Lions: Must Win?

[CommishDC]

Okay..so we are 2-1 and facing the highly explosive lions offense and suspect defense (eagles score 56). The Lions beat the Bears and the Skins had a week off and a loss to the Giants. Up next are the Packers (4-0), Cards ( an impressive win over Pitt), and the Patriots (4-0 leagues best team)....I ask this question, are the redskins in a MUST WIN situation this Sunday? Two, what is you prediction for them to earn a playoff spot? I think they could be 4-4 at the half way point and the second half of the season the same way, so 8-8? What's your opinion?

[fuji869]

It is an early season must win for each team. We do not want to fall to 2-2 after a 2-0 start and they do not want to lose any ground to Green Bay who has a all of a sudden winnable game vs. da Bears.

Don't want to make a playoff prediction because the NFC is watered down and we do not realy know how good, or how bad we are yet.

:whoknows:

[voicekiller]

every game is a must win...period

[jrt212]

with the packers and new england coming up, i'd say so.

[Blondie]

In my opinion, YES. Our schedule after this is very tough. We must get this win going into GB.....the Cards will not lie down for us........then comes the Pats. We must be 3-1 going into GB.....which......have LIFE right now. THAT is going to be a very tough ball game.

Yes....it is a must win.

[hail2skins]

I thought the Skins should at least hold serve at home in the first 6 games, so going at least 4-2 heading into NE was most desirable. 3-3 wouldn't be fatal but would make it more of an uphill climb to make the playoffs. Tell you what, despite the weakness of the conference, I don't consider an 8-8 team playoff-quality. If you don't have a winning record you don't deserve to go, IMO.

The signing of McCardell makes me worry greatly about the shape Moss is in. If Santana is unavailable, I think our offense will really suffer.

[SkinsOrlando]

We must win this game, our schedule is going to get tougher real quick

[KevinthePRF]

This term has always alluded me. I agree with the poster above, every game is a must win game. The only time the term doesn't apply is when you already have home field advantage throughout the playoffs tied up.

[NewCliche21]

16 games.

Which games AREN'T must win?

[Thirtyfive2seven]

In my opinion, YES. Our schedule after this is very tough. We must get this win going into GB.....the Cards will not lie down for us........then comes the Pats. We must be 3-1 going into GB.....which......have LIFE right now. THAT is going to be a very tough ball game.

Yes....it is a must win.

I couldn't agree more which makes the sting of last week come back. The skins NEED to win these games if they want to stay in contention down the stretch. After all those tough games you mentioned we have several divisional games after that which won't get any easier. The skins NEED to win the games they are suppose to although to be honest I don't know if they are SUppose to win this game or not. The lions aren't going to be easy. I'm telling you right now. This will be a tough game.

[jaxskinsville]

If it isn't a must win, than it would be a ........:(

[D'KanSkinFan]

Yes, it is a must win....................


Green Bay isn't going to lie down; however, if we can get some designer plays and practice them - we stand a decent chance against the Farve crew........

But of course, we will have to mix up our play calling to throw off the PATS...:D

Any game we play CAN BE WON................the team that wants to win and have fun on the field will be the team with the "W" in its column. If we start thinking we are "L", that will defeat us..............................

I REFUSE to think this team as a LOSER.....................I refuse, I refuse, I refuse........................Demons gone ;)

[SUSkinsFan]

Every game is a must win if you ask me

[cheeeks]

All 16 games are a must win, no freebies!!

[dreamshatterer]

As with most have said already, only 16 games a week. EVERY game is important!!! The only game that is not important during the regular season is when you have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and have lost a gme or two already.

[CaptainJames2004]

I thought at the beginning of the season that we would go at least 5-0 before our first loss but now things are tricky. I really do think that we NEED to beat the Lions. We HAVE to keep fighting. This is like the biggest battle of a season for a good while. Everyone (minus a few surprising teams like bears, saints, etc) seems to be holding on still and putting up a fight. We have to prepare for every game as if it could be our last chance.

[dreamshatterer]

As with most have said already, only 16 games a week. EVERY game is important!!! The only game that is not important during the regular season is when you have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and have lost a gme or two already.

HTTR!!! :logo: :point2sky :helmet:

[Taylor4Life]

It's a must win if we want to keep up with the Cowpokes and compete for the division...

[SkinsFan48]

Week 1-17 Must WIN.....

[FuriousD]

Okay..so we are 2-1 and facing the highly explosive lions offense and suspect defense (eagles score 56). The Lions beat the Bears and the Skins had a week off and a loss to the Giants. Up next are the Packers (4-0), Cards ( an impressive win over Pitt), and the Patriots (4-0 leagues best team)....I ask this question, are the redskins in a MUST WIN situation this Sunday? Two, what is you prediction for them to earn a playoff spot? I think they could be 4-4 at the half way point and the second half of the season the same way, so 8-8? What's your opinion?


