Do Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins Really Stand a Chance in the Playoffs?

On Saturday night in Philadelphia, the Washington Redskins completed an unlikely run to an NFC East title, downing the Eagles 38-24.

However, while Washington is back atop the division and in the playoffs for the first time since 2012, this year's incarnation of the Redskins appears headed for a similar fate as its brethren from a few years ago.

One and done, that is, quite possibly at the hands of the same Seattle Seahawks team that bounced Washington back then.

Of course, that's a worry for another day. It's all smiles Saturday night, especially for quarterback Kirk Cousins.

That young man, who'll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, has made himself a nice chunk of money this year—if you count chunks of money in increments in the tens of millions:

Cousins, who entered play in Week 16 leading the NFL in completion percentage (69.7), didn't quite hit that benchmark against the Eagles (67.4). What the fourth-year pro did do was set a franchise record for 300-yard passing games in a season with seven.

Cousins completed 31 of his 46 throws for 365 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Since the team's Week 8 bye, Cousins has thrown 17 touchdown passes against only three picks. Saturday night's win marked the fifth straight game in which Cousins' passer rating has topped 100.

Not surprisingly, Cousins was a happy camper while speaking with the NFL Network's postgame show:

"

This is the happiest I've ever been as a football player. So it's very satisfying. Hopefully we can just keep on building on this and go from here.

It's a great opportunity I had this year to be the starting quarterback from the start of the season, and I wanted to make good on it. ...

There's a lot more to go, but I feel fortunate for what I have and the guys around me.

"

If the 27-year-old Cousins feels fortunate now, wait until he gets a gander at his new contract next spring.

The signal-caller wasn't the team's only offensive star against Philadelphia. Jordan Reed has emerged as one of the NFL's best tight ends not many outside of fantasy circles have heard of, and Reed's torrid month of December continued in the division-clinching win.

Reed torched the Eagles for 129 yards and two touchdowns on nine grabs. Those two scores gave Reed 11 touchdown catches on the season, making him the first Redskins receiver to hit double digits in, well, quite a while, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

It was the culmination of a remarkable run for a Redskins team picked by most pundits (including this one, Pat Kirwan of CBSSports.com and WalterFootball.com) to finish dead last in the NFC East. In fact, before the season, the Redskins were tabbed by many, including Jay Boice and Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, as one of the league's worst teams altogether.

There's much to celebrate in the nation's capital.

It just isn't going to be a celebration that will last very long.

Yes, the Redskins will host an NFC Wild Card Round game at FedEx Field, where the team won six times in eight tries this season. However, much as with their division title (let's be honest: The "NFC Least" is the worst division this side of the AFC South), that record comes with a caveat.

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Washington's six home victories came against teams that are a combined 15 games under .500 this season. Not one has a winning record. In fact, the Redskins have faced only three teams this year that have won more games than they have lost.

Against those three teams (the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and New York Jets), the Redskins were 0-3. The team was outscored 105-46, losing by at least two touchdowns each time out.

And whether it's the Seahawks, Green Bay Packers or Minnesota Vikings, the Redskins won't be facing Chipster's Cheesesteaks two weeks from now.

Even against that up-and-down Eagles team that's had more downs than ups in 2015, there were problems. The Redskins were one-dimensional offensively, rushing for a measly 67 yards and averaging fewer than three yards per carry.

There were missed opportunities galore. A shanked point-after attempt. Cousins' brain cramp, which Deadspin referenced, inside the 10-yard line just before halftime that cost the team at least three points:

Against the Eagles, it didn't ultimately hurt them. But the Seahawks aren't the Eagles. Neither is the Pack. Or even the Vikings, who on paper at least appear the most favorable potential matchup for the Redskins.

This is a Washington team that entered Week 16 ranked outside the NFL's top 20 in both total offense and total defense. It was outside the top 15 in both scoring offense and scoring defense. And it was a team that didn't get into the plus side in turnover differential on the season until Saturday night.

It isn't like the Redskins dominated a weak division. They survived one.

None of this is to say that there isn't cause for celebration in D.C. Given last year's 4-12 face-plant and the very public end of the Robert Griffin III era in Washington, to say the 2015 Redskins exceeded expectations is an understatement.

However, rather than thinking deep playoff run, fans of the Redskins should be looking both south and forward.

Last year, a so-so Carolina Panthers team closed out the regular season with four victories and captured the NFC South with a 7-8-1 record. That team didn't make many waves in the playoffs. Yes, it defeated the Ryan Lindley-led Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round, but beating a three-legged dog doesn't usually rate a parade.

This year, that Panthers team is two wins away from a perfect regular season.

Am I implying the Redskins will win their first 14 games in 2016? Nope. But this year's strong second half and division title demonstrate that a team no one believed would go anywhere anytime soon actually has a much more solid foundation than we thought.

Build on that. Use 2015 as a springboard for 2016, starting with locking up Cousins long term.

Enjoy the NFC East title. The hats. The T-shirts. Lord said division title over fans of the Eagles, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. You know you want to.

Just don't get carried away. These Redskins are much better than we gave them credit for back in September. They're a good football team.

By no stretch of the imagination, though, are they great, and two weeks from now Cinderella is all but certainly going to turn back into a pumpkin.

Hail to the Pumpkins!

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.