But their NFC East opener exposed that notion as wishful thinking Thursday at MetLife Stadium, where a New York Giants team that was missing key starters grounded the Redskins' running game and rattled quarterback Kirk Cousins, who threw two interceptions in a 32-21 loss.
Neither team looked impressive as it lurched in fits and starts down the field. It took the Giants 15 plays to go 50 yards in one second-half stretch. And the penalty-prone Redskins couldn't get out of their own way, falling in arrears just 2 minutes 53 seconds into the contest after allowing the Giants to block a punt for a safety.
With neither showing the skill nor muscle to get the ball in the end zone with regularity early on, the first three quarters boiled down to a flurry of field goals - with Giants place kicker Josh Brown hitting from 35, 36 and 48 yards, and his Redskins counterpart, Dustin Hopkins, hitting from 44 and 37.
Only after falling hopelessly in arrears did the Redskins score a touchdown, managing two in the final four minutes - a four-yard strike to Chris Thompson and a 101-yard kickoff return by Rashad Ross.
With the defeat, the Redskins (1-2) have lost five consecutive games to the Giants.
And the Giants (1-2), in victory, dispelled the panic of their 0-2 start before a crowd of 76,080. In the process, they also smacked their longest-running NFC East rival with a dose of harsh truth. In short: If this season's Redskins can't pound the ball with running backs Alfred Morris and rookie Matt Jones, and they did so effectively in toppling St. Louis in Week 2, they're in trouble.
As it stands, the Redskins' defense is improved but has yet to make a single game-changing play.
The special teams unit remains a liability despite the late kickoff return.
Penalties are a problem across the board. And while Cousins didn't repeat last season's calamity against the Giants, in which he threw four second-half interceptions, he wasn't good enough, missing on what should have been a touchdown to tight end Jordan Reed in addition to the two pickoffs.
Cousins's second interception came on a ball he shouldn't have thrown. Fired at a well-covered Derek Carrier, it was deflected and picked off by linebacker Uani Unga.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning converted that for a 30-yard touchdown throw to Odell Beckham Jr., who raced into the end zone with cornerback Bashaud Breeland on his heels to pad the lead to 25-6 in the fourth quarter.
With a chance to pull the Redskins within two scores, Jones barreled to his left on a fourth-and-one at the Giants' 7 and hurdled a defender. But just as he was about to score, he had the ball poked out at the 2 by cornerback Trevin Wade. The fumble out of bounds resulted in a touchback.
Cousins finished 30 of 49 for 316 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Manning, playing with a backup left tackle in front of him, was 23 of 32 for 279 yards and two touchdowns.
But the most telling statistics were the Redskins' offensive futility on the ground.
Washington entered the game with the NFL's top-ranked rushing offense, averaging 171.5 yards per game, and second-most dominant time of possession, nearly 38 minutes.
But falling behind 12-0 in the first quarter, Coach Jay Gruden lost his patience with the running game. His offense couldn't sustain drives otherwise, squelched by penalties, incompletions or a combination of both.
Jones, who topped 100 yards against St. Louis, was held to 38 yards on 11 carries. Morris all but disappeared, carrying six times for 19 yards.
In so many ways, Thursday's game was a measuring stick for the Redskins - a gauge of Cousins's progress since last fall, when he was benched after throwing nine interceptions to 10 touchdowns; and a gauge of the defense's might, after holding opponents to the fewest yards in the NFL through two games.
It proved two things: Cousins may remain the Redskins' best option at quarterback, in Gruden's view, but he remains a work in progress. And the defense held the Miami and St. Louis offenses to 10 points each. But Ryan Tannehill and Nick Foles don't pose the same challenge as Manning, a two-time Super Bowl winning MVP.
The Redskins committed three penalties before many Giants fans had taken their seats.
A pass interference call on Reed negated a terrific catch-and-run by Thompson. Not only did the drive fizzle, but the special teams unit let Giants running back Rashad Jennings block their opening punt for the safety.
Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson did a terrific job muzzling the Giants' opening drive.
Backed up to their own 6 to start their second drive, Morris carried for three. But instead of sticking with the run, Cousins threw his first interception of the night from the Washington 9-yard line. Intended for Pierre Garcon, it was picked off by cornerback Prince Amukamara.
Four plays later, Manning had the Giants in the end zone, with running back Andre Williams carrying the final yard of a 14-yard drive. The Giants led 9-0 with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter.
Given a chance to atone, the Redskins' special teams failed to recover a fumbled Giants punt.
With a 35-yard field goal, the Giants led 12-0.
The Redskins' first sustained drive spilled into the second quarter, with Jones muscling for most of the yardage. Cousins's shot in the end zone to Reed, who had beat his coverage, fell short and incomplete, as a result. Justin Hopkins's 44-yard field goal averted the shutout, making it 12-3.
Just 3:40 remained when the Redskins scored their first touchdown, a four-yarder to Chris Thompson. The two-point conversion, a pass to Jamison Crowder, succeeded.
Manning topped it with a 41-yard strike to Rueben Randall.
