Three NFL division leaders in the most danger of losing their division lead

3. Washington Redskins (6-3)

Division Standings

1. Washington Redskins (6-3)
2. Dallas Cowboys (4-5)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (4-5)
4. New York Giants (2-7)

Remaining Schedule: Houston Texans (6-3), at Dallas Cowboys (4-5), at Philadelphia Eagles (4-5), New York Giants (2-7), at Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6), at Tennessee Titans (5-4) and Philadelphia Eagles (4-5).

Analysis: Despite being 6-3 and being the NFC East division leaders, the Washington Redskins have been an up and down team throughout the NFL season. They’ve had convincing wins over the Packers (4-4-1) and Panthers (6-3), but they’ve also had some bad losses to the Saints (8-1), Falcons (4-5) and Colts (4-5). Although they got a win against the Buccaneers last week, their offense didn’t look great on their way to scoring 16 points.

The Redskins play their next game against the Houston Texans, who are the division leaders of the AFC South. As already discussed, either the Texans or Redskins will fall to 6-4 and give their division rivals a better chance at the division.

After they play the Texans, Washington goes to Dallas to play the Cowboys, who they beat a few weeks ago because of a missed field goal. It was a close game then, and it should be a close game in their second meeting. The Dallas defense is tough, and their offense seems to be improved.

The next two games after playing Dallas are against two division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. Division games are never easy wins. Next, they play two AFC South opponents in two weeks. If they win those games, they might actually be helping the Houston Texans win their division.

Washington ends the season against the Philadelphia Eagles, who although are two games back in the division standings, are by no means out of it yet. I believe the fate of the Redskins rests on their next two games. If they beat the Texans and Cowboys, they’ll be 8-3, with Dallas at best being 5-6. I believe they’ll beat the Eagles at least once, while also winning at least one of the games against the Giants, Jaguars and Titans. That would put them at 10-6.

A record of 10-6 should be enough to win the NFC East this season. However, if the Redskins lose to the Texans and then drop another game against the Cowboys, this NFC East division race will be very interesting heading into the final weeks of the season.