When Joe Gibbs became the head coach of the Washington Redskins, way back in the early days of the First Coming, things did not begin well for the young Don Coryell acolyte. That first season, the Redskins sputtered and flamed out during their first five games, losing all of them and descending into the cellar of the NFC East. However, over the rest of the season, Gibbs righted the ship and won eight of eleven, and the Redskins looked like future glory was arriving in a hurry.

Today, the first team of the Second Coming stands at a dispiriting 3-6. Dispiriting because this team could have easily gotten to a 6-3 record at this point—two games out of first and in the thick of the playoff picture. As we’ve said before, the team has actually played tantalizingly close to contention—but for a lost timeout here, a blown challenge there, a flukey touchdown called back on an even flukier penalty …

But nothing flat-out knifes through the haze of “coulda, shoulda” like walking into the house of a bona fide title contender like the Philadelphia Eagles and matching up. While the Redskins have searched for a few years now, looking for a way out of the basement, the Eagles have spent that time getting turned away from the Super Bowl in the NFC Championship Game. Now fortified with Terrell Owens—whose big play ability has yanked Eagles QB Donovan McNabb’s statistics into the elite realm without diminishing his leadership—the Eagles are a team that the Redskins can test their aspirations against.