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2018 NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Eagles barely hold off Falcons

By Dan Parzych

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 06: Jordan Hicks #58 and Chris Long #56 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrate after sacking Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons (not pictured) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 6, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 06: Jordan Hicks #58 and Chris Long #56 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrate after sacking Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons (not pictured) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 6, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

16. Washington Redskins

Early on in the offseason, the Washington Redskins seemed to have an idea that it would be nearly impossible to bring back Kirk Cousins after using the franchise tag on the quarterback in the two previous seasons, which is why they pulled the trigger to land Alex Smith. While the argument can be made that Washington could have explored free agency or the draft for a replacement to Cousins, keep in mind that Smith was considered one of the top game managers over the years for a reason.

For his regular season debut on the road when facing the Arizona Cardinals, the Redskins couldn’t have asked for a better start with the veteran quarterback after Smith helped the team pull off the 24-6 win. As usual, Smith did just enough on offense to help Washington escape with the win on the road, and while the defense certainly came through on their end as well, it should also be noted how much it helped to have Adrian Peterson in the backfield.

The Redskins knew they had nothing to lose signing Peterson a few weeks ago after losing Derrius Guice early on in the preseason with an injury, and seeing him find the end zone to go along with 96 rushing yards on 26 carries shows he can still make an impact. Who knows, maybe Washington will end up surprising a lot more people than originally expected in the NFC, but also there’s no need to jump too far ahead.

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