Even with Donovan McNabb out of the league, his presence looms large over the Washington and Philadelphia franchises facing off Sunday.

On Easter night 2010, Philadelphia bid farewell to McNabb, sending him to Washington. In return, the Eagles got the 2010 second-round pick they used on safety Nate Allen and the 2011 fourth-round pick they traded to Tampa Bay for two fourth-round picks. Philadelphia used the Buccaneers' 2011 fourth-round pick on linebacker Casey Matthews and sent the 2012 fourth-rounder to Houston in a deal for linebacker DeMeco Ryans.

So Philadelphia did gain something for McNabb -- although Ryans is the only one of those three who will start Sunday versus the Redskins.

But even with McNabb washing out of Washington after one less-than-subpar season, the Redskins were an even bigger winner in the deal. And here's why: Shortly after the lockout ended in 2011, Washington traded McNabb to Minnesota for a 2012 sixth-round pick that turned out to be the 173rd selection.

The Redskins used that pick on Florida Atlantic running back Alfred Morris.

Washington is two wins from its first NFC East title since 1999, and Morris ranks third in the NFL behind only Minnesota's Adrian Peterson and Seattle's Marshawn Lynch with 1,322 rushing yards. He has been the less-talked-about Redskins rookie, although nearly as valuable as the more prominent one.

Morris has given quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins a dependable option, a bowling-ball running back who bounces off would-be tacklers and makes defenses pay for keying on Washington's quarterback.

The accomplishments of this season's rookie quarterbacks have overshadowed the mark made by a stellar group of running backs that includes Morris, Tampa Bay's Doug Martin, Cleveland's Trent Richardson and the New York Giants' David Wilson.

Before the 2012 draft, the Eagles made a deal similar to Washington's trade with Minnesota, sending cornerback Asante Samuel to Atlanta for the seventh-round pick that turned out to be running back Bryce Brown. But the league's best rookie running back this season has been Morris, who is tied to a veteran quarterback, the one the Redskins hoped would accomplish some of the feats this season's rookie quarterbacks have.

As it turned out, McNabb was vital to Washington's turnaround.

On to this week's 10 Spot:

1. Amazing Adrian: One year ago Monday, on Christmas Eve in Washington, Peterson tore up his knee. Less than one year later, in maybe the most improbable and impressive comeback in sports history, the Minnesota running back has torn up the league.

Peterson, who has 1,812 rushing yards, needs 294 more in his final two games -- Sunday at Houston, then at home against Green Bay -- to break Eric Dickerson's single-season NFL record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984. After 14 weeks, Peterson is 20 yards ahead of where Dickerson was with two games remaining in 1984.

There are so many impressive aspects to Peterson's feat aside from the speed and depth of his recovery. For starters, with Minnesota lacking an effective passing game, opposing defenses are crowding the line of scrimmage, sticking as many as nine men in the box to try to shut down Peterson. And they can't. Peterson also has gained most of his yards -- more than anyone else in the league -- after contact. Courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info, Peterson has 909 yards after contact. The closest in that category are Martin (572) and Morris (543).

While the Vikings are chasing a playoff spot, Peterson already is chasing history, although he has made plenty with his inspirational return.

2. Always working: San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh took about, oh, five minutes to celebrate Sunday night's significant victory over the Patriots in New England. As his team flew back to San Francisco early Monday morning, Harbaugh spent the trip studying film of this Sunday night's opponent, the Seattle Seahawks.

What he saw was a team that has outscored its past two opponents by a combined 108-17 margin and has a rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson, who has led his team to as many wins this season as Andrew Luck while throwing 21 touchdown passes, more than Luck or Griffin.

But what was equally impressive as San Francisco's work environment was its work ethic.

"Watched the entire game, offense, defense and special teams, and work on Seattle," Harbaugh said. "It's a pretty impressive thing. I've never been associated with a team like this, where the coaching staff is -- it's like a workstation in the back part of the plane. The computers are on, nobody is watching movies and not a lot of sleeping going on. Really impressed with our guys the way they do that.

"And the players, too, they had laptops and were watching the game in groups, and then eventually fell off to sleep."

If San Francisco wants, it can do more work on the flight to Seattle on Saturday. But this 49ers team looks ready for Sunday and the postseason.

3. Oh, brother: For as much success as the Harbaughs have had this season, no NFL siblings have been more productive than the McCourtys, the first set of brothers with at least four interceptions each in the same season since 1987, when James and Don Griffin did it.

Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty has five interceptions in addition to breaking up another 18 passes and having 73 tackles. Titans cornerback Jason McCourty has similar numbers with four interceptions, 15 pass breakups and 76 tackles. What are the odds that a set of brothers could play at such a high level, with such high statistics?

Each of the McCourty brothers has played at a Pro Bowl level, and it would be a great -- and worthy -- storyline if each found his way to the Pro Bowl.