With the furore surrounding the release of Peyton Manning and the quarterback’s visits to prospective employers, the Washington Redskins’ move for the St Louis Rams’ number two pick in the forthcoming draft went fairly unheralded.

As the dust settles on the deal, opinions seem to be polarized, with many believing the Redskins have paid to heavy a price for a single draft pick, even if that pick will be to take the supremely talented Robert Griffin III, whilst others have said there is now a light at the end of the tunnel for Washington who had to make do with a combination of John Beck and Rex Grossman last season.

All in all, the Redskins had to give up their first round picks for the next three years, as well as an additional second round pick in the upcoming draft in order to secure the probable acquisition of Griffin. This will have Rams fans enthused about their future, with a franchise quarterback already in place in the form of Sam Bradford, and the potential arrival of five first-round talents in the next three years.

Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen has moved to quickly dispel any concerns the Washington faithful have over the future of the franchise, reassuring fans that they haven’t ‘mortgaged their future’ with the trade. A statement which is backed up by the fact that Washington still have six picks in the 2012 draft to help compliment a squad which seems to be getting progressively younger thanks to a multitude of picks the franchise had in the 2011 draft.

Although you quite often hear stories of players from the later rounds going to become stars in the NFL, there is no denying that the majority of ‘superstars’ in the league are drafted in the first round, and to deny yourself the opportunity to have a chance of recruiting these players in the 2013 and 2014 drafts is quite a risk (providing the Redskins don’t trade for other teams first round picks of course).

This means that the Redskins will need to be very astute in Free Agency over the coming seasons, most likely starting with the retention of both London Fletcher and Laron Landry. With upcoming first round picks no longer available to them and a rather unexciting free agent class currently on display, the Redskins would be best served trying to secure these key players to new deals, especially Landry given the lack of other options at the safety position.

This speculation is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, with extra scrutiny being put on Washington’s free agency moves in order to minimize the damage that losing the two extra first round picks will cause. The only thing which will stop people from criticizing the Redskins’ decision will be for Griffin to make an immediate impact in the NFL, somewhere in the region of Cam Newton’s impact on the Carolina Panthers last season, and instantly cement himself as the franchise quarterback for Washington.

The Baylor product undoubtedly has the skill and physical attributes to succeed right from day one, not to mention an extremely mature attitude for someone so young, but as is often said, quarterback is the most difficult position to play in terms of the transition from college to the NFL, and only time will tell whether Griffin proves the Redskins’ decision to be genius or foolish.

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A 39-yard field goal off the boot of Dan Bailey helped secure the victory in overtime for the Dallas Cowboys, beating the Washington Redskins 27-24 on Sunday.

Tony Romo was another key factor to the comeback victory, throwing for 292 yards on 23 completed passes for three touchdowns. Recievers Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, and Laurent Robinson caught one touchdown pass apiece, making 10 receptions altogether for a grand total of 187 yards.

Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman also played very well throughout the game, throwing for 289 yards on 25 completed passes for two touchdowns and one interception. Receiver Jabar Gaffney was his main target, collecting 115 yards on seven receptions for one touchdown. Donte Stallworth also caught a touchdown pass, along with 51 yards on four receptions.

Running back Demarco Murray helped the Cowboys move the ball down the field, collecting 73 yards on 25 rushing attempts. Redskins’ running back Roy Helu only had eight rushing attempts, averaging four yards per carry.

After a slow start for both teams, the Cowboys were first to take the lead with a 22-yard pass from Romo to Bryant halfway through the first quarter. Bailey gave the Cowboys a 10-point lead with 10 minutes left in the second quarter after kicking a 37-yard field goal.

The Redskins got their first points of the night thanks to a four-yard rushing touchdown by Grossman with four minutes to go before halftime. Grossman then was able to hit Gaffney with a 16-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the quarter, making the score 10-14 going into halftime.

The only action in the third quarter happened in the first five minutes, when Graham Gano kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Redskins an eight-point lead going into the final quarter.

Romo shined in the fourth quarter, making a 7-yard touchdown pass to Robinson on the first drive of the quarter, then throwing a huge 59-yard pass to Witten later on to take the lead at 24-17. However, the Redskins were able to get a touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter, a 4-yard pass from Grossman to Stallworth, to tie the game up and bring them into overtime.

Both teams battled strong in extra time, but the Cowboys were able to defend a lead given by a 39-yard field goal from Bailey until the final whistle blew with the Cowboys winning 27-24.

