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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Come Alive” by Prospect Hill

Coming into their wild card match-up against the Seattle Seahawks, the Washington Redskins had a pretty clear and straight forward game plan.

On defense, they wanted to do their best to neutralize running back Marshawn Lynch — making Seattle one-dimensional and putting added pressure on a rookie quarterback playing on the road in his first-ever postseason game.

On offense, the Redskins wanted to keep the opposition guessing by getting running back Alfred Morris involved early and often and thus allowing quarterback Robert Griffin III the luxury of handing off to Morris, keeping the ball himself or utilizing play action to stretch the field.

And for 15 minutes, that plan was perfect. Morris, once again running with a purpose, picked up nine yards on each of his first two carries en route to gaining 49 yards on just eight carries in the first quarter.

At the same time, Griffin completed six of nine passes for 68 yards with two touchdowns in the first quarter and the Redskins jumped out to a huge 14-0 lead after the first frame.

Conversely, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson completed just two of three passes for 20 yards and Lynch carried the ball twice for five yards and this game seemed on the verge of becoming a blowout as the Redskins outgained Seattle 129-9.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta” by Geto Boys

Coming into their final game of the regular season, the Washington Redskins had a chance to back their way into the playoffs. Had the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings both lost, the burgundy and gold would have been a lock for the postseason regardless of the outcome of their rivalry game with the Dallas Cowboys.

So naturally, both the Bears and VIkings won their games, and the Redskins had just one option left if they wanted to continue their magical run — beat Dallas.

Faced with a “win and you’re in” situation, the Redskins looked every bit like a powerhouse — punishing the Cowboys 28-18 with a heavy dose of the NFL’s best ground game and leaving no doubt that they belong in the playoffs, thanks to a seven-game winning streak.

“I’m really proud of our football team,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “For them to fight for seven weeks to put themselves in this position just says a lot about who they are and what level they’ve played at for about seven weeks. That we accomplished our first goal is really a tribute to the character of the guys in that locker room.”

Each of the last two seasons, the Redskins were in last place in the NFC East. That’s because head coach Mike Shanahan and company went just 11-21.

Now though, the Redskins are the division’s lone postseason representative. They beat their biggest rival on a national stage to improve to 5-1 against the NFC East and to go 10-6 on the year.

And best of all, because Washington was able to go from “worst to first” for the first time in franchise history, the Redskins will finally get another chance to play football in January while the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles are forced to buy a ticket if they want to get anywhere near the playoffs.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Dancing With The Dead” by 10 Years

For the briefest of moments, it absolutely appeared the Washington Redskins were going to do their best to ruin the holidays.

That’s because, for the briefest of moments, it appeared that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles had completed a third-down pass to receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was wide open in the right corner of the end zone.

Fortunately for the burgundy and gold, the rookie quarterback didn’t get enough on the pass and the ball skipped just short of his intended target — giving the Redskins another chance to close out the game.

Had the Eagles completed that play, more than a few Redskins players believed there was no doubt Philadelphia would have gone for a two-point conversion rather than attempted an extra point and played for overtime.

“We knew they would,” said middle linebacker Perry Riley. “They had nothing to lose and they were trying to mess up our season. Why not go for two? We didn’t want to let it get to that point. We didn’t want to let them score because who knows if they would have gotten it or not?”

In the end though, Foles missed on that golden opportunity and three plays later was whistled for an illegal forward pass to end the game, thanks to pressure by Redskins defensive end Stephen Bowen.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the defense — which finished the game with a season-high five sacks and also created two turnovers — found a way to do just enough to lead the Redskins to a nerve-wracking 27-20 victory over the Eagles.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead

All season long, the Washington Redskins have been guided on a magical journey thanks to an electrifying rookie quarterback. Unfortunately though, Robert Griffin III was sidelined this week when the team traveled to Cleveland to face the Browns, thanks to a knee injury.

So the Redskins playoffs hopes now rested in the capable hands of the other rookie quarterback — Michigan State product Kirk Cousins. Against the Baltimore Ravens one week earlier, Cousins needed just two passes to earn a victory in relief of Griffin.

Chances were, he was probably going to need to do a little bit more than attempt just two passes if he wanted to emerge victorious in his first career start.

Well, things didn’t exactly start as Cousins had hoped and Washington struggled out the gate — with each of the team’s first four drives lasting just three plays.

After four possessions, the Redskins offense had amassed just two yards on 12 plays with an interception. Washington trailed 7-0 and it wasn’t unreasonable to begin to wonder if this team could win without RGIII prominently involved.

That’s when offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan did the best thing imaginable — he took off the training wheels and let Cousins air it out. As opposed to dinking and dunking it up the field in hopes of getting the rookie’s confidence level up because of a few meager completions, Shanahan decided to attack Cleveland downfield.

The fourth-round draft pick connected with receiver Leonard Hankerson on a 54-yard touchdown and suddenly the Redskins offense looked like the Redskins offense once again.

Cousins completed 26-of-37 passes for 329 yards with two touchdowns (all career highs) as the Redskins rolled to a resounding 38-21 win. He completed 70 percent of his passes and had a QB rating of 104.4 and even picked up 22 yards on the ground on three carries.

