Redskins in charge as NFC East lives up to reputation

By Simon Evans

MIAMI (Reuters) - The NFC East is a division rich in history and prestige, with a collective 12 Super Bowls won by its teams, and this season it is certainly living up to high expectations.

With two regular season games remaining, the New York Giants, defending Super Bowl champions, share a three-way tie at the top of the division with the resurgent Washington Redskins and an increasingly impressive Dallas Cowboys.

The Philadelphia Eagles, the only team in the division not to have won a Super Bowl (although they have three NFL titles from the pre-Super Bowl era), have had a season to forget (4-10) but their trio of rivals are producing a truly grand finale.

As it stands the Redskins, a franchise transformed by the drafting of rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, lead the division by owning the tie-breaks.

A run of five straight wins for the 'Skins continued in unlikely fashion on Sunday with a 38-21 win at Cleveland despite the absence of the injured Griffin.

Without 'RG3', Washington had to hand another rookie, Kirk Cousins, his very first start in the professional game but he responded in sterling fashion.

The numbers tell an impressive enough story - Cousins, picked 100 places below Griffin in the 2012 draft, threw for 329 yards and two scores in his debut start.

But Cousins showed his character too, recovering from a very shaky start to lead his time to victory.