The NFC East belongs to Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins. It might just stay that way for a while.
On a Sunday night when the quarterbacks didn't exactly light up the box score, rookie Alfred Morris rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-18 Redskins victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The win gives Washington the NFC East title and again sends Tony Romo and Dallas home early with a bitter season-ending defeat.
The Cowboys, who continued to lose starter after starter to injury during the game, got the ball back in Romo's hands with less than four minutes to go and down just three points. Romo thought Redskins linebacker Rob Jackson was coming on a blitz and floated an interception right into his waiting hands. It was Romo's third interception on a nightmarish night that will kick off a very long offseason in Dallas.
Washington, meanwhile, can prepare for the playoffs. The Redskins' offense didn't look quite as dynamic as usual Sunday because Griffin clearly was not 100 percent. The rookie quarterback threw for 100 yards on 18 passes and amazingly rushed for 63 yards and one touchdown despite missing his usual burst.
The Redskins once were 3-6. It turns out they needed to win seven consecutive games to make the playoffs, and that's exactly what they did, becoming the first team to start 3-6 and reach the postseason since the 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Redskins' defense has holes, but coordinator Jim Haslett schemed and blitzed quarterbacks like Romo into submission. The offense varied little from week to week, but defenses could never catch up with Griffin's play fakes, accuracy and read-option throws.
The Cowboys and New York Giants both had chances to put away the Redskins. They failed. The future has arrived in the NFC East faster than anyone imagined.
And now the Redskins will face the Seattle Seahawks and *their * phenom rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson, next Sunday in the NFC wild-card round. The NFL's future is in great hands.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
