A casual fan guide to Washington Football Team's playoff potential

We’re talking about playoffs?!

Hey, Cuneyt here! Casual local sports fans such as myself may have easily missed that the Washington Football Team is currently occupying the NFC's seventh and final playoff spot with six weeks left to play.

Driving the news: Quarterback Taylor "No Throw This Kid Can't Make" Heinicke has made up for a dismal start to the season, taking the team from a four-game losing streak to three straight wins.

The still-mascotless team has a 33% shot of making the playoffs, above division foes Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, FiveThirtyEight says.

It’s prime time to jump on the bandwagon. They face the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday afternoon.

• Heinicke will try-try again to prove his consistency on the field. The 28-year-old backup first burst on the scene after diving for a touchdown against Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January’s wild card playoff game, ultimately still losing.

💬 Thought bubble from Axios Sports’ Jeff Tracy: “A wild card berth would be welcome, of course, but Washington actually controls its own destiny in the race for the NFC East, with five games remaining against division rivals, including two against the Cowboys, whom they trail by just two games.”

• “They haven’t exactly dominated (those three wins have come by an average of six points), but a combination of clock-eating, fourth-quarter drives and a defense that’s stepped up in the absence of injured star Chase Young has the football team in line to make the playoffs for a second consecutive year.”

👎 Yes, but: Axios Dallas reporter Michael Mooney is here with the haterade! He says: "The win against the Bucs was nice, but as a Cowboys fan, seeing Washington fans excited about a sub-.500 team that hasn’t played Dak and his friends yet — frankly it’s adorable. Let’s reassess in January."