‘Skins look to finish unlikely turnaround

WASHINGTON - It has something like the feel of 2005, when someone posted a sign in the locker room that read, "Five in a row or we don't go!"

The Washington Redskins, 5-6 at the time and without much of an offense, then somehow reeled off five straight to claim a wild-card berth.

Or maybe it's more like 2007, when the Redskins dropped to 5-7 following a coaching blunder: Joe Gibbs' decision to call back-to-back timeouts, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That allowed the Buffalo Bills to move closer to kick a winning field goal.

Nevertheless, riding a swell of emotion in the aftermath of the death of safety Sean Taylor, those Redskins took their next four and again claimed a spot in the playoffs - beating the Dallas Cowboys to finish the job.

But really, 2012 is something else altogether.

These Redskins were 3-6 on Nov. 4. They had just lost what coach Mike Shanahan had proclaimed a "must win" against the Carolina Panthers, who entered the game 1-6.

And while Shanahan can massage it all he wants - and he's tried to, in many different ways - he clearly no longer had realistic postseason goals when he spoke after that game.

Shanahan said, among other things: "You lose a game like that, now you're playing to see who obviously is going to be on your football team for years to come."

"He was having a moment of frustration," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. "But I think the whole team knows exactly where he stands, and where we stand is a testament to that."

Shanahan clarified his remarks two days later, telling the players in the final meeting before the bye-week break that the playoffs remained a possibility. Still, even a veteran such as Cofield couldn't envision, say, an NFC East title.

"I thought we needed to win the next game, but I definitely did not look that far in advance," Cofield said. "It was too low of a moment to look and think we could win the division. We wanted to win as many games as possible and hopefully sneak into the playoffs. It was a low point for us. The bye came at a perfect time. We came back and were energized."

Six victories later, the Redskins (9-6) are definitely not a team playing "for years to come," as the coach put it that November day. They're playing for this year's NFC East title, attempting to become the first team since the 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars to reach the playoffs after starting 3-6.

What a sight it will be, therefore, when the Redskins and Cowboys (8-7) meet Sunday night, a game flexed to prime time to mark the end of the NFL's regular season.

The winner takes the division. Dallas will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss. Washington can lose and still get a wild-card spot, but only if the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings lose earlier in the day.

"It is two great franchises playing hard to beat one another, and that is good stuff," Redskins tight end Chris Cooley said.

The Redskins turned it around by following the leadership of rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III. His demeanor has lifted the entire franchise, and he showed in Sunday's 27-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles that he can win even when he's not as much of a running threat.

There's also rookie running back Alfred Morris, whose 1,413 yards puts him within range of Clinton Portis' franchise record of 1,516. And midseason pickup place-kicker Kai Forbath, who had a game ball shipped to the Hall of Fame on Monday after breaking the record for most consecutive field goals to start an NFL career.

Washington has exorcised several demons this year. It ended a 10-game home losing streak on Monday nights; an 0-for-6 futility against the Cowboys in Thanksgiving games; and a four-year hold on last place in the division.

Now they can clinch their first division title since 1999.

"Everything we've been working for comes back to this weekend, taking advantage of what we've done over the last six weeks," Shanahan said. "It really doesn't mean anything unless we take advantage of our game versus Dallas."