| Andrew Perna/RealGM. 30th September, 2008 - 11:28 pm
 The Redskins entered adulthood in their victory over the Cowboys at Texas Stadium on Sunday.
Heading into the season, Washington was the only NFC East team rarely mentioned as a playoff contender, as defending champion New York, Dallas and Philadelphia were all predicted to fight for a postseason berth.
One month into the season, the Redskins are 3-1 and their confidence is skyrocketing at a monumental pace.
Washington was impressive in most facets of the game in their defeat of Dallas on Sunday, as they took care of the football (no turnovers) and moved well against the Cowboys’ defense.
Jason Campbell went 20-for-31 with 231 yards and two touchdowns, while Clinton Portis exploded for 121 yards on 21 carries. After punting on their first three possessions, the Redskins scored on six of their last seven drives.
Tony Romo was able to carve up Washington’s secondary with 300 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 28-for-47 passing. However, Greg Blache, the team’s defensive coordinator, can live with that as they held Marion Barber and the Cowboys’ running game to just 44 yards on the ground.
Chris Horton’s interception of Romo late in the third, on 1st-and-10 from the Dallas 37-yard line, led to a field goal by Shaun Suisham that gave Washington a 23-17 lead heading into the final ten minutes of the fourth quarter.
Dallas was able to score a touchdown (Romo to Miles Austin) relatively easily with less than two minutes left in the game, but at that point Washington had already built a nine-point lead and was able to kneel down for a hard-earned 26-24 victory.
The Redskins won’t have their bye week until mid-November, but they have three very winnable games coming up on their schedule.
Washington will face St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit consecutively beginning in Week Six. Heading into this weekend’s action, those teams have a combined record of 1-10.
Barring a collapse, the Redskins shouldn’t have a problem reaching six wins by the time their bye arrives in Week Ten.
Two very tough Pennsylvania battles will bookend their games against the Rams, Browns and Lions, as they will travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles this Sunday and will host the Steelers at FedEx Field on Nov. 3 on Monday Night Football.
Both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are better defensively than Dallas, which will make it tougher for Campbell and Co. to score as they continue to mature under head coach Jim Zorn.
It will be particularly hard for Portis to gain ground against the Keystone State clubs.
NFL’s Top Rush Defenses
Team, Yards Per Game
1. Philadelphia, 53.8 yards
2. Baltimore, 69.7 yards
3. Minnesota, 71.8 yards
4. Pittsburgh, 74.0 yards
5. N.Y. Jets, 75.5 yards
Portis has faced the Eagles seven times during his tenure in the NFC East, and has averaged roughly 76 yards per game against the Birds. However, Philadelphia’s defensive unit has been especially tough in 2008.
Just two years ago the Eagles were a sieve against the run, allowing 136.4 yards a game on the ground.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has been very tough against the pass, surrendering just 162.3 yards through the air in their first four games.
Campbell and Zorn will have to work hard on their gameplan when facing these two defenses, with the Eagles (17) and Steelers (15) standing one-two in the NFL in sacks. They are also a combined +7 in takeaways.
If any quarterback in the NFL is fit to face such tough defenses, it’s Campbell. He is fourth in the league in QB rating (102.2) with 878 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions this year.
He has quietly improved in each of his three seasons.
Campbell’s Passing Statistics Per Game
Season: Completion %, Yards, TDs, INTs
2006: 53.1%, 185.3, 1.43, 0.86
2007: 60.0%, 207.7, 0.92, 0.85
2008: 65.3%, 219.5, 1.50, 0.00
It will be tough for Campbell to get attention in the division with Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo around, but he’s doing an awfully good job of winning games early in the season.
Thanks to Campbell and the growing maturity of his supporting cast, the Redskins appear to be one of the teams that will likely represent the NFC East this winter.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail with comments or questions on this piece: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