1: Doesn't matter how suspect our opponants D; Gibbs will find a way to keep it close.

2: No paloffs for this team.

3: If the skins are going to get to 8-8, this is a game they need to win.

:helmet:

[LoudMouth12thMan]

If we can't win this one, you can count on an 8-8 type season. Gibbs looks at the schedule in quarters (4 weeks at a time)a nd I'm sure he wanted them to be 3-1 here, so I think he'll have them ready.

[CGSKINS]

I'm sorry. If we lose this game than we are in deep deep trouble. 2-2 with that schedule coming up:doh:

We have to win this game.

[terpfan]

I think it is. If only because we wont get many better opportunities for a win. This schedule is looking harder every week...

[Touchdown Redskins]

If we lose this game, we are going to start downward spiraling going into a tough stretch. Instead of being confident going into Green Bay, we'll go afraid of losing and going to 2-3. We just cannot lose this game, and the coaches must step up.

[mcarey032]

Even though they are not in our division we could very well be competing against these guys for a wild card spot. I would say that while it is not quite must win, it is a game at home that we should win. That being said, I do think that we can't overestimate the lions. I hope that we are able to establish a line of scrimmage and control the ball and keep the ball out of their pass happy offense.

[pgitta]

NO. We simply MUST NOT win this game under any circumstances.

[RenegadeTK]

every game is a must win.... unless we clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.... then we can take a little break

[Hog Lover]

Realistically we need to beat the Lions to be in good shape for the playoffs. Is it a must win....no. We still have 4 division games and 13 games to go, so dropping to 2-2 will by no means bury us. But the Lions are a likely wild card candidate, and we need to have tiebreakers over them and other NFC teams. But a loss to Detroit would leave us with more urgency but it wouldn't kill us.

[kevinklein]

Lions, Packers, Cardinals. Anything less than 2-1 during this stretch is unacceptable.

[Parker]

every game is a must win.

[AceSkinsFan]

This is certainly a game we SHOULD win, but I don't really like the term "must win". Like many of you I think all the games count and if we could win them all we'd never have to worry about the playoffs.

That being said I think our schedule is very tough after this game. At the same time, traditionally we play Brady pretty well (aside from that blowout preseason loss to the Pats.) If you look back at how we've done against New England in the Brady era, not too shabby. Pack are always tough at home and Favre is playing with a lot of heart right now. You never know which Cards team is going to show up, so that game is a real toss up for me. We've always played Kurt Warner pretty well too traditionally, and he seems to be the one fueling this Cards offense right now.

That being said, let's try to take it one week at a time shall we? :)

[skinfan13]

I wouldn't say the wheels would be falling completely off with a loss, but it would get very uncomfortable around DC if we did loose this game.

[BleedBNG]

If we can beat a team we're not favored to win, then the Lions game is not a must win. In other words, if we lose to the Lions but somehow beat the Packers... what's the win/loss difference?
Yes, winning both would be sweeter, but losing to the Lions also may have us looking in the rear view mirror if we're out of the playoffs because of one game.
Lions a must win?... YES!

[Chief skin]

3-1 have to have it

[Blondie]

I thought at the beginning of the season that we would go at least 5-0 before our first loss but now things are tricky. I really do think that we NEED to beat the Lions. We HAVE to keep fighting. This is like the biggest battle of a season for a good while. Everyone (minus a few surprising teams like bears, saints, etc) seems to be holding on still and putting up a fight. We have to prepare for every game as if it could be our last chance.


Before the season, did you think GB would be 4-0? Our 5th game?

I sure didnt.

[SkinsFTW]

If the team is any good they have to win the home games. We can't lose 2 of 3 home games early and expect to be a good team. Not with how easy the schedule has been and how tough it will get soon.

[BigRay]

I guess you could consider this a must win . You do not want to get too far behind Dallas and you want to stay within reach of The Giants.

[Om]

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=687


It's not like we can point to the upcoming schedule and tell that foul-breathed phantasm where to get off. At 3-0 and feeling they had turned the corner, the Redskins, and their fans, could have faced the upcoming stretch with rightly earned confidence. At 2-1 though, fresh off a devastating come-from-ahead loss and with Doubt and his Putrid Posse on the prowl, it looks daunting.

It starts in two weeks with Detroit. Cake? Nope. The Lions boast the top passing offense in the NFL, a stable of thoroughbred wideouts and a veteran quarterback--the NFL's leading passer--who just hung 446 passing yards on the same Philadelphia Eagles that held Jason Campbell to 209.

Then it's off to Wisconsin and historic Lambeau Field, where the Redskins will face the man who will retire in a year or two as the all time leading passer in NFL history.

