Division keeps 'Skins in hunt

A few weeks ago, the Redskins were one big joke. But after winning two in a row, the once 0-5 Redskins are contending for the NFC East title as the season nears the halfway point.

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By DARRELL FRY

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 30, 2001

A few weeks ago, the Redskins were one big joke. But after winning two in a row, the once 0-5 Redskins are contending for the NFC East title as the season nears the halfway point.

Yes, Washington is arguably one of the league's worst teams, but when you're in a division where no team has a winning record, everything tends to even out.

Washington (2-5) remains in last place but is just a game and a half behind first-place Philadelphia (3-3), which was a model of offensive ineptitude in losing 20-10 to Oakland.

"October was good for us because we regained our confidence and got a winning feeling that we never had," Washington linebacker LaVar Arrington said.

November and December, however, may not be so kind. The Redskins host the Seahawks (3-3) Sunday, then after a bye week play at Denver and Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, two of the Eagles' remaining 10 games (San Diego and San Francisco) are against teams with winning records.

Said Washington quarterback Tony Banks: "I don't want to think that far ahead."

DOES HE EAT NAILS, TOO?: Say what you want about Rams receiver Isaac Bruce, but the guy is as tough as they come. He had seven catches for 179 yards against the Saints despite breaking a finger in the first quarter.

IT WASN'T ALL THEIR FAULT: The Bears gave up 31 points against the 49ers, but don't think Chicago's highly ranked defense had a serious meltdown.

Fourteen of the 49ers' points were scored off a fumble return and an interception, meaning the Bears defense, which went in as the least-scored-upon unit in the league, actually gave up 17 points.

DID YOU KNOW?: A mild earthquake hit Southern California during Fox Sports Net's NFL This Morning show Sunday. The quake, measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale, hit just as studio host Chris Myers in Los Angeles was talking to John Madden at the Rams-Saints game in St. Louis.

Myers stopped Madden in mid sentence to tell him about the quake as it shook the studio. Madden, of course, deadpanned: "Just hang in there and hold onto your seats."

DON'T GO: The Jaguars might want to reconsider the next time they decide to go for it on fourth down. They tried twice Sunday against the Ravens and didn't convert either one, dropping them to 0-7 on fourth-down conversions this season.

IS HE STILL IN THE LEAGUE?: How about that Randall Cunningham? The guy's 38 and playing in his 16th season, but obviously he still has some game in him, going 7-for-7 for 76 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter to steal the game from Jacksonville.

He has said he'll retire after this season, but after Sunday, perhaps he should reconsider.

DILFER GETTING A RAW DEAL?: Let's see, quarterback Trent Dilfer takes over as Seattle's starter and wins both his starts. Matt Hasselbeck returns Sunday and the Seahawks lose, dropping his record as a starter to 1-3.

So, coach Mike Holmgren is going back to Dilfer this week, right?

Wrong.

"Matt's going to be the quarterback here," Holmgren said of Hasselbeck, who was 16-of-28 for 230 yards.

Go figure.

SURE, IT WAS NO BIG DEAL: Chargers quarterback Doug Flutie downplayed the significance of facing his old team, Buffalo, for the first time Sunday, saying it was just another game.

Yeah, it was so meaningless that Flutie kept the ball after scoring the winning touchdown.

TRYING TO FORGET THE FORGETTABLE: Most teams welcome bye weeks. But after the Rams and Vikings lost Sunday, both probably are wishing they didn't have so much time to dwell on things.

"It's going to be a long two weeks," the Rams' Bruce said.

STATISTIC OF THE WEEK: Cincinnati is 9-0 when running back Corey Dillon goes over 130 yards.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Detroit safety Ron Rice on the growing frustration in the Motor City over the Lions' 0-6 start:

"This is the worst I've ever felt in my football career. I feel like there's nothing we can do right."

DID YOU KNOW?: Quarterback Clint Stoerner's 6-yard touchdown run against Arizona was the first rushing touchdown by a Cowboys offensive player this season. The only other one was scored by kicker Tim Seder on a fake field goal against the Raiders.

-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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