Redskins win the NFC East by defeating their archival Cowboys

The rivalry between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys has long been considered the most heated in the National Football League.  A week 17 game to settle the NFC East division and a playoff spot stands out as one of the most significant games in the history of the rivalry.  Electrifying rookies Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris led a Redskins attack that had led the team to 6 consecutive victories.  On the opposite end of the field stood Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who led the Cowboys to 5 wins in their last 7 games to set up the pivotal division title game.

Alfred Morris had a record breaking night (USA today)

 The Redskins had not won their division since 1999, while the Cowboys had lost a similar winner takes the division game in week 17 of the prior season.

At the end of the night, Romo had thrown 3 interceptions, including one to linebacker Rob Jackson with just over 3 minutes remaining in the game and the Cowboys trailing by only 3 points.  Romo's mistake-laden performance, and 1-6 record in elimination games may cement his legacy as a quarterback with prolific statistics who is unable to win when it matters.

Morris had a record setting performance as he rushed for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, and in the process, broke Clinton Portis' franchise record for single season rushing yards.  Morris, a 6th round pick out of Florida Atlantic who was not even expected to make the team coming into training camp, finished the season with 13 touchdowns and 1,613 rushing yards ranking him second in the league in rushing yardage behind only Adrian Peterson.  Morris proved to be a perfect fit for Mike Shanahan's zone blocking scheme.  He has been nearly impossible to take down, leading the league in broken tackles and ranking third in yards after contact.  His bruising running style is a perfect weapon for the Redskins zone read option.

Morris' homerun celebration (Rob Carr/Getty)

Griffin III had a relatively quiet night throwing for only 100 yards, but also had 63 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.  He broke the all time single season rushing record for a rookie quarterback.  Griffin III finished the season with a passer rating of 102.4, breaking the single season rookie record in the category and ranking him third in the league in the category behind only Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning. 
The Redskins will host a Wild Card playoff game next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

Cousins and the Redskins defeat the Browns to move into first place in the NFC East

Kirk Cousins was magnificent in his
first ever NFL start (AP/Tony Dejak)

With rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins making his first career start, the Washington Redskins downed the Cleveland Browns 38-21.  Washington won its fifth consecutive game, its largest win streak since 2005, to pull into first place in the NFC East.  The team has not won the division since 1999, and has qualified for the playoffs only twice since the turn of the millennium.

Cousins, Washington's 4th round draft pick out of Michigan State, was spectacular starting in relief of the injured Robert Griffin III, throwing for 329 yards, 2 touchdowns and completing over 70 percent of his passes.  After a rough start, the Redskins established an offensive rhythm thanks in large part to excellent play calling by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.  Shanahan abandoned the pistol formation and zone read option which had been staples of the team's offense in the games that Griffin has started this season.  Instead, Shanahan adapted to Cousins, a more traditional quarterback, by using more of a pro style offense.  With the Browns determined to stop the run, Cousins was particularly effective on play action bootlegs, on which he threw 2 touchdowns to second year receiver Leonard Hankerson, including a 54 yard bomb in the first quarter to open the floodgates.

Leonard Hankerson caught two touchdowns
(AP/Rick Osentoski)

The Redskins defense came up huge yet again, limiting the Browns to under 300 yards of total offense and forcing 2 turnovers.  London Fletcher came up with his 4th interception of the season, and Rob Jackson intercepted his 3rd pass of the year.

The Redskins now control their own postseason destiny, and with wins against the Eagles and Cowboys will earn the right to host a playoff game.