The Redskins and the Cowboys have one of the most storied rivalries in the NFL and this game is for first place in the NFC East.  Look for the Redskins to let it all out against the Cowboys this week.  The Cowboys’ defense is only giving up 292.0 yards of offense per game but that’s because they control possession of the football a lot.  With that in mind the Redskins will likely try to run the ball to play keepaway from the Cowboys.  Clinton Portis should be able to find running room against a Cowboys’ defense that is allowing 4.1 yards per carry this season.  Look for TE Chris Cooley to be the focal point of the passing game for the Redskins as the Cowboys safeties are the weak link of the secondary.  The Cowboys do have 10 sacks this season so throwing the ball short will benefit Jason Campbell.  If the Cowboys’ defense creeps up, WRs Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El will start running deep.  Also, expect Randle El to throw deep at least once in this game on a trick play.

The Cowboys will try to run a balanced offensive attack as always as they have thrown the ball 93 times and run it 90 times.  The Redskins’ linebackers will have their hands full in trying to deal with Marion Barber and rookie Felix Jones in the running game.  The Redskins must get a good pass rush on Tony Romo or Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton and Jason Witten will all have big games.

PREDICTION:  DALLAS COWBOYS 31, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 21

The Redskins have lost DE/OLB Jason Taylor indefinately after he underwent emergency surgery on his calf last Monday.  He has made 7 tackles, has 1 sack and he has defensed 4 passes this season for the Redskins.  The Redskins will definately miss Taylor’s pass rush ability as no one on the current roster has a skill set comparable to him.

The Redskins played just good enough to beat the Cardinals last Sunday.  Jason Campbell was solid in completing 22 of 30 passes for 193 yards with 2 TD passes.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 26 yards (6.5 ypc).  Antwaan Randle El completed his only pass attempt for 11 yards and he also caught 3 passes for 23 yards.  Clinton Portis carried the ball 21 times for 68 yards (3.2 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 19 yards (9.5 avg).  WR Santana Moss led the way in the passing game for the Redskins with 7 catches for 75 yards (10.7 avg) with a TD grab.  The Redskins finished up with 136 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 31 passes for 187 yards.

The defense was stout when it needed to be to help the Redskins win this game.  LB Rocky McIntosh (10 tackles, 1/2 sack) and S Reed Doughty (9 tackles) both had solid games to lead the Redskins on defense.  CB Carlos Rogers also had a huge game with 4 tackles, a interception and a fumble recovery.  The Cardinals finished up with 116 yards rushing on 23 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 31 passes for 197 yards.  The Redskins are now 2-1 on the season with this win.

The Redskins have won six in a row against the Cardinals including 17-13 at Arizona last year.  But, this Cardinals team is a different animal this season as they are 2-0 having outscored their opponents 54-23 this year.  True, the 49ers and Dolphins aren’t anywhere near as good as the Redskins are…..but no one can deny that the Cardinals still look pretty good this season.  Despite having Kurt Warner and a great corps of WRs the Cardinals erun the ball more than they throw it.  Edgerrin James and rookie Tim Hightower could find some running room against the Redskins’ defense.  But make no mistake, the Cardinals are going to challenge the pass defense of the Redskins with Kurt Warner (128.5 QB Rating), Larry Fitzgerald (9 rec, 184 yards) and Anquan Boldin (14 rec, 222 yards, 3 TDs).

The Cardinals’ defense looks much improved this season but the Redskins play a physical brand of football that could wear them down.  Clinton Portis (180 yards rushing) will be the focal point of the offense for the Redskins in this football game.  If Portis has a decent game that will open up the play action passing game for the Redskins with speedsters Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El.

PREDICTION:  WASHINGTON REDSKINS 27, ARIZONA CARDINALS 24

The Washington Redskins looked like a completely different football team yesterday and that’s a good thing.  Jason Campbell had an outstanding game as he completed 24 of 36 passes for 321 yards passing with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  Clinton Portis was also busy with 96 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs (9, 8 yards).  Ladell Betts pitched in with 25 yards rushing on 6 carries (4.2 ypc) yesterday.  Santana Moss had an outstanding game yesterday as he finished with 7 catches for 164 yards (23.4 avg) and he rushed 1 time for 27 yards.  Moss caught Campbell’s only TD pass a 67-yarder that put the Redskins up for good in this game.  TE Chris Cooley pitched in with 5 catches for 72 yards (14.4 avg).  Antwaan Randle El also had a decent game catching 4 passes for 53 yards (13.3 avg).  The Redskins finished up with 149 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 36 passes for 306 yards.  The Redskins’ offense had possession of the football for 34:14 in this game and that was impressive.

Linebacker London Fletcher led a good defensive effort by the Redskins with 7 tackles.  Safety Chris Horton also had a big game as he had 3 tackles, recovered a fumble and he had 2 interceptions.  The Saints finished up with only 55 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 33 passes for 195 yards.  The Redskins are now 1-1 on the season.

This will be a interesting football game to watch unfold tomorrow afternoon in Washington.  The Saints won 24-20 last week at home against the Bucs while the Redskins did not look good in losing 16-7 to the Giants.  The Saints don’t match up especially well against the Redskins’ Defense without Marques Colston available for this game.  The Redskins had all kinds of trouble with Plaxico Burress because of his size but the Saints don’t have anyone at WR like that now.  Devery Henderson and David Patten will be going deep but look for Brees to use Jeremy Shockey early and often in this game as well as Reggie Bush out of the backfield.  Reggie Bush will also put a lot of pressure on the linebackers of the Redskins when he’s running to the perimeter of the defense.  Pierre Thomas handles the rough stuff inside but the Redskins should be able to handle that stuff better than they did last week against Brandon Jacobs.

The Redskins will likely attack the middle of the Saints’ defense as the Bucs ran the ball all over them rushing for 146 yards on 20 carries (7.3 ypc).  The Bucs didn’t have the patience to stick with the running game but the Redskins will without a doubt.  Clinton Portis could have a huge game for the Redskins tomorrow unless linebacker Jonathan Vilma meets up to the challenge.  The Redskins do have some speed at WR in Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El but that will only matter if Jason Campbell plays a lot better than he did last week.  Look for TE Chris Cooley to have an important role in this game after he only caught 1 pass for 7 yards last week against the Giants.

PREDICTION:  NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 20, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 19

The Washington Redskins are very lucky that they didn’t get clobbered on the scoreboard because they were badly outplayed in this football game.  The offense of the Redskins was awful as they only had possession of the football for 24:17 and that’s no way to win a football game.  Jason Campbell looked lost running the offense as he completed