The Washington Football Team lost Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks but didn’t lose any ground in the playoff race.
After Seattle left the DMV with a 20-15 win, Washington (6-8) saw the Cleveland Browns win 20-6 over the New York Giants, to send them to 5-9.
The result: Washington Football Team can clinch the NFC East and playoff-berth on Sunday with a win over the Carolina Panthers (4-10) and the Giants lose or tie the Baltimore Ravens (9-5).
That would mean in Ron Rivera’s first year as head coach in Washington he would not only give the team a Division title since 2015 and he would do so with a week to spare.
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So in a year when only the No. 1 seed in each conference gets a bye, Washington Football would have a defacto bye in Week 17 when they can rest all of their starters against the Philadelphia Eagles (4-9-1).
And Washington's playoff odds are good: Football Outsiders give them a 70.9 percent chance to win the division. The Giants (14 percent) and Eagles (10 percent) are closest after losing Sunday and the Dallas Cowboys (5-9) are at 5.1 percent after a win over the 49ers.
FiveThirtyEight gives Washington a 76 percent chance to clinch and that number goes to a 96 percent chance with a win Sunday over the Panthers.
Of course, a Washington loss would see their playoff chances drop to 44 percent, which would further fall if New York or Philadelphia win. And that is a nightmare scenario for Washington: Lose to Carolina and either the Giants beat Baltimore and/or the Eagles beat the Cowboys.
A WFT loss and Giants win over the Ravens would give New York a chance to win the NFC East with a win in Week 17 over the Cowboys.
If both Washington and New York lose this Sunday and Philadelphia beat Dallas, Washington would face a win-or-go-home game in Week 17 against the Eagles and rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. And if the Cowboys beat the Eagles, Washington would still win the NFC East with a win in Week 17.
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In that situation, FiveThirtyEight says the Eagles would have a 55 percent chance to win the division to Washington’s 45 percent chance. The New York Times (which gives Washington a 70 percent chance at the Division this morning) see that pseudo-playoff game in Philadelphia as a 50-50 proposition.
Remember: All of that can be avoided if in Week 16 if Washington beats the Panthers and the Giants fail to beat the Ravens. (A Washington win in Week 16 would eliminate Philadelphia and Dallas if New York does get the win.)
If New York and Washington both win this Sunday, Washington would need to win or tie against the Eagles in Week 17 to clinch the division. If Washington is defeated in Philadelphia, they would need the Giants to lose or tie against the Cowboys.
Ashburn will be preaching the Al Davis sermon all week: “Just win, baby.”
(Of course, Washington could still win the division if they lose their next two games, but that would only happen if in Week 16 Baltimore beats New York and Philadelphia and Dallas tie, and then in Week 17 Dallas and New York tie. In that scenario, the 6-10 Washington Football Team would win the division. But that can't possibly happen.)
Follow @BenKrimmel for the latest.
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