Defense the Key to Washington Redskins Playoffs Hopes

With five games remaining in the regular season, the Washington Redskins appear poised to make a run at a Wild Card spot.

At 7-4, they sit tied with the Dallas Cowboys in second place in the NFC East, three games behind the division—and conference—leading new York Giants.

A look around the rest of the conference, however, shows just how tight the playoff race is and how a couple of injuries to the Skins defensive front could end up impacting who qualifies for the playoffs.

The overall season numbers are good: Washington stands tied for second in fewest points allowed in the conference. That statistic is significant since the offense doesn't seem capable at this point of putting teams away.

Of Washington's seven wins, none have come with more than a two-possession lead. Their greatest margin of victory was eight points against the lowly Lions in October. The offense does just enough to keep the Skins in most games, and the defense is left to shut the door.

But is the door cracking open just a bit down the stretch?

Coordinator Greg Blache's squad stands third in the league in fewest yards allowed per game, seventh in rushing and second against the pass, and sixth in fewest touchdowns allowed. But in back-to-back weeks now the Skins have allowed a 100-yard rusher, showing signs of a tired and hurt defensive line.

Injuries to the defensive front tell the story, as Andre Carter, Cornelius Griffin, Kedric Golston all left the Seattle game and are questionable this week. DT Anthony Montgomery has missed the last two games with a sore Achilles’ but expects to play Sunday, especially considering the other injuries.

And Jason Taylor, counted on to be the sack leader this season, has been nursing a calf injury all season and has one sack for the year.

It's so bad up front, the team signed DT Ryan Boschetti off the street to provide backup this weekend.

The linebacking corps is solid if not spectacular.  London Fletcher and Rocky MacIntosh lead the Redskins in tackles, and Fletcher in particular is a steadying influence at the middle linebacker position.

The playmakers for this defense are in the secondary, where FS LaRon Landry patrols the middle, and DBs Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers, Fred Smoot and recent free agent pickup DeAngelo Hall make things difficult for opposing wide receivers.

Strong safety Chris Horton is the biggest surprise.

A seventh round pick out of UCLA, he outplayed incumbent Reed Doughty in training camp and when Doughty went down for the season, Horton stepped in and is third on the team in tackles and leads in interceptions with three.

Washington's remaining schedule is tricky.

They host the 10-1 Giants on Sunday, trying to avenge arguably their worst performance of the season, an opening day 16-7 loss.

They then travel 45 miles up Route 95 to face the resurgent Baltimore Ravens.

Next up is a "trap" game at Cincinnati, then they host the splintering Philadelphia Eagles.

The Skins finish the season with a cross-county road trip to San Francisco.

That may not seem daunting, but if you consider the travel at the end of a 16-game, 17-week season, and the fact that the Niners have significantly outscored the Skins thus far, well, let's just day the schedule-makers didn't do Washington any favors.

Head Coach Jim Zorn is fan of keeping things "medium"—rounding out the highs and lows over the course of a season.

He'll have to call upon his wealth of playing and assistant coaching experience down the stretch—and his excellent but hurting defense—to carry his team into the NFL's second season.