Washington jumps up to No. 22 in latest NFL Power Rankings

Zachary Neel
·2 min read

Don’t look now, but things may be looking alright for the Washington Football Team?

Not only are they 3-2 over their past five games and look to be settling into the offense with Alex Smith under center, but the defense is starting to get things going in the right direction as well, with another dominant second-half performance against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. With that 41-16 win under their belts, Washington grabbed onto a tie for the lead in the NFC East, and they also jumped up three spots to No. 22 in the latest USA TODAY NFL Power Rankings.

With the win over Dallas, the Football Team climbed to the top of the mountain of mediocrity that is the NFC East…for a while. Can they stay up there? Their toughest remaining test likely is this week, when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that Washington has games with San Francisco, Seattle, Carolina and Philadelphia, and you can make the case that Washington could win each of those games, especially if the Seattle defense falters again. As such, these really could be your eventual division champions.

Every game is going to have some huge importance going forward, with the race for a postseason hotly contested in the division. Washington will have their toughest test of the season coming up now, traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the undefeated Steelers on Monday evening, but after that, things might look okay.

A game against the Seattle Seahawks looks tough on paper, but anyone who watches them week-in and week-out know that they tend to play to the level of their opponent, and their defense can absolutely be had. On top of that, Washington can absolutely hang with the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers if they continue to play as they have as of late, and it could all shape up for a ‘win-and-get-in’ scenario against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17.

There is still a long way to go, but momentum can be a hell of a thing. Washington just may be able to ride it into the postseason if they’re lucky.