WASHINGTON — The Redskins wear burgundy and gold colors. But when it comes to this team’s approach and playoff chances, it is all clouded in gray.
Ryan Kerrigan came up with the sack that forced the fumble to secure the Redskins 27-22 win over the Eagles. It stopped the Eagles drive as they were closing in on a potential game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds and allowed the Redskins to improve to 7-5-1.
It was an important victory in the jumbled NFC playoff chase. The Redskins are just behind the 8-5 Buccaneers for the final playoff spot, but only barely ahead of the Minnesota Vikings and Green bay Packers — both are 7-6.
The Redskins defense is being praised for coming up with the must-stop against the Eagles, but there are still concerns. For the third straight week, the Redskins were on their heels on the opening drive and were forced to play from behind after yielding a score. Fortunately, against the Eagles it was only a field goal and not a touchdown.
Yes the Redskins were better on red zone defense and only allowed the Eagles one touchdown from inside their 20-yard line. But the Eagles were 9 of 18 on third downs and two of three on fourth downs. For the day, the Eagles had the advantage in offensive yards and time of possession.
It is a gray area with the Redskins. There is both celebration and consternation. On the negative, the Redskins are living too close to the edge. But on the positive, they seem to thrive on life on the fault line.
Since week two, after the Redskins recovered from their blowout loss to the Steelers, nine of their games have been settled by seven points or less including a tie with the Bengals that wasn’t settled at all. A 31-23 loss to the Cardinals was in the balance until the very end and the only somewhat comfortable outings were against the Packers and Browns.
The Redskins consistent ability to handle inconsistency might be enough to lead them through the gray area and to the black and white world that is the playoffs.
