After finishing last in the NFC East in back-to-back seasons, the Washington Redskins turned things around last season behind the leadership of Kirk Cousins.

Yes, Kirk Cousins.

While winning the division with a record of (9-7) isn’t ideal, someone had to win the east and majority of the credit goes to Cousins.

In his first full season as a starter under center, Cousins had a touchdown to interception ratio of 29:11 to go along with 4,166 passing yards and a quarterback rating of 101.6.

However, Washington wants to see Cousins do it again, which is why he was placed with the one year, $19.9 million franchise tag.

Cousins is fine with proving his worth. 

“Both sides understand it’s a business. I’m not going to take things personally, and I know that if I play football well, the ball’s in my court,” Cousins stated. “And really, in this league, that’s all you can ask for. If you don’t play well, you have to live with it. Then you went out and you didn’t earn it. It takes patience. That’s fine. I’ve taken the long road a few other times in my career. The long road is fine.”

For Washington to repeat as division champs, they’ll need Cousins to be just as good this year, maybe even better because the division looks to be improved.

Sure, Tony Romo will miss time, but Dak Prescott may not be a bad option.

Also, expectations are high for the New York Giants these days.

Eagles?

Well, not so much.

On the flip side, Washington’s defense should be better on paper. A season ago, the Redskins finished 17th in points allowed per game (23.7).

Against the run, Washington finished second to last in yards allowed per carry (4.8) and they finished 26th in yards allowed per pass attempt (7.8).

Nonetheless, a lot of Washington’s inefficiencies defensively can be contributed to a plethora of injuries. From Junior Galette to Duke Ihenacho to DeAngelo Hall.

The addition of All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman will certainly help, but how much?

For as great as Norman is and any other great cornerback for that reason, having a consistent pass rush is vital because no matter how amazing you are, with the way today’s game is setup, no corner in one-on-one coverage is unbeatable.

Washington failed to make significant upgrades to their front seven.

During the NFL Draft, Washington selected linebacker/safety Su’a Cravens in the second round and they snatched up defensive linemen Matt Ioannidis in the fifth round.

Now, could these rookies have a huge impact in year one?

Sure, but banking on that is being very optimistic and with the lack of big name contributors in the front seven, it’s difficult to imagine this unit getting any better.

Not to mention, as we alluded to earlier, Cousins needs to have a repeat of last season and expecting that to come to fruition seems like a bit of a stretch as well.

Obviously it doesn’t help that Washington’s rushing attack is mediocre at best.

Last season, the Redskins finished 20th in total rushing.

As you can see, Washington can forget about winning the Super Bowl. The better question is will they even make the playoffs?