013 power rankings:

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Season-Ending Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy//ExtremeSkins.com)

Not bad for a team ranked among the bottom fourth of the league to begin the season.

The Washington Redskins not only surprised the entire league with their seven-game win streak to end the regular season, but they also surprised the league’s various experts and analysts charged with putting together their weekly NFL Power Rankings.

It took a while for some of them to accept the Redskins as a Top-10 team throughout their current seven-game winning streak. But when the dust settled on the 2012 regular season, Washington was right where it deserved to be.

Here’s where the Redskins fall in the final 2012 Power Rankings Roundup (and their jump from the preseason rankings):

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Week 17 Power Rankings Roundup

(AP photo)

It’s the final week of the 2012 regular season, and the Washington Redskins are right where they want to be: playing for a shot at a division title and a playoff appearance.

The Redskins take on the Cowboys Sunday night at FedExField in a rivalry matchup for the ages: the winner takes home the NFC East crown, while the loser needs lots of help from other teams to secure a Wild Card spot.

Washington also finishes the regular season ranked among the top 10 teams in the NFL. Though most of the organizations listed below had the Redskins at No. 8 last week, this time around Washington is either at the No. 8 or 9 positions. Understandably, those who ranked Washington No. 9 this week (and moved it down a spot) did so because the teams ahead of the Redskins had already clinched playoff spots.

Here’s where the Redskins fall with this week’s Power Rankings Roundup:

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Week 16 Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy // ExtremeSkins.com)

Has this really happened?

Are the Redskins really one of the Top 10 teams in the NFL?

The short answer is yes.

Riding a five-game winning streak, Washington is the hottest team in the NFC, and it currently co-leads the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. But it’s the Redskins (8-6) that have the clearest path to the divisional title; all they have to do is win their next two games, and it’s theirs.

Easier said than done.

Anyway, when looking at the seven Power Rankings organizations listed below, almost all of them came away very impressed with rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins, who, in his first-career start last Sunday against the Cleveland Browns not only led the Redskins to a 38-21 victory on the road, but completed more than 70 percent of his passes for more than 300 yards, had two touchdowns and his quarterback rating was higher than 100.

Here’s where the Redskins fall with this week’s Power Rankings Roundup (and, yes, those are all single-digit numbers):

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Week 15 Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy // ExtremeSkins.com)

One week after the Redskins were ranked 14th in all seven of the Power Rankings organizations listed below, the team is making big strides up the lists — except in one case (see below).

The Redskins — who are riding a four-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s game at the Cleveland Browns — are slowly creeping towards the Top 10 in nearly every list, where they are averaging out as the 12th-ranked team in the NFL.

Some organizations understandably are cautious about the Redskins this week, as they are awaiting to see if injured quarterback Robert Griffin III (knee) will be ready to go against the Browns, or if backup Kirk Cousins will get his first-career start.

Here’s where the Redskins fall with this week’s Power Rankings Roundup:

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Week 14 Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy//ExtremeSkins.com)

Quarterback Eddie LeBaron thrived for the Washington Redskins in his No. 14 uniform. From 1952 to 1953 — and then again from 1955 to 1959 — LeBaron established himself as one of the greatest Redskins players in team history, as the Redskins Ring of Fame honoree and four-time Pro Bowler (three times with the Redskins) passed for 8,068 yards and 59 touchdowns in his seven-year Washington career.

The number 14 has another significant meaning this week, as that’s where all seven of the national outlets we use for our weekly Power Rankings Roundup put the Redskins in their own rankings this week.

It just happens to be Week 14, too. The irony is almost too much.

Anyway, here’s where the Redskins fall with this week’s Power Rankings Roundup:

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Week 13 Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy // ExtremeSkins.com)

Like a hit new song, the Washington Redskins continue to slowly climb up the charts.

The Redskins — winners of two straight games — play host to the New York Giants in tonight’s crucial NFC East Division matchup, and hope to use the platform of a nationally-televised, Monday Night Football game to improve their standing in various organizations’ Power Rankings lists.

For now, though, here’s where the Redskins fall with this week’s Power Rankings Roundup:

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Week 12 Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy // ExtremeSkins.com)

In this week’s Power Rankings Roundup, we continue the theme of “winning is good.”

That’s certainly apparent in the various organizations’ power rankings this week, as the Redskins made some positive moves after their 31-6 thrashing of the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday at FedExField.

Most of these you’ll see below are also still gushing about the performance of Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, who completed 14-of-15 passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns — and ran for another 84 yards — against the Eagles. Griffin today III was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

Anyway, here’s this week’s Power Rankings Roundup:

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Week 11 Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy//ExtremeSkins.com)

Most seasons, the matchup between two 3-6 teams in the NFL wouldn’t signify much.

But that’s certainly not the case for Sunday’s game at FedExField.

The Redskins (3-6) play host to the Eagles (3-6) in a matchup of two teams hanging on for dear life to stay relevant in playoff discussions. Counting Sunday’s game, the Redskins have five divisional games left and stand just two games back in the loss column of the NFC East-leading New York Giants (6-4) and one game back of the second-place Dallas Cowboys (4-5).

With that in mind, here’s where the Redskins are perceived by various national media outlets compared to the rest of the league in this week’s Power Rankings Roundup. It doesn’t look good now, of course, but a run by the Redskins and these rankings will obviously improve:

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Week 8 Power Rankings Roundup

(Photo by Brian Murphy // ExtremeSkins.com)

What would a win Sunday against the lowly Carolina Panthers do for the Washington Redskins in terms of their placement on various organizations’ Power Rankings lists? Probably not much.

A loss to the Panthers, however, would probably send the Redskins to depths not yet seen by the team this season.

The good thing for Washington this week was that their 27-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday also had little effect on their Power Rankings positioning. Most of the seven media outlets we’ve been following each week provide some good explanations this time around:

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