The Dallas Cowboys (6-4) travel back home to face the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, while the Redskins (3-7) travel to Washington to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

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For the first time in almost a year, the Miami Dolphins gave their home crowd something to cheer about. Reggie Bush scored the clinching touchdown and emphatically threw the ball into the stands. Bush scored twice and Rex Grossman, who got the start over John Beck this week, was picked off twice as the Dolphins cruised to a 20-9 victory over the Washington Redskins.

This was the second straight victory for a Dolphins team that started the season 0-7. ”It was nice to come in this locker room and celebrate a win,” coach Tony Sparano said. “I see 2-7 now as a hill but not a mountain. That’s how our players see it, too.” The Dolphins had a small 10-6 lead going into the half, but were able to put together 70 and 81 yard scoring drives to pull away as they held off any chance of a fourth-quarter comeback by the Redskins.

“The first seven games we were kind of in disarray,” Bush said. “We were trying to find our identity. The difference now is we’re playing 60 minutes and finishing at the end of games.”

Miami was up 13-9 with Grossman driving down the field to the 10 early in the fourth when he threw a pass right at linebacker Karlos Dansby who made the interception to end the drive. The Dolphins then came out and drove 81 yards for the touchdown on a 18 yard run by Reggie Bush, who finished with 47 yards on 14 carries

Vontae Davis, who returned from his one game benching, added another interception. Matt Moore, who had a terrific game against Kansas City last week, had an interception and a fumble but was 20 of 29 for 209 yards. The Dolphins went 8 for 14 on third down despite coming in as the worst in the NFL.

The Redskins dropped their fifth in a row after starting the season promisingly. “It’s frustrating being 3-6,” Grossman said. “We’re better than that.”Grossman was 21 of 32 for 215 yards and two picks. Grossman was the surprise starter this week after he was benched four weeks ago in favor of John Beck.

Shanahan said it had to do with the injuries to the offensive line that he decided to go with Grossman who’s more experienced. ”I thought Rex gave us a chance to win,” Shanahan said. “If you have this many guys go down, I didn’t want to go with the inexperienced guy and throw him to the wolves.”

The Redskins’ three scoring drives netted only 48 yards as they were set up close by two turnovers, but had to settle each time for field goals. Washington reached the Miami 20, 26, 5, and 10 yard lines. Graham Gano also missed two field goals form 50 and 49 yards out. The interception by Kevin Barnes set up the Redskins at the Miami 5, but they lost three yards on three plays and settled for a field goal.

On Ryan Kerrigan’s sack forced fumble the Redskins were again set up close at the Miami 24, but again settled for just three points. ”You get into the red zone three times, you’ve got to make plays to win the game,” Shanahan said. The Dolphins look to continue their new found success when the Bills come to town on a two game losing streak.

Washington heads home looking to snap the losing streak against division rivals the Dallas Cowboys winners of two straight.

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The New York Jets had a bye week that came at the worst time. They had gained some momentum and were riding a two-game winning streak going into the bye. And given their recent history under coach Rex Ryan coming off of byes (they’re 0-2), they’re hoping to change things and are confident that they won’t have a drop off due to time off.

Ryan was at a loss when asked about the trend of his team coming out flat after time off, but said this year that can’t happen. “We have to do something about that trend,” he said. “We need to win this week.” Every game has become a must win for the Jets, especially since the Jets are one game behind the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots for first place, and they face these two teams in the next two games.

Even CB Darrelle Revis called the game against the Bills this Sunday a must win. “You can’t focus on the past coming off byes and losing,” Revis said. “It’s a new year and we’re in control of our destiny and where we want to go.” The Jets do in fact control their own destiny even after a three game skid as if they can take both of the next two games they could potentially be sitting atop the AFC East.

Lose both games, and the Jets’ season could be close to being over. The Jets have owned the Bills in the past few years, winning five of the last six meetings between the two, and that includes three wins in Buffalo. Ryan believes the practices have been good, and the Jets look very alert and aware of the situation which he hopes will translate into a good showing out of the bye.

But the Jets have lost all three of their away games this season and hope to end the streak at three with a win on Sunday. “Would we like to have had a better record? Absolutely, we would’ve, but we don’t,” Ryan said. “We’re 4-3, but we have it right in front of us. The teams you have to beat are right in front of us, so we’ll know. These next few weeks are going to be critical for us.”

Buffalo on the other side sits at 5-2 atop the AFC East and is coming off their best performance of the year dominating Washington 23-0 up in Toronto. They only gave up 178 yards had two picks to add to their league lead 14, and recorded 9 sacks. This was way better than their five previous games in which they gave up 414+ yards in each game.

