NFL Power Rankings: Are the Washington Redskins Still Last in the NFC East?

NFL Power Rankings are notoriously flexible at the start of each season, but for fans of the Washington Redskins the last few years have been depressingly consistent. No matter what part of the season the perennial cellar dwellers of the NFC East have appeared on the list, they have found themselves in an all too familiar place. The Bottom.

However, this year might just be different. The Washington Redskins went 3-1 in the preseason against quality teams. They beat Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Tampa Bay. In the all important game three of preseason, the first string Redskins outscored the first string Baltimore Ravens, only to fall in the last minute as the second string and rookies played for roster spots. Graham Gano is the leading scorer in the NFL through the four games of preseason for goodness sakes! This is not the Redskins team everyone thought they were.

Surely the NFL Power Rankings will reflect that, right? Well, no sorry to say, but as of Sunday, September 4th, the Redskins are still in last place in the NFC East. But don't hang your head just yet Redskins fans. Very few sports outlets will bother to change rankings based off of the preseason performances of the teams, but there is reason for optimism. One of the only post preseason Power rankings over at NFL Soup has the Redskins a modest 25th. Modest that is, until you remember almost everyone had them worse before preseason.

The bad news? In that same ranking the next closest NFC East team is Dallas, at position 14. The good news? The teams Washington beat in the preseason? Third, 10th and 16th respectively.

ESPN had Washington at 29th before the preseason. Fox Sports had them 26th. National publications have had no problem picking the Redskins to end the season with as few as 2 wins. In the quarterback oriented NFL, a team that can't decide between Rex Grossman and some stranger named John Beck will not get any respect until they earn it with marks in the "W" column. Be prepared to stay near the bottom of the NFL Power Rankings until the halfway point of the season. By then, either the Redskins will have shown they belong in the mix, or not. Week one against the Giants will be a telling game.

There should be a whole slew of new rankings coming out this week, but don't count on any surprising moves against the other teams of the NFC East. If the Washington Redskins want to overtake their rivals in the NFL Power Rankings, they're just going to have to beat them on the field.