The Washington Redskins are finally, officially, mathematically out of the postseason race.
Their loss Sunday to the Green Bay Packers dropped them to 3-10 and eliminated them from making the playoffs in the NFC, although it was apparent in September that the Redskins were not contenders this season.
In a better division, Washington would have been eliminated sooner, but no team in the NFC East is above .500. The Dallas Cowboys have lost three in a row to fall to 6-7, while the Philadelphia Eagles are 5-7 entering their game Monday.
Now the best the Redskins can do is finish the year 6-10, and even in the highly improbable scenarios in which they tie Dallas and perhaps Philadelphia at 6-10, the Cowboys would win the tiebreaker based on either head-to-head results or best divisional record, according to SB Nation.
Although the Cowboys haven’t been able to beat opponents above .500, they are already 4-0 in NFC East games. The Redskins are 0-3 with three remaining, so there is no way Washington can win the tiebreaker.
Washington has been out of the wild card race for weeks because the top of the NFC is highly competitive, with five teams at nine wins or more: division leaders San Francisco, Green Bay and New Orleans as well as Seattle and Minnesota.
Getting to 7-9 was the final thread holding Washington’s playoff hopes alive, but there were no delusions in the fan base about playing January football. Former coach Jay Gruden was fired after the team’s 0-5 start and team president Bruce Allen is reportedly in danger of losing his job during or after the season.
It is the fourth straight year the Redskins have missed the playoffs. They conclude the decade with two postseason appearances and zero wins.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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