This season has been a roller coaster so far for the Washington Football Team, with more lows than highs.
Starting from week one: The Eagles eased their way into a 17-0 lead, making all Washington fans think, "another one of these years," which is what has been going through the heads of Washington fans on most week one's within the past 20 years. What happened next was both surprising and also magical, being that Washington's 27 unanswered points have been just about the only glimpse of hope given by this team.
Other than the football team's week one comeback against the Eagles, they have not had much success at all.
It seems as if every time the WFT gives some hope to the fan base, all of it is taken away in the next game. They win week one against the Eagles, but lose five straight games. They shut down the Cowboys, playing aggressive and with great energy on defense and looking flawless on offense. Only to turn the ball over five times against the Giants the following week... and lose by only three points. And just as fans are starting to say "Wow! I didn't know we were capable of making a 17-point comeback again," Washington goes on the road, puts themselves down 21 points, and comes back to tie the game up.... only to lose the game by a 59-yard field goal, given up with just 16 seconds left of play. It almost seems like they are trying to find a more interesting way to lose every week.
As obvious as it might seem, it is clear that Washington wins games when they don't turn the ball over. Non-coincidentally, in the three games where they haven't turned the ball over, Washington is 2-1. That one loss came in a game where Alex Smith had to replace Kyle Allen, and was sacked 7 times in horrible (rainy) conditions. In all other games, they are 0-6.
It has become very evident over time that Washington is repeatedly shooting themselves in the feet, in games where they have a solid chance of winning. While this may seem obvious, there is another hidden reason behind why Washington has been so horrible within these first seven weeks.
When field goals are made, the kicker goes unnoticed. However when they are missed, the kicker will start to take some blame. Right now, the latter is happening to Dustin Hopkins, kicker for the Washington Football Team. So far, Hopkins has made a rough 12/17 when it comes to field goal attempts, putting him at 70% on the year. While this happens every year for some kickers in the NFL, Hopkins is hurting his team the most. In games where Hopkins is asked to take two or more field goals, he has failed to convert at 100% accuracy in every one of those games, except for one. When Washington has put their trust in him to help them win games, he hasn't come through.
As horrible as Washington has been over these first nine games, it's crazy to think that if they just clean up half of the avoidable mistakes they are making EVERY SINGLE game, they could easily make the playoffs. But it's true, seeing that even after five turnovers, they managed to be within three points of the New York Giants. And after seeing a 43-yard missed field goal and a fumble being the main reason why they didn't beat the Lions in a 21-point comeback.
Looking at Washington's schedule over the last seven weeks, it won't be easy by any means, but there are winnable games in there.
Week 11: vs Cincinnati Bengals
Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 14: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 15: vs Seattle Seahawks
Week 16: vs Carolina Panthers
Week 17: at Philadelphia Eagles
Over that 7-game stretch, I believe Washington is capable of pulling out 4 wins, which puts them at 6 wins on the year - all they need to make the playoffs. If Washington can limit the turnovers, MAKE field goals, and not continue to shoot themselves in the feet every game, there is no reason why this team shouldn't be well on their ways to the playoffs this year.