Think Washington had a tough time with Eli Manning? This fellow is in a class Eli, with due respect, sees only in his dreams. All this fellow has done so far is throw for two TDs and nearly 290 yards a game in leading his Green Bay Packers to a 3-0 start.

Up next is a trip to Phoenix to face another stable of stud receivers and cagey veteran quarterback. (You just know we won't see "Matty" Leinert). All that guy did was come off the bench Sunday and light up the vaunted Baltimore Ravens defense, on the road, for 258 yards and 2 TDs in a little over two quarters of work.

And in case anyone's blocked it out, after that it's up north to visit a man named Brady. A man who, as of this moment, looks ready to jump to whatever higher league they send you to after you've finished having your way with the NFL.

So why keep pounding on all this potential misery? Simply, to leave no doubt that after what happened on Sunday, this is a Redskins team at a crossroads. A major crossroads.

Yes, one could make a case it's not really all that bad--that it just feels that way given the lingering post-meltdown hangover and no chance to do anything about it for two weeks. The team is 2-1, after all.

And with two weeks to prepare for a team a playoff hopeful like the Redskins "should" be able to beat, the Redskins are arguably still exactly what many thought they were before the MNF win in Philly started everyone thinking grander thoughts--a team with a chance to be good, maybe more than that, if they can put themselves in position to contend by winning enough games early.

But Sunday's collapse dramatically changed the mindset. At halftime on Sunday, all signs pointed to this a team on its way. Today, it looks very different, leaving us to wonder: What are the real 2007 Redskins?

That's a question surely not just in the minds of the fans. In their private moments, one has to believe the men charged with reversing what happened on Sunday hear the whispers as well.

All of which conspires to make the Detroit game as close to a "must win" as the Washington Redskins have faced in a long time.

Win, and look like the tough, resourceful team we saw through halftime of Week 3, and the Giant collapse will look like nothing more than a growing team getting ahead of itself, paying the price for letting its guard down in a street fight.

Lose, however, whether by fluke or folly...and at 2-2, on a two-game home skid with road games against Green Bay and New England on tap in two of the next three weeks, and the Redskins will be suddenly be staring another sub-.500 first half straight in the face. And the demon chorus will grow.

Eight long months of steady growth, two-and-a-half games of strong play, followed by 30 minutes of sudden ineptness, and it's déjà vu all over again. That's how quickly the landscape changed.

Here it is in a nutshell: For Gibbs II, it has to happen in 2007. Another down year and the unrest in the hills will get out of hand. Now, with demons once again afoot and nothing less than the legacy of his return at stake, Joe Gibbs faces the biggest early season game in his storied career.

Make no mistake--Detroit is big. Really big.

[DaMuller7]

I'd say this is our easiest game to say the least next to the Arizona game coming up in the next couple weeks. We have a very hard schedule coming up and this IS a must win game.......

[TLusby]

We need to win this game and I think we can play with anyone in this league. Parity is everywhere! I do think that the Bears who were just beat by the Lions are an overrated team and we will beat them both in D.C.!

[70Chip44]

I posted it last week: This a KEY game! If we are 2-2 going into the Packer game, I see shades of 5-11 or 6-10.

[pjfootballer]

As others have said, I want to win all 16 games. But we have to have this at home. We have to beat Det, Ariz and say we lose at GB, going against NE at 4-2. 3-3 or worse is the end for us.

[Leonard Washington]

Other than the "ever game is important" shtick, we need to show we have made some adjustments following the bye. Given how we lost at home, we have to be able to make adjustments on the fly and stay on top of teams for four quarters. I really feel Gibbs needs to let Saunders work and let him call the plays directly. The whole play forwarding thing is costing us play clock time and probably causing mistakes in transcription.


As others have said, I want to win all 16 games. But we have to have this at home. We have to beat Det, Ariz and say we lose at GB, going against NE at 4-2. 3-3 or worse is the end for us.

I have a feeling we will beat NE soundly, especially if we are .500 or worse. If we are 4-2 or 5-1 via our trademark shaky wins? We are going to get smashed! :laugh:

[Stadium-Armory]

This "must win" stuff is nonesense. It implies that the team can "turn it on" in situations that they "must win". And if that's the case, we're in big trouble. Every down, every possession, every battle must be given the same amount of effort. Complete and total.

[NattyLight]

I am of the opinion that this is a pivotal game for the Redskins. A must win? No. A greatly needed win? Absolutely. The Skins need to show themselves as a top contender in the NFC and the way to do that is to play well, and defeat another contender in the NFC...especially at home....ESPECIALLY after coming off a bye.

What? The Lions are a contender. You're damn right they are, and they need to be taken seriously. I don't give a **** if thier record is 0-100 against the Skins at home, it's 2007 and times ****ing change. We need to step it up to 3-1. Period. We need to instill a quiet confidence and an attitude of winning if we're going to make it into the post season.

This game is huge, and I'll admit, I'm little worried.