Week 3 is usually way too early in the season to talk about any particular game being a must-win, but a look at the Redskins’ schedule through Halloween is cause for reconsideration. Given the passing defense’s performance over the first two weeks (second-most passing yards allowed in the league), the prospect of facing quarterbacks like a rejuvenated Michael Vick, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Jay Cutler in a four-week span doesn’t inspire much hope — but hey, that fun starts next week. This weekend, the Redskins take to the road for the first time this season to face the winless St. Louis Rams, who are 3-31 over their last 34 games. The Redskins need not only to win this game, but to dominate a weak team that is surprisingly giving its opponents fits so far this year.

The Rams come into Sunday’s tilt having lost their first two games by a combined six points. They’ve lost to Arizona (who went on to get blown out by Atlanta in Week 2) and Oakland (who had previously been blown out in Week 1 by Tennessee). So what does it mean when a bad team plays two close games against other bad teams? It means that regardless of the opponent, the Rams are capable of keeping the game close, but not good enough to close the deal (kind of like the 2008 and 2009 editions of a certain team that wears maroon and gold).