“You hope that your team gains confidence from that, and that your defense sees how well they can play,” coach Chan Gailey said. “It should create more confidence.” The Bills are 26^th in the league giving up 385.9 yards per contest, but the Jets’ offense isn’t much better ranked 29^th and averaging 300.1 yards per game.

The problem for Buffalo is that the Jets have recently been playing better, including their season high 162 yards on the ground in their last game against San Diego in which Shonn Greene had 112 yards. This isn’t good for a Buffalo defense that struggles stopping the run. The Jets average 279.0 yards on the ground in the past four meetings with Buffalo.

Buffalo does benefit from having Fred Jackson on their side and they are ranked fifthin rushing averaging 140.6 yards per game. Jackson is ranked second in the NFL averaging 103.0 yards and is sixth rushing touchdowns. His 353 yards receiving out of the backfield is good for fourth among running backs. This matchup looks good compared to the Jets who are 25^th against the rush giving up 126.9 yards per game.

They will have to rely on their backfield because Ryan Fitzpatrick has a 62.0 rating in four games against the Jets and, with CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, look for TE Scott Chandler to have a big game as the Bills will try to take advantage of the safeties down the seams the one weakness of the seventh ranked pass defense.

The Bills defense is 20^th against the rush and 24^th against the pass. The Jets’ offense, which saw a boost against the Chargers as WR Plaxico Burress and RB Shonn Greene had breakout  games, is looking to keep the momentum going. Mark Sanchez needs to out-manage Ryan Fitzpatrick if the Jets want to win this game.

This will be a good game that will come down to a key play or drive. Each team is riding momentum and playing well as of late and I believe that the Jets with a few more playmakers on their team will be able to pull the game out late. Final Prediction: Jets 27 Bills 21.

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It’s the team that nobody saw coming. For the past few years, the Bills have been the laughing stock of the AFC East. They were the one team bringing down a division with the power house Patriots and the better than average Jets and Dolphins.

Not anymore. The Bills have quietly been putting together a good team and this year, we are finally seeing just how good this team and Harvard graduate QB Ryan Fitzpatrick can be. The Bills realize this and recently gave him a big contract extension of 6 years $59 million, locking up their franchise man for years to come. That extension is bad news for the rest of the AFC East.

He’s been worth every penny of that, having a career year, and has the Bills sitting in a 1^st place tie atop the AFC East with the New England Patriots at 5-2. He’s ranked 6^th in the league in quarter back, rating at 97.8 for the season. The Bills are third in the league, scoring 30.1 points per game this year.

While only being ranked 13^th overall in passing at 239.6 yards a game, the running game has received a boost from their QB play ranking 5^th overall at 140.6 a game. Running back Fred Jackson, who is having an MVP type season, is fourth in the league in yards with 721 and is ranked fourth among running backs in receiving with just over 350 yards.

He’s tied for first with Matt Forte of runs over 20 yards ranks second in yards per game with 103.0 and is fourth in yards per carry at 5.5, but is second in running backs to LeSean McCoy. DeMarco Murray and Michael Vick are one and two, but have half the carries of McCoy and Jackson. Jackson also has zero fumbles this season so far.

While the Bills defense isn’t one of the better in the league, they still put fear into a team as they lead the league in interceptions with 18 and three touchdowns off interceptions. This defense has potential the potential to be real solid in the coming years if they can keep everyone healthy. They showed this last week shutting out the Washington Redskins 23-0 and racking up 9 sacks in the process.

To the Bills credit, they’ve also been doing this against quality opponents. They’ve beaten Kansas City and Oakland, both who are tied for first with San Diego for the AFC West all sitting at 4-3. They’ve beaten the Patriots once already and beat a good Philadelphia Eagles team who has recently been turning things around after a horrible start.

They took care of business against an obviously weaker Washington team, shutting them out last week. The Bills only losses come at the hands of the Bengals and the Giants. Both these teams are atop of their divisions and have a 5-2 record. The Bills should have more respect than they do.

Consider that the Patriots have a worse defense in football, giving up 424.1 yards a game compared to the Bills who are 385.9, the Patriots are considered playoff contenders and potential Super Bowl threats. The same could be said for the Packers who rank below the Bills in yards per game giving up 391.0 and currently hold the 31^st spot in opponents passing yards per game, yet they’re widely regarded as being the best team in football.