Best of all, he helped proved once and for all that the Redskins aren’t just a one-trick pony. With or without Griffin, this team has enough talent to be competitive against anyone.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “The Memory Remains” by Metallica

The Washington Redskins defeated the Baltimore Ravens in a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Their 31-28 overtime win came courtesy of the backup quarterback, who was thrust into action with the game on the line in the fourth quarter after the face of the franchise — quarterback Robert Griffin III — was knocked out of the game with a knee injury.

Even after the offense scored an improbable 11-yard touchdown with 29 seconds remaining in regulation, they still needed a two-point conversion just to force the game into overtime. And once again, the backup delivered.

Fast forward to overtime and the Ravens get the ball first, with the chance to feast on a decidedly mediocre Redskins defense that had already allowed four touchdowns on the day. But Baltimore’s offense stalled after just three plays and was forced to punt the ball away.

What happens next is almost too good to be true — a rookie cornerback (who most ‘Skins fans couldn’t identify if he was standing in front of them) returned the punt 64 yards and the game was essentially over.

Here’s the craziest thing about this amazing storybook ending — it almost didn’t happen.

If not for an instant replay review by the officials, the Redskins never would have had the opportunity to put together the clutch 13-play, 84-yard fourth quarter drive. That’s because tight end Niles Paul, who struggles to catch passes with any level of consistency while on offense but is typically pretty solid on special teams, fumbled the ball on a kick return with less than five minutes remaining.

Paul definitely coughed up the ball and the Ravens definitely recovered it. But Ravens receiver David Reed was ruled out of bounds before he had complete control of the football, and the Redskins retained possession.

“I didn’t know what the call was going to be. I was hoping that it was out of bounds,” Paul said. “I felt like it could have went either way. Luckily it went ours.”

Had the officials stuck with the original call, Baltimore’s offense would have had the ball on the 15-yard line with an eight-point lead and less than five minutes to play. Even if they only settled for a field goal, that would have likely been enough to seal the victory.

But because the bounces continue to go Washington’s way during the second half of the season, Paul was bailed out and the Redskins still had a chance to make magic happen.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Changing” by Alabama Shakes

After finishing up his post-game press conference duties, Washington Redskins franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III paused for a moment as he walked back into the locker room.

The rookie was still wearing his grass-stained uniform after a tough and physical NFC East battle against the New York Giants, but before he could shower and head home there was one thing left to do.

Griffin paused, surveyed the room and said to no one in particular, “All smiles. We must have won.”

Of course, the last time the Redskins bested the Giants on Monday Night Football, Ronald Reagan was still the president. So in all likelihood, Griffin is simply too young to realize the significance of Washington’s 17-16 victory over New York.

It would be foolish to start spitting out hyperbole about one Week 13 victory being franchise altering or anything like that, but the truth is, these Washington Redskins are attempting to re-write the narrative.

For years, the Redskins have been known as a mentally weak team who fell apart at the first sign of adversity.

They lost more “must-win” games than anyone could ever hope to keep track of. They suffered more letdown games to supposed inferior opponents than should be legally allowed. In short, they’ve lost a ton of games over the last few decades and given the local fanbase very little to feel good about.

By all accounts, it was more of the same this season as Washington continued to find ways to give away wins to mediocre (or worse) teams like the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers.

But a simple three-game winning streak has changed the perception of this team. Not only have the Redskins won three consecutive games for the first time since ’08, but in doing so against their biggest rivals — Philadelphia, Dallas and New York — they’ve shown that maybe it isn’t so smart to rush to judgment on this year’s squad.

If nothing else, they’ve found a way to make football fun once again in our nation’s capital.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “How It Starts” by The Features

While many local sports fans felt good after the Washington Redskins 31-6 beatdown of the hapless Philadelphia Eagles one week ago, there was a lot less reason for optimism heading into their Week 12 match-up.

The Redskins had never beaten the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving day (0-6). They had yet to earn a victory at the new state-of-the-art Cowboys Stadium (0-3). Quarterback Tony Romo had never lost at home during the month of November (14-0). Oh, and the last time the Redskins actually won on Thanksgiving was back in 1973.

Thankfully, the league decided to go ahead and play the game anyway.

And what a game it was for the burgundy and gold, who finally put together a respectable performance while playing in front of a national audience as they earned an impressive 38-31 victory over their most hated rival.

All it took was one quarter of action to show that, as long quarterback Robert Griffin III is involved, anything is possible. For the second game in a row, RGIII could do no wrong — completing 20 of 28 passes for four touchdowns, one interception and a QB rating of 132.6.

Everything you thought you knew about the Redskins needs to be reconsidered. All of the tired storylines that have saddled this franchise in recent history (can’t win primetime games, can’t beat rookie quarterbacks, etc.) are slowly being washed away for good.

This kid represents the dawn of a new day in D.C. and even though the Redskins currently have a losing record (5-6), they’re quickly becoming a team no one wants to play.

“Easy to see why they moved up in the draft to get him,” said Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. “I think that everybody was really impressed with him in college; he was such a dynamic player at Baylor to win the Heisman Trophy. I think he’s been able to carry that same skill set to the NFL. Again, they use him well, they do those things that he did in college and he’s very effective at that. But he’s also shown he’s effective at doing other things. And he makes everybody else better.”

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