Newsflash: regardless of the outcome of Monday night's Redskins-Cowboys game Washington will be, worst case, tied for first place in the NFC East. Best case? They'll be undefeated and in sole-possession of first place in the division.

Following that, the Redskins will travel to St. Louis to take on the once-again hapless Rams. All of which means very little, except for this: if the stars align, and the Redskins play within themselves, they have a fighting chance of entering an early bye-week undefeated. One loss would leave them at a still-respectable 3-1, with at least a share of the division lead.

Face-plant losses to both the Cowboys and Rams, however, would leave them at 2-2, with a nasty taste in their mouths and old ghosts popping up about just where this team is headed and why.

The unspoken reality of the first part of the season is this: the Redskins absolutely need to race to the front of the pack if they hope to return to the playoffs this year. 4-0 heading into the bye-week would definitely qualify; 3-1 would probably be just fine. But 2-2 may well nip this thing in the bud before it even gets started.

I know, I know, you can't put wins and losses on the board in the NFL just by looking at the schedule. But I'm a big believer that you can still smell-test the league early on and get a hint of those rough patches on the schedule that can be absolutely crushing.

Starting on November 20, and running through the end of the season, Washington plays seven games against Dallas, at Seattle, the New York Jets, New England, at the New York Giants, Minnesota, and at Philadelphia. Of those, Seattle is the only one of the bunch that looks "soft." Minnesota is a toss-up. If the Vikings have learned by then how not to blow monstrous first-half leads, it's a tough slog; if their early season skid has relegated poor Donovan McNabb to the bench once more and management has tried to use the season as a trial by fire for rookie Christian Ponder, it's a question mark, which can be even worse.

And the long range forecast for 2011 doesn't get much better. Sandwiched between a potential 4-0 start and the buzz-saw that closes out the season, the Redskins are looking at a schedule that includes their first 2011 matchup against the Eagles, their introduction to Cam Newton's Panthers, away against a surprising Buffalo Bills team (in Canada, by the way), home against the ugly-to-look-at 49ers, and a trip down to football starved Miami.

Other than the Fish, there isn't a sure-thing in there. So starting fast isn't a happy luxury for the 'Skins this year; it's an absolute necessity that will seal the fate of their regular season and determine if they get to play beyond January 1.

They'll need to play more like they played in week one than they played in week two to keep it rolling.

For perspective, since 1990, nearly 76% of teams that started 3-0 have gone on to the playoffs. Just sayin'….

Speaking of Dallas, word just came down that Tony Romo will start under center for the Cowboys in tonight's Monday Night tilt. Now, I don't have a dog in the silliness that is Redskins-Cowboys, but didn't this guy have a punctured lung last week? And some busted ribs? Or at least one cracked rib?

Call me Sally and color me yellow, but doesn't starting a guy with a hole in his lung and a potentially pointy piece of bone waiting to poke it full of holes again a little over the top? I mean, I wouldn't want Jon Kitna starting for me either, but c'mon!

I cracked a rib once in a car wreck and that sucker hurt when I breathed. And I didn't have to worry about some big ol' 300lb mamajama trying to play grind-your-bones-to-make-my-bread with my poor busted up body.

I get that football's a man's game and that everybody plays hurt, but have you seen the wood some defenses are laying on QB's this year? Both Jay Cutler of the Bears and Matt Ryan of the Falcons are on pace to get sacked 75 times this year. Each! And Michael Vick simply will not be able to survive a full season at the rate he's going. (Which doesn't bode particularly well for the team that just gave him that juicy new contract extension.)

It seems to me that defenses are hitting passers harder and more often than they have in the past. Maybe that's just me getting caught up in all the hype, but it looks to me like guys are getting flat squashed. QB used to be coolest position on the field; now these guys just look more and more like piñatas. Ouch.

Alex can be reached at cuda24@yahoo.com.