By: Kyle Butler

Heading into the 2015 season, expectations for the Washington Redskins were arguably at their lowest point in decades. That may sound like a bit of an odd statement, considering that the 24 years since Washington’s last Super Bowl victory have featured just five playoff appearances and a mere two postseason wins. Yet inevitably the calendar would hit July, and either having been fooled again by another of owner Dan Snyder’s flashy free agent signings, or simply the fact that the Dallas Cowboys were somehow managing to make the dysfunctional Redskins appear normal by comparison, there would at least be some sense of optimism among Washington fans.

Yet after witnessing a 2014 campaign that saw the team start three quarterbacks while players and coaches sniped at each other more often than the Republicans and Democrats who also call the nation’s capital home, there was little evidence to show that 2015 would bring anything resembling success. I recall a night in August, discussing the upcoming season with my friend Ryan, a fellow Redskins fan.

Me: “So what do you think? Three, maybe four wins?”

Ryan: “I’m going with one.”

Me: “I don’t think we’ll be that bad…”

Ryan: “Who is worse??”

Me: “Well….uh……”

And as the preseason progressed, it appeared that even the prediction of one win might be optimistic. Robert Griffin III, the dual-threat QB who took the NFL by storm in 2012 before his leg fell off in the playoffs, continued to struggle, particularly due to the fact that his offensive linemen did an Oscar-worthy job of portraying statues every time Griffin dropped back to pass. After being hit for seemingly the 145th time in the preseason, Griffin was injured, and the announcement from Coach Jay Gruden that Kirk Cousins would be the Week 1 starter did little to raise expectations for the team, nor did the fact that star WR DeSean Jackson injured his hamstring approximately 15 seconds into the season.

Suddenly, the prediction of one lone win seemed possible. Three wins sounded optimistic. Five wins sounded absurd. And yet, here we are, two days away from Wild Card Weekend, and the Washington Redskins won 9 games, the NFC East title, and are preparing to host a playoff game against Green Bay. What in the world happened?

Three factors.

1- Confident Cousins. For the majority of his first three years in the league, Kirk Cousins seemed to possess a dual personality. There was good Kirk, the guy making solid reads and delivering accurate throws. Then there was bad Kirk, a turnover machine, to the point that I coined the term “We Got Cousinsed” for every time he threw one of his indescribably bad interceptions.

Through the first six games of this season, Cousins continued his maddeningly inconsistent play, with 6 TD’s and 8 INT’s as the Redskins stumbled to a 2-4 start. The turning point came in Week 7. Trailing Tampa Bay 24-0 with a cacophony of boos cascading down at FedEx Field, Cousins stunned everybody by tossing three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 24 seconds left to rally Washington to a 31-30 win. A fired-up Cousins repeatedly shouted “YOU LIKE THAT?!” at several of his media critics as he left the field, an expression that has become nearly as famous in D.C. as the “Hail to the Redskins” fight song itself. The Tampa Bay rally sparked the suddenly confident Cousins, who has arguably been the NFL’s best quarterback in the second half of the season, tossing 23 TD’s against just 3 INT’s.

2- Jordan Reed.

Much like Cousins, Jordan Reed’s tenure in Washington had been disappointing, as the 3rd year pro was plagued with injury issues. Finally healthy, Reed has emerged as not only the top offensive threat for the Redskins, but one of the best tight ends in the NFL. Reed has been a touchdown machine in the second half of the season, and his 87 catches and 11 scores rival the likes of elite tight ends such as New England’s Rob Gronkowski and Carolina’s Greg Olsen. Unlike Gronk and Greg, Reed was inexplicably left off the Pro Bowl roster. Pro Bowler or not, as important as Kirk Cousins has been down the stretch, without the consistent and strong play of Reed, the Redskins would once again be sitting at home in January.

3- Well…it’s the NFC East…

As much as I’d like to give all the credit for Washington’s division title to the Redskins themselves, we have to be honest….they had help. The NFC East, much like the NFC South last year, was a joke for most of the season. Dallas was decimated by injuries, the inability to find a merely acceptable backup QB, and Jerry Jones’ typical yearly foolishness (see Hardy, Greg). New York featured the worst defense in the NFL and continually gave games away in the 4th quarter. And Philadelphia was handcuffed by the unique and “revolutionary” philosophy of now-former coach Chip Kelly, who fully earned his pink slip after installing a fast-paced offense, replacing all of his fast players with slower ones, and explaining his confusing methods by simply saying “Trust me.” For the first time in years, Washington appears to be the most stable franchise in the NFC East, and considering Snyder still owns the team, that’s saying something.

Outlook: The Redskins are an interesting case moving forward in this year’s playoffs. Washington didn’t beat a team with a winning record all season and has struggled to run the football. On the other hand, they come in on a roll, winners of four straight, a red-hot passing game, and loads of confidence. That may be enough to beat a struggling Green Bay team, but the Redskins will need to play a near perfect game to have any chance on the road against Carolina or Arizona in the Divisional Round. Win or lose though, for once the team is finally employing a reasonable approach to building a strong foundation. For once, the team isn’t riddled with distractions. For once, the team is getting it done on the field. You Like That?! Yeah Kirk. We sure do.