Sunday, the Washington Redskins lost their third straight game and fourth in their last five, 23-0, to the Buffalo Bills. The team is in a free-fall, and their placement in the latest ESPN power rankings reflects that. ESPN's panel of voters has the Redskins at No. 22 in the league, down from No. 20 a week ago. Writes Ashley Fox of Washington:
The Redskins' issues go well beyond quarterback, but clearly, neither Rex Grossman nor John Beck is the answer.
Against Buffalo, Beck completed 20-of-33 passes for a respectable 60.6 percent rate. But he threw no touchdowns and two interceptions, dragging his quarterback rating down to 69.9 on the season. That's still better than Grossman (66.5 rating in 2011), but as Fox alludes to, that's not saying a heckuva lot.
The Redskins aim to end their slide this Sunday, Nov. 6 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Elsewhere in the NFC East, ESPN's panel has the New York Giants at No. 9 following their comeback victory over the Miami Dolphins. The Philadelphia Eagles roes to No. 16 after their beatdown of the Dallas Cowboys, who dipped to No. 21. Indeed, Washington brings up the rear--though just barely--of the NFC East pack, according to ESPN's panel.