“I don’t look at us as losers,” defensive end Chris Baker said. “I just feel like we are the defending NFC East champions. . . . We’re a team on the rise and we’re very confident.” (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

Chris Baker was scrolling through Twitter on Tuesday when the Washington Redskins defensive end came across some strong national criticism about his team. The Redskins were described as “losers” by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who mocked Baker and teammate Ricky Jean Francois for declaring, “We run the damn [NFC] East” after their victory Sunday over the Philadelphia Eagles.

“This is why the Redskins are not winning because of an attitude that’s asinine like that,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take.”

Baker called out Smith in a series of tweets defending his team, which has won four straight games.

“I don’t look at us as losers,” Baker said. “I just feel like we are the defending NFC East champions. Whether we won the NFC with 10 games or eight games, we still won it. All I’m saying is until y’all crown a new champion, put some respect on our name. We’re not losing. We’re a team on the rise and we’re very confident.”

[Stephen A. Smith sticks to critique, co-host rips ‘worst franchise’ in NFC East]

1 of 84 Full Screen Autoplay Close Week 16: Washington 41, Bears 21 at Soldier Field Week 15: Carolina Panthers 26, Redskins 15 at FedEx Field. Week 14: Redskins 27, Philadelphia Eagles 22, at Lincoln Financial Field. Week 13: Arizona Cardinals 31, Redskins at University of Phoenix Staduim Week 12: Dallas Cowboys 31, Redskins 26 at AT&T Stadium Week 11: Washington 42, Green Bay 24, at FedEx Field. Week 9: Washington 26, Minnesota Vikings 20 at FedEx Field. Week 8: Washington 27, Bengals 27, at Wembley Field in London. Week 7: Washington 17, Lions 20 at Ford Field. Week 6: Washington 27, Eagles 20 at FedEx Field. Week 5: Washington 16, Ravens 10 in Baltimore. Week 4: Washington 31, Cleveland Browns 20 at FedEx Field. Week 3: Washington 29, NY Giants 27 at MetLife Stadium. Skip Ad × Photos from the Redskins season so far View Photos A look at the standout images from Washington’s games in 2016. Caption Washington went 8-7-1 and missed the playoffs by a whisker. Here’s a look at the standout images from 2016. Reed celebrated his touchdown, which he hoped would set the stage for a dramatic Washington win. Nick Wass/Associated Press Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

The back-and-forth argument is a microcosm of what the Redskins (4-2) have dealt with throughout the offseason and the regular season’s first six weeks. The past two decades have shifted the narrative on Washington from that of a storied franchise with three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s and 1990s to that of a team synonymous with failure. And there’s only one cure to change it back — winning.

Count Las Vegas oddsmakers as among the nonbelievers in the Redskins, who are one-point underdogs for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

Baker and his teammates are aware. The team has a music playlist, curated by the players, that blares through portable speakers during stretch and individual drills. The first song queued was “Hate Me Now” by hip-hop artist Nas, released in 1999. The song shouts down Nas’s critics — and it set the tone during the team’s first practice this week.

It continued after practice when Coach Jay Gruden defended a team that has gone 11-5 over its past 16 regular season games.

[Bog: This could be the best 16-game Redskins stretch in a generation]

“I know [Smith] does a good job with what he does, but he doesn’t know our team,” Gruden said. “He doesn’t know our coaches. He doesn’t know our fan base. And for him to call us all losers is out of line by him because he doesn’t know Jamison Crowder, Jordan Reed, Morgan Moses, Brandon Scherff, Will Blackmon and Ryan Kerrigan. He doesn’t know the type of work these guys put in, the type of players they are, the type of people they are, the coaching staff that we have.”

Baker said he felt disrespected that despite wins over the Eagles in the three previous contests, NFL analysts still mainly picked them to lose at home. As he strolled from the tunnel to the locker room Sunday, Baker declared, “Y’all forgot who the real champs of the NFC East is!”

The Washington Post's Scott Allen and Keith McMillan break down the Redskins' Week 6 victory over the Eagles. (Thomas Johnson,Dani Johnson/The Washington Post)

“I just felt disrespected that everyone would choose a division opponent to beat us at our home,” Baker said. “I really didn’t mean to call them trash. I was just more mad at the media for picking the Eagles over us.”

The perception of the Redskins as perennial disappointments is not wholly without merit. This is a team with a winning record in four of the past 16 seasons and with just one playoff victory this century.

Although they went 9-7 and won the division last year, the Redskins were the only team in the NFC East with a winning record and didn’t beat a team with a winning record. Even as Washington climbed out of a 0-2 hole to reel off four straight wins this season, tying for the longest winning streak under Gruden, the franchise’s past has still played a significant factor in how the team is viewed, especially after it lost its first two games to start the season.

“I feel like we don’t get picked a lot [by analysts], but it doesn’t matter,” linebacker Will Compton said. “There’s history that backs up why people shouldn’t pick us with the way that we were playing and the statistics. People can try to define us by stats and all that. A number you can’t measure is the resiliency and the heart we have in the locker room.”

[Fancy Stats: Sorry Redskins, but you don’t run the NFC East. The Cowboys do.]

There have been noticeable signs of change since the start of the 2015 season. Washington’s roster has improved in talent over the past two offseasons under General Manager Scot McCloughan. Gruden and the coaching staff have made necessary adjustments and trusted the players to get the job done.

“We won four games,” Jean Francois said. “Okay, it’s not going to help us because we can win four games today and lose the rest. Next thing you know, we’re sitting by our TVs in January watching other teams play. We haven’t done anything yet.

“Only thing we’re doing is what we’re supposed to do — win games.”

That’s probably the only way for the organization to regain the respect it seeks.