The Redskins’ schedule is historically weak

Has there ever been a worse 2-3 team in history than the Washington Redskins are now? When you look at the facts, the answer may actually be no.

This week, the Redskins are set to play their sixth straight winless opponent. According to the Associated Press, this surpasses the 1954 New York Giants as the easiest schedule to begin a season in league history; the ‘54 Giants began the year with five straight winless opponents. Granted, everyone was technically winless in Week 1 (0-0) and the team they lost to, the Giants, are undefeated. But since playing the Giants, the Redskins have played four opponents whose combined record is 2-17. And the only two games that those teams have won in the first five weeks of the season came against, you guessed it, the Redskins. In the two games Washington has won, the Redskins beat the Tampa Bay Bucs and the St. Louis Rams -- probably the two worst teams in the league -- by a combined five points.

Now Washington is set to play the Kansas City Chiefs, whose record also stands at 0-5. The streak will come to an end in Week 7, when the Redskins will likely get annhilated by the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.

Obviously, it’s easy to see why Jim Zorn is in serious danger of getting canned. When you have the easiest first six games in 55 years and you’re coaching a team with the highest payroll in the entire league, you expect results. 2-3 or even 3-3 isn’t getting it done. Currently, Zorn is in the Isiah Thomas situation with the Knicks, meaning that he has so many roles with the team that firing him could be more trouble than its worth. And there’s no way that they’d be able to lure in one of the Super Bowl winning coaches out there during the middle of the season -- and you know that Dan Snyder is going after Gruden or Shanahan or Holmgren or Billick in the offseason.

Now as light as the ‘Skins schedule is to begin the season, it’s murderously difficult after Week 6. Their final ten opponents of the year are the Eagles, Falcons, Broncos, Cowboys, Eagles, Saints, Raiders, Giants, Cowboys, and Chargers. Other than the Raiders, I don’t see a single win out of those ten games. So if Jim Zorn can somehow get this team to .500, he should get a little bill of confidence from his detractors. But if they’re as bad as they look, and they finish the year with double-digit losses, you can kiss Zorn goodbye.