This is how the NFC East looks tonight, with our Washington Redskins proudly perched atop after 16 weeks for the first time since 1999. 

The easiest way for the Redskins to go to the playoffs [and for all of us to understand] is if they defeat the Dallas Cowboys, who visit FedEx Field on Sunday [or Sunday night if the game if flexed out of the afternoon.] If the Redskins beat the Cowboys, the Redskins will win the NFC East with a 10-6 record and the Cowboys make early golf plans with an 8-8 record. 

If the Redskins lose to the Cowboys [shame on them], Dallas would win the NFC East because the two teams would have split the head-to-head matchups, would have identical 4-2 division records, but the Cowboys have the better record against common opponents. That's right, a team that is -14 in net scoring right now would win the NFC East and host a playoff game. Let's hope the Redskins don't let that happen. 

The Redskins can make the playoffs as a wild card if they lose to the Cowboys, but they would need help from teams like the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. If one of those three teams wins and gets to 10 wins, the Redskins could still make the playoffs because they own tiebreakers with all three of them. However, if two of those three teams win the Redskins would be out of the playoffs because there would be two non-division winners with 10 wins and the Skins would only have nine.

In other words, win and they're in. Lose and they need help. To hell with help. Just win. The fact that Dallas is the opponent Sunday only makes it sweeter if the good guys win.

It was a nail biter.  It shouldn't have been.  Nonetheless, the Redskins won their six consecutive game and set up a perfect scenario for the NFL, it all comes down to the last week of the season, Dallas v. Washington.  Talk about injecting energy into one of the greatest sports rivalries.  The Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 in Philadelphia to improve to 9-6.  They have guaranteed themselves their first winning records since 2007.  So who gets the Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down?

THUMBS UP (We are giving three instead of two this week)

LB Ryan Kerrigan:  Kerrigan continued his impressive streak of outstanding performances.  He is Pro Bowl worthy.  Kerrigan recorded 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble.   He is adding the pass rush that was absent for swaths of game this season.  His timely forced fumble came on a drive the Eagles were sustaining in the late part of the second quarter.  Kerrigan has helped propel a resurgent Redskins defense over the course of the 6 game winning streak.    He now has 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles over his last 6 games. 

LB London Fletcher:  Fletcher recorded 10 sacks and had a pass interception.  It was the third consecutive game Fletcher picked off a pass.  He has 4 picks in his last 5 games.  Fletcher has 5 total picks on the season.  With a suspect secondary, the linebackers have taken over the turnover machine for the Redskins and Fletcher has been an integral part of that.  Redskins linebackers have 9 total interceptions on the season, led by Fletcher's 5.  He keeps getting older, but his level of play has shown no sign of wearing down. 

WR Pierre Garcon:  Garcon led the Redskins with 8 receptions for 89 yards.  He came up big for his hobbled rookie quarterback.  The Redskins have improved to 8-1 on the season with Garcon in the lineup.  There is no bigger player on the field that has made such an impact on the Redskins six game winning streak.  He also made two very nice critical blocks today.  

Honorable Mention:  Give up for a sensation TD reception by Santana Moss, in the on the side of the endzone with an incredible foot drag to get both feet in.  Just an incredible catch. 

THUMBS DOWN

DJ Johnson:  When you think the Redskins secondary can't get any weaker, enter DJ Johnson.  For the second consecutive week, Johnson gets beat deep.  Shameful. 

The Washington Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles moments ago 27-20 to improve their record to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in the division. 

The game went down to the final play, when Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led his team down to the Washington five yard line with seconds left, rolled out to his left and was grabbed by DE Stephen Bowen. With no timeouts left, Foles had to throw the ball to stop the clock and he tossed it forward, to no one in particular. He was out of the pocket, but the "pass" failed to reach the line of scrimmage, thus forcing the referees to call intentional grounding. WIth one second left on the clock and a penalty runoff of 10 seconds, the game ended with that play. 

The loss drops the Eagles to 4-11 in 2012. This was likely Eagles' head coach Andy Reid's last home game in Philadelphia and his team struggled mightily to send him off a winner, but they came up just five yards short.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys are trailing at home to the New Orleans Saints. The Giants play later today in Baltimore against the Ravens. The Minnesota Vikings will likely continue to defy gravity and beat the Houston Texans, improving their record to 9-6. That means the Redskins cannot clinch a playoff spot tonight, though the team will prevail in any tie with the Vikings because the Redskins beat Minnesota earlier this year. 

GO HERE TO READ A SUMMARY OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE REDSKINS-EAGLES GAME.http://www.dcprosportsreport.com/washington-redskins/redskins-lead-13-10-at-halftime.html

The Washington Redskins lead the Philadelphia Eagles 13-10 at halfime. The 8-6 Redskins need to win today and a week from today against the Cowboys in order to guarantee themselves a division championship for the first time since 1999.

