Can the Redskins Start 4-0?

Last season the Redskins needed to end on a 7 game winning streak in order to win the division and earn a playoff berth. While it was extremely impressive it isn't realistic to rely on a late season push every year. So, the question is can the Redskins start off better this season? I believe the answer is yes. And I think it is very realistic that they can start the season 4-0 or at least 3-1.

The first matchup is against the Eagles which should be an interesting game because of the return of RGIII and it being Chip Kelly's first game in the NFL. I have discussed what to expect from the Eagles in more detail here. To be brief it seems unrealistic to expect much from a team that has some serious issues on defense and an offense led by Michael Vick. To add onto it the Redskins are at home and RGIII will be starting so a win is expected here.

Week 2 will be a more difficult game because it is in Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the league right now and the running game should be improved. Not to mention the Redskins have a weak secondary. However, there are a few things working in the Redskins favor. First, the Packers offensive line is one of the weakest in the NFL. It has a lot of problems especially with the injury to Bryan Bulaga. That plays into the Redskins strength on defense with pass rushers like Orakpo and Kerrigan which should hopefully balance out the weakness in the secondary. Second, the Packers defense has shown some weakness against mobile quarterbacks and the read option. In the playoffs last year the Packers were torched by Kaepernick, who ran for more than 180 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Packers do have Clay Matthews and should make adjustments against that style of play especially with their week 1 game being against the 49ers and Kaepernick. But this doesn't really worry me because if anything it will give a Redskins a chance to see what kind of adjustments to expect and how to counter them. The 49ers game will also be a taxing one so its possible the Redskins could be overlooked. It'll be a hard fought game but RGIII is a more dynamic runner than Kaepernick so don't be surprised if the Redskins can pull off the upset.

The next game is at home against the Lions. The Lions have talent all over the field with Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Reggie Bush, and a stacked defensive line. If there is a game that the Redskins might be upset in during the first 4 games this is it. But as last year showed the Lions talent doesn't always translate and it is a good bet that the Redskins at home will be able to stop them. Outside of Calvin Johnson the receiving core is young and/or lacking talent. If the Jim Haslett can game plan to stop Johnson then the offense will struggle. Stafford is also inconsistent and can be a turnover machine. Haslett has had a lot of success against QBs like that (see Eli Manning). Last time the Redskins and Lions played was in 2010 and the Lions won by double digits but that was a different Redskins team with McNabb/Grossman and a awful offensive line, which allowed 7 sacks. The Redskins offense is drastically improved from those days which should give the defense more of an opportunity to succeed. Since it is a home game the edge goes to the Redskins and I see no reason they can't win this game.

Week 4 is at the Raiders and is the last game before the bye. The Raiders are one of the worst teams in the NFL and  outside of Darren McFadden have very little talent. Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor will be less of an unknown at this point which will be helpful. Pryor has shown some potential early but a complicated NFL defense with lots of different blitz packages should cause the inexperienced youngster problems. The Raiders are a team that has a lot of rebuilding to do on both sides of the ball while the Redskins are a team on the rise. The biggest concern will be the long trip to the west coast but that shouldn't be enough for the Raiders to force an upset. This game should be as close to a lock as you can get.

Best Case: Redskins start the season 4-0 winning the games they should with one upset over the Packers.

Worst Case: The Skins lose to both the Lions and the Packers and go into the bye 2-2. On the bright side the Redskins avoid an upset against the Raiders and start the year 1-0 in the division with the win over the Eagles.

My Prediction: It looks like these are all very winnable games. But the NFC North is no joke and both the Lions and Packers strengths on offense have the ability to exploit the Redskins weaknesses on defense. It looks like the Skins will go 3-1 loosing to either the Lions or the Packers in a close game.