These teams are led by their quarterbacks and Fitzpatrick has proven he can do that. Add to that a more potent running attack than either Brady or Rodgers has and this is a team that can go deep into the playoffs.

If that’s not enough for you, think about the New Orleans Saints team that won the Super Bowl a few years ago. They are very much like this Bills team in that they have a strong quarterback, a high scoring offense, and a defense that isn’t that great, but forces turnovers and scores points.

This Bills team is as good as they’re record and play this season has been. In a quarterback driven league they’ve found their man in Ryan Fitzpatrick. They are proving they can score points with anyone in the league and if teams with good quarterbacks and bad defenses can be in the hunt for the Super Bowl the same should be said for the Bills.

The fan base has been waiting patiently for this time to come and it has come quicker than expected, but not as a shock at all. So the next time you go to dismiss the Bills as a top team in this league, think about what they’re doing and show them some respect.

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Besides the Packers which are again atop the Power Rankings this week, there is some shake up near the top of this week’s rankings with some big losses and gains. The 49ers move up into the number 2 spot sitting at 6-1 atop the NFC West. The Steelers, after their big win over the Patriots, move up to number 3 and are the top team in the AFC just ahead of division rivals Baltimore who moved from 8^th to 5^th.

The Patriots and Saints saw themselves drop four spots from 2^nd and 3^rd to 6^th and 7^th respectively after bad losses this week. The Chargers are the big losers this week dropping all the way from 7^th down 15^th after a loss for the 2^nd straight week this time coming at the hands of division rivals the Chiefs.

The Eagles saw themselves jump four spots from 22^nd to 18^th after an impressive victory over the Cowboys. The Vikings also saw themselves making a jump from 28^th to 23^rd behind a second impressive game from rookie QB Christian Ponder and another stud performance from Adrian Peterson.

The Rams who got their first win of the season against the Saints saw themselves leapfrog the Cardinals who blew a 23-6 halftime lead against the Ravens. Bringing up the rear of the rankings again this week are the Dolphins at 31 and the Colts at 32 as both teams failed to get a win again and don’t look very good.

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It’s the home game away from home. For the past few years the Buffalo Bills travel north of the border to play a ‘home’ game in Toronto, but until Sunday this hasn’t been a good thing for the Bills. Sunday was the first win in four tries since the cross-border series started back in 2008.

This was also the first shutout in Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan’s long and illustrious 24 season career as a coordinator or head coach. For the Bills it marked the paying off of the recent contract extension given to Ryan Fitzpatrick, 6 years $59 million, as well as, giving the fans in Canada, who haven’t been the most supportive of their Buffalo brethren, reason to cheer.

Fitzpatrick was able to find TE Scott Chandler for two touchdowns and the Bills defense which has been one of the worst in the NFL this season had a monster game racking up 9 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a blocked field goal. They held the Redskins to 178 yards of total offense and only 10 first downs. The injury riddled Redskins had no answers for the Bills on either side of the ball all game.

Safety George Wilson called the Toronto fans passion as well as loyalty into question in the week leading up to the game, but came to find that the Bills were the drawing most of the cheers from the crowd. ”That was one of the things coming in, give them something to cheer about. And I thought we did that today,” said Fitzpatrick, “I think there was more excitement out there than there has been in years past.”

It was a great overall performance,” said defensive end Spencer Johnson, who had a sack and blocked Graham Gano’s 49-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter. “To shut anybody out in the NFL, that’s a big feat, a big accomplishment and a big step in the right direction.”

Fred Jackson, who’s putting up MVP numbers, had another great game posting 120 yards on the ground and 74 yards receiving. This put Jackson at over 1000 yards from scrimmage 7 games into the season which makes him only the fourth Bill in history to do so and the first since Thurman Thomas did so in 1991.

Another bright spot for the Bills was the emergence of first round draft pick Marcell Dareus who started in place of injured NT Kyle Williams. Dareus had 2 ½ sacks, leading the defense for the day.

The Bills overall looked solid against the injured Redskins, but they will face a much tougher test next week as they square off against division rivals the New York Jets back in Ralph Wilson Stadium. With the Patriots loss, the Bills are currently tied for first in the AFC East.

This will be a real measuring game for the Bills as the Jets have a better offense and a much better defense than the Redskins. The Jets are also riding a two game win streak and have had an extra week to prepare for the Bills.

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While the schedule may say a home game for the Bills, the teams are traveling north to Toronto for the Bills annual “home” game in Canada. Buffalo is 0-3 since signing the five year deal with Toronto-based Rogers Communication in 2008 to play one home game in Toronto each year.

