Are the Redskins actually the best team in the NFC East?

In a stunning turn of events, the Washington Redskins are in first place in the NFC East almost halfway through the season.

Nobody could’ve possibly predicted before the season that the Washington Redskins would be where they are in Week 8, especially given some of the competition in the NFC East.

Sure, Washington received a quarterback upgrade in the offseason by trading for Alex Smith, who is the best quarterback the Redskins have had in a very long time (sorry to the Kirk Cousins apologists, but he was never really that good). But even with one of the NFL’s better quarterbacks under center, Washington wasn’t expected to make much noise in a division that contained the Dallas Cowboys, a team we thought was on the rise, and especially the Philadelphia Eagles, the defending Super Bowl champs.

But yet, after a victory over the lowly New York Giants in Week 8, the Redskins sit at 5-2 and in first place in the NFC East. Where the heck did they come from?

Things looked incredibly down for Washington during training camp when running back Derrius Guice suffered a torn ACL that sidelined him for the year. But the Redskins decided to take a chance on Adrian Peterson, who not too long ago was the best running back in football, and give him an opportunity for new life in Washington.

It has been a chance very worth taking, and Peterson showed it once again when he rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown against the Giants. It was their third straight win, with their last two wins coming against Carolina and Dallas, two teams that are no slouches themselves.

Since the Eagles have underachieved in 2018 after winning the Super Bowl last year, the Cowboys are still trying to figure out how to get on the right track, and the Giants are headed for a top three draft pick, the Redskins might just prove to be the best overall team in the NFC East this season.

They’ve surprised us all so far, and they might just carry the momentum all the way to a division crown.