The Redskins are 5-3 this season, which makes for a fun bit of trivia: how many times have they led in games this season? How many times have they trailed?
This would be complicated for literally any other team besides the Redskins. They have led just five times all season. They have trailed just thrice. They have not had a lead change even once through eight games.
If that seems unusual to you, that's because it is. Kudos to Dan Steinberg for asking the question and Gregg Rosenthal for putting some poor intern to work on finding an answer. The Redskins are in extremely rare company:
From @NFLResearch: Redskins are the 4th team since 1970 to not have a lead change in their first 8 games. The ’95 Packers went the longest, with a lead change happening in their 10th game.
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) November 9, 2018That's insane.
It goes to show that what they're doing, in terms of running game and defense, is working very well. If they score first, they are able to throttle an opponent through ball control and defensive dominance.
But it also reveals their inherent weakness: if they don't score first, they can't come back from behind.
The streak could very well end this week, as they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have become the NFL's Cardiac Kids for late game heroics. If quarterback Ryan "Fitzmagic" has another average performance this week, he and the Bucs could fall behind by three scores before raging back for a late lead.
The streak could also end the following week against the first place Houston Texans, who are competent on both sides of the ball in a weak AFC South.
Only time will tell how far the streak goes, but credit the Redskins for not toying with their fans throughout a game. So far, they either show up or don't this season.
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