The Eagles struck first, driving 76 yards on 11 plays on the opening drive of the game, culminating in a beautiful 27-yard TD pass from QB Nick Foles to WR Jeremy Maclin. Redskins DB D.J. Johnson was badly beaten on the play when he tried to jam Maclin at the line of scrimmage, but missed. Johnson was beaten last week for a 69-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter of the win in Cleveland when he bit on a play fake and let the receiver get behind him. 

The Redskins drove 56 yards on 10 plays on their first posession, but Robert Griffin III threw an incomplete pass on 3rd and 2 and Washington turned the ball over at the Philly 35-yard-line on downs. 

The Eagles came back and drove deep into Washington territory, their offensive looking unstoppable at that time. Then ILB Perry Riley rushed up the middle on an Eagles pass on second down and sacked Foles. The Eagles came back with another called pass, but Ryan Kerrigan forced Foles out of the pocket and then chased him down. Kerrigan wrapped up Foles and forced the Philly rookie QB to fumble. The ball was recovered by Washington rookie CB Richard Crawford, who returned it to the Washington 39-yard line. 

The Redskins drove 32 yards on 8 plays before the drive stalled and PK Kai Forbath came on for a 45-yard field goal. Forbath booted it right down the middle of the uprights and the Redskins narrowed Philly's lead to 7-3. Forbath's kick tied him with Garrett Hartley of the New Orleans Saints with 16 straight made field goals to start an NFL career. 

The Eagles ran a quick three and out, unable to gain a single  yard on the Redskins defense. A bad punt by the Eagles gave Washington the ball at their own 47-yard line. The Redskins drive to the Philly 24-yard line before the drive stalled again and Forbath came on for a 42-yard field goal. Forbath's kick was perfect and he held the record of made field goals to start an NFL career all by himself. The kick narrowed Philadelphia's lead to 7-6. 

The Eagles came back out at their own 22-yard line, but gained little on first down. On second down Forbath was sacked again by OLB Ryan Kerrigan, giving him two in the first half and 8.5 on the season -- a new high for him. On 3rd and 12, Foles went back to throw and looked to his right. He threw, but the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage by NT Barry Cofield and the ball floated into the hands of ILB London Fletcher, who returned it to the Eagles 25-yard line. 

The Redskins quickly drove toward the end zone, getting over it when RG3 tossed a line of scrimmage pass to WR Josh Morgan, who made a man miss and picked up a perfect block from WR Pierre Garcon. Replays showed Morgan's knee might have touched down before he got the ball over the end zone line, but it was not clear and the call on the field of a touchdown was upheld. The Redskins lead 13-7. 

The Eagles got the ball on their own 20-yard line and quickly drove deep into Redskins territory. However, a holding penalty on Eagles LT King Dunlap ruined the drive and forced the Eagles to kick a 38-yard field goal to bring the score to 13-10 with 18 seconds left in halftime.

Second half coming up...

Washington Redskins PK Kai Forbath [aka Kobra Kai] set an NFL record today when he kicked a 42-yard field goal right down the middle of the uprights at Lincoln Financial Field against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Trailing 7-3, Forbath came on at 4th and 9 at the Philadelphia 24-yard line and nailed the 42-yarder, his 17th straight made field goal to start his NFL career. The previous NFL best was by Garrett Hartley of the New Orleans Saints, who hit his first 16 from 2008-09. 

The Redskins currently trail the Eagles 7-6, needing a win this week and another next week to guarantee Washington its first division championship since 1999. 

With starting right tackle Tyler Polumbus inactive from a concussion suffered in last weeks win, Mike Shanahan has chosen experience over inexperience.  Maurice Hurt draws the start at right tackle.  Hurt was a seventh round draft choice of the Redskins in the 2011 NFL Draft. 

Hurt was active in 11 games this season, but did not draw any starts because of the relative good health on the offensive line.  Hurt drew 8 starts last season as a rookie. 

Jordan Black took over for Polumbus last week, but was suspended four games for a drug violation.  Black's suspension is controversial in that he was taking medicine prescribed by a doctor that he had been taking for nealry a decade.  Furthermore, the Redskins and the National Football League were aware of his prescription.  Black was a victim of a new policy compared to a know violator of league drug policy.  

No doubt, with Hurt starting at right tackle, he will probably draw help from TE Logan Paulsen.  Or we should hope he does. 

Your Washington Redskins inactive list is out.  Of note, starting RT Tyler Polumbus, who suffered a concussion last week, is inactive.  Maurice Hurt will start at right tackle.  Once again WR Brandon Banks is inactives.  We have likely seen the last of Banks, barring injury.