“It’s not a home game,” safety George Wilson said. “The fan support in Toronto is a night-and-day difference from what we have in Buffalo (at Ralph Wilson Stadium). For the most part, it’s a show. You see just as many jerseys for the opposing teams as you do the Bills. They cheer for any big play regardless of whichever team makes it.”

Buffalo is coming out of a bye that couldn’t have come at a better time. The team is ravaged by injuries and has dropped 2 of 3 since starting 3-0 and needs all the help it can get. So far their No.2 receiver Donald Jones is out, defensive tackle Kyle Williams is out indefinitely, and linebacker Shawne Merriman was placed on the injured reserve Tuesday with an injury to his Achilles.

Add to that starting LT Demetrius Bell is doubtful after missing two straight and this is a team that needed its bye week more than ever. The Redskins are in the same boat without the help of a bye week.

Their best receiver and down field threat Santana Moss broke a bone in his left hand last Sunday and will be sidelined for a few weeks, and their leading rusher Tim Hightower is out for the season after tearing his ACL in the same game.

They also placed tight end Chris Cooley on the injured reserve this week, and its possible London Fletcher will be out with a hamstring injury. For Fletcher this might be the first missed game of his 14 season career and would be a big loss for the Redskins defense which has been struggling as of late.

The Bills have one of the worst defenses in football ranking thirtieth in pass and run defense and has surrendered 414 yards in five consecutive games so the lack of offensive weapons for John Beck whose making his second consecutive start will help the Bills though Beck did play a good game last week going 22 of 37 for 279 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

They’re doing well due to quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Fred Jackson who have helped turn this into one of the highest scoring offenses in football. They are averaging 31.3 points a game. The downside is that, in the two games they’ve lost, they’ve failed to score 30+ points.

The Bills have the fourthbest rushing attack averaging 141.0 yards and they’re going up against a Redskin defense that has surrendered 367 yards in the past two weeks, both losses. Jackson had a big game putting up 82 yards on the ground and 69 receiving a few years ago the last time these two teams met, which was a 17-16 win for the Bills in Washington.

With the Bills’ offensive power and Washington’s lack thereof, the Bills should get their first win in Toronto over the Redskins to move to 5-2 and stay at least 1 game behind the division-leading Patriots, who don’t have an easy game going into Pittsburgh. Final Prediction: Bills 31 Redskins 17

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The Packers top the Power Rankings again this week with another impressive performance from Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers make a push for the top jumping up to 5^th, and with a win over number 2 New England can jump up next week. The Texans, Falcons, and Chiefs all jumped up 5 spots to 12^th, 14^th, and 19^th respectively.

The Ravens saw themselves drop from 3^rd to 8^th after a horrible loss to the Jaguars. The Raiders dropped 7 spots from 9th to 16th after trouble at the QB position post Carson Palmer trade gave them a loss going into their bye week. The Bucs also dropped 5 spots from 12^th to 17^th after getting whooped in London by the Bears.

The Colts again round out the bottom of the rankings this week after getting obliterated by the Saints 62-7 and they don’t look poised to move anytime soon.

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The Carolina Panthers had their first comfortable game against the Washington Redskins, leading in the score all four quarters to win 33-20. The Redskins put up a strong fight to stay with the Panthers throughout the game. John Beck threw 22 for 37; he collected 279 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Tim Hightower, along with Fred Davis, helped the most in making scoring chances for Washington. Hightower got 17 rushing attempts and 88 yards, while Davis made six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Rookie quarterback Cam Newton carried the Panthers through the second half, throwing 18 to 23 for 256 yards and one touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell. Steve Smith helped get the ball down the field, catching seven passes for 143 yards. Jonathan Stewart and Cam Newton also ran for one touchdown apiece, running for a total of 127 yards.

The Washington Redskins (3-3) lost their best receiver in Santana Moss to injury –  a broken bone in his hand - in the first half. Along with that, Hightower also injured his knee in the third quarter. According to the Associated Press on Fox Sports, the severity of Hightower’s injury is unclear.

The Redskins travel to face the Buffalo Bills next Sunday, while the Panthers go back to North Carolina to face the Minnesota Vikings.

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The Packers still hold the top spot in this week’s Power Rankings. The 49ers and Giants are the big winners both jumping five spots up to 4^th and 10^th respectively. This week’s big losers are the Texans who fall five spots down to 17^th and the Cowboys who dropped from 14^th down to 21^st. The Colts, Rams, and Dolphins still round out the bottom of the pack.

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