The Redskins not only are tied for first place in the NFC East, they -- and they alone -- control their playoff dreams. After Sunday's 38-21 win over Cleveland, coupled with the Giants' loss to Atlanta, the Redskins can win the division with victories in the final two games. Of course, the final game is vs. Dallas, which also is tied for first. It was hard to imagine the Redskins being in this spot in mid-November, but they've won five straight and now are 8-6. If they lose a game, they can also make the postseason as a wild card, but then they would need help.

Offense: A

The Redskins had another rookie quarterback making his first start, and they failed to pick up a first down on their first four possessions. Yet the Redskins still finished with 38 points, 430 yards and controlled the ball for 36 minutes, 17 seconds. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was shaky early, especially in the pocket. But after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Leonard Hankerson off bootleg action (into triple coverage), Cousins settled down. He completed 26 of 37 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once, but he recovered nicely. Running back Alfred Morris earned 87 tough yards as the Browns game-planned to stop him. But in doing so, they failed to stop Cousins and the bootleg action.  Previous game's grade: A-

Defense: A-

The Browns aren’t the most dynamic offense, but the Redskins also did a solid job of making them look bad for long stretches. They stopped the run completely. Trent Richardson gained only 28 yards on 11 carries. There were some mishaps as the Browns did score 21 points, thanks to a 69-yard touchdown pass. But the Redskins also changed the game with two interceptions in the third quarter. The first, by linebacker Rob Jackson, set up the go-ahead touchdown. The second, by linebacker London Fletcher, ended a good drive with Washington up 10. Corner Josh Wilson did a good job vs. receiver Josh Gordon, holding him to three catches for 27 yards. Previous game's grade: B-

Special teams: B

Kai Forbath made his 15th straight field goal, but overall this group was largely quiet. However, they did a decent job vs. Josh Cribbs in the return game. He averaged 27.3 yards on seven kick returns, which is a lot. But with Forbath’s short and line-drive kickoffs, it could have been worse. Lorenzo Alexander had a terrific day in coverage with several big hits. The return game didn’t do much, though punt returner Richard Crawford did have a 13-yard return. Previous game's grade: B+

Coaching: A

In the first starts by rookie quarterbacks this season, the Redskins have scored 40 points (vs. New Orleans in Robert Griffin III’s debut) and now 38. And they did it in different ways. The Redskins took five series to finally get going, but once they saw how much Cleveland was trying to stop the run, they went heavy on bootleg and play-action. It worked. They put Cousins in a position to win with a lot of clean looks. Defensively, the Redskins changed coverages often and used more pressure in the second half. They did a good job of confusing Brandon Weeden. Give the Redskins credit for winning by 17 minus the injured Griffin. It shows just how far they’ve come in recent weeks. Losing him, say, four weeks ago would have resulted in a loss. Previous game's grade: A-

John Keim covers the Redskins for the Washington Examiner. Follow him on Twitter @CBSRedskins or @John_Keim.