QB Rex Grossman

OT Tyler Polumbus

WR Brandon Banks

WR Dezmon Briscoe

LB Rodderick Muckelroy

LB Vic So'oto

OG Adam Gettis

Head coach Mike Shanahan gives QB Robert Griffin III [sprained knee] a 98% chance to play in Philadelphia tomorrow. I like those odds. Officially, RG3 is listed as "probable."

RT Tyler Polumbus, who missed much of the win against Cleveland with a concussion was returned to practice yesterday, though he was limited. C Will Montgomery also practiced, so it looks like the Skins might have their regular offensive line against Philadelphia. Polumbus will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game, but if he can't play the Skins will probably turn to OG Maurice Hurt or OT Tom Compton, neither of whom have ever played a down in the NFL at right tackle. That could be a problem against what is actually a very talented Eagles defensive line. ILBs London Fletcher [ankle] and Lorenzo Alexander [shoulder] were not seen practicing yesterday. I assume Fletcher will play because he always does. Dunno about Alexander.

Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett says he seeks no praise for the improvements the Redskins have shown on defense recently. Nevertheless, I'm sure he likes it and I know he deserves it. WIth very little pass rush or secondary talent to work with, Haslett has somehow cobbled together a semi-respectable group that regularly gets torched in the passing game, but somehow shrugs it off and comes back to make plays later in the game. No one will ever confuse it with a good defense. Right now, the Redskins are just hoping it will be good enough.

Give Haslett credit for making some nice in-game adjustments: 

In the past three games, the Redskins allowed an average of 135.3 yards and 5.7 points in the second half after surrendering 211.3 yards and 16 points in the first. If they performed like that for 60 minutes, they’d have the top defense in the NFL.

Rich Tandler points out two neat stats: 

--Alfred Morris needs 195 rushing yards to break the team record of 1516 held by Clinton Portis. He set that record during the Redskins’ playoff run in 2005. Morris needs to average 97.5 yards per game to get the record, just above his season average of 94 yards per game.

Redskisn rookie fourth round pick QB Kirk Cousins became the third Redskins rookie this season to win the NFL Pepsi Max Rookie of the Week honor.  Cousins' joins fellow QB Robert Griffin III and RB Alfred Morris as 2012 Redskins rookie winners. 

Cousins subbed in for the injured Robert Griffin III in a ciritical game on the road in Cleveland.  Cousins put together a huge 329 yard performance in his first NFL start, tossing 2 TD passes and completing 70% of his passes.  That all came one week after he subbed in Batlimore late and led the Redskins on a game tying TD drive and two point conversion to defeat the Baltimore Ravens. 

Cousins will retake his position as backup this week as the return of Robert Griffin III appears to be more than likely.  He is listed as Probable on the Redskins injury report. 

The Washington Redskins have released the official injury report for Sunday's division game with the Philadelphia Eagles.  The injury report lists 7 players as Probable and 2 players as Questionable. 

PROBABLE:

QB Robert Griffin III.  RGIII suffered no set backs and is expected to return to the lineup and start on Sunday. 

LB Lorenzo Alexander.  Alexander suffered a shoulder stinger last week, but is ready to go. 

LB London Fletcher:  Fletcher has been hobbled multiple weeks with a sore ankle.  Just like every other week, Fletch will be there come Sunday. 

LB Rob Jackson. Playing for the injured Brian Orakpo, Jackson is one of the most surprising players this season.  He has been extremely consistent and surprisingly effective.  Jackson's practice absence are related to a birth of a child, not injury. 

LB Ryan Kerrigan.  Kerrigan has a sore ankle, but he is good to go. 

C Will Montgomery.  After last week's big win, word came out that Montgomery suffered a strained MCL and an MRI would be performed.  MRI was negative.  This would have been a huge loss to the offensive line.  Montgomery has been saying all week he is good to go.  He will be in on Sunday. 

LT Trent Williams.  Williams has a sore thigh.  Won't stop him from playing.

QUESTIONABLE:

OT Tyler Polumbus.  Polumbus suffered a concussion last week.  He was replaced by Jordan Black, who has since been suspended by the NFL.  It is unfortunately, a position of weakness for Washington.  Polumbus was limited in practice today, but was able to practice, hence, his questionable status.  If Polumbus cant go, do not look for rookie Tom Compton.  Instead, look for Maurice Hurt to get the nod.  

DE Stephen Bowen.  Bowen suffered a torn bicep.  That sucks.  It apparently bothered him last week in that he rarely played first or second downs, but third downs.  Bowen may not be able to go.  Look for more of Jarvis Jenkins.