Some Wins Feel More Like Losses

Without knowing for sure whether this is actually true, we can still surmise that the Washington Commanders felt better about losing Monday night’s game than they did about their delightfully grotesque tie against the Giants in Week 5. And we are almost certain the San Francisco 49ers felt worse in victory. Their record stayed spotless, but in making their escape, they caught a glimpse of the grim future that is in their front yard.

If you chose to avoid last night’s Commanders–49ers game in the shadows of Hell’s Substation, you are finding out today what happens when the scoreboard lies, and also when it becomes permissible to lie about the scoreboard. The practical truth is that the 49ers won 23-17, and remain one of the NFL’s three undefeated teams. The victory broadened their lead in the NFC West to half the schedule—a margin of three games over the barely tenable Seattle Seahawks after six weeks of action. The math here is nearly unassailable, but hold on a moment while we assail it.

By losing, the Commanders managed not only to drop from 1-4-1, the fourth-worst record in the sport, but to complete a second consecutive week of winless football from the entire NFC East. Those divisional rivals pulled together to lose six games outright and tie a seventh in humiliating fashion. This is the first time an entire division has gone without a single team winning in back-to-back weeks since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, and almost certainly the first time ever, though we suspect nobody is bored enough to give that research a go. Only one team in the division, the New York Giants, has a winning record, and none of them have a positive point differential. After six weeks, the NFC East has fashioned itself as a hideous homage to the American League West, the new standard for no standards at all.