Despite quick playoff exit, Washington fans believe in the future; NFC East rival fans not so much Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images Vince Lombardi famously said that “winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing”. Well, the Washington Football Team didn’t do a lot of winning this season; they finished 7-9, but at the top of the NFC East, and were bounced from the playoffs on the first Saturday of play. But fans have responded to the team and its direction. Ron Rivera and Alex Smith have provided ‘feel good’ stories through their respective battles against the coach’s early-summer diagnosis of cancer and the quarterback’s 2018 leg injury and subsequent infections that required a reported 17 surgeries. Watching the team mount a comeback in Week 1 against an Eagles team that was expected to compete for a playoff spot promoted early optimism that soon faded as the losses mounted, but by mid-season, with a couple of quarterback changes, there was a sense that the team was turning a corner. When Alex Smith was able to guide the team to a 4-game winning streak and set up the opportunity to hang a division championship banner, fan optimism surged.