It took less than one season for coach Ron Rivera to rebuild the Washington Football Team in his persona. They are scrappers just like their coach who’s fresh off cancer treatments. Nobody is telling them to surrender.
Washington won its third straight on Monday, but the first against a quality opponent: the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. After begrudgingly allowing Pittsburgh a 14-0 lead, Washington won 23-17 by owning the second half.
Falling behind early has been a blueprint for much of the season, but Washington’s second-half rallies have had more success with veteran quarterback Alex Smith under center than they did with either Kyle Allen or Dwayne Haskins.
Grit now meets gravel in the trenches and a defensive line with five first-rounders is winning down after down. Like when Pittsburgh was stopped on the one-yard line on five straight plays in the second quarter. It showed they could throw haymakers.
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Washington now faces the challenge of having to win the NFC East at 8-8 because 7-9 no longer looks enough. Washington and the New York Giants are tied at 5-7 with Philadelphia and Dallas a few games behind and desperate for the season to end.
The Giants have the tie-breaker, though, after sweeping the season series by a combined four points. Oh, that 4th quarter fumble by Allen and the failed two-point conversion in the 20-19 loss on Oct. 18 may prove truly backbreaking for Washington.
Maybe it doesn’t come down to that. Washington can finish 3-1 to reach 8-8 while New York has a tougher road and will more likely go 2-2.
Washington travels to Arizona for a neutral-site meeting with the San Francisco 49ers, who are 5-7 after losing to Buffalo on Monday. The defending NFC East champions have been battered by injuries and are really missing last season’s spark.
Washington then hosts Seattle, which is probably the toughest remaining opponent regardless of New York beating the Seahawks on Sunday. Seattle is a legit Super Bowl contender and can cause trouble in Washington’s secondary with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.
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Rivera then plays his old Carolina team, which is pretty ironic that another Panthers loss would help their old coach make the playoffs.
And in the season-ender, Philadelphia will be lucky to have anything left offensively. It could be the Carson Wentz, who Washington sacked eight times in the season opener, which seems a century ago in pandemic time. Or rookie Jalen Hurts who threw his first career touchdown Sunday in Green Bay.
Meanwhile, New York plays Arizona and Cleveland at home before traveling to Baltimore and hosting Dallas in the finale. Like Washington, the Giants are suddenly on the upswing and riding a four-game winning streak thanks to heroics from old friend Colt McCoy. But that’s a harder schedule. It’s worse than 50/50 against Arizona, Cleveland, and Baltimore.
Who would have guessed a team like Washington which looked so bad in the opening weeks would still have a chance in the closing ones? That’s what makes the NFL so great.
It all comes down to winning the games you should and grabbing one more upset win along the way. Rivera’s grit may just give Washington the edge.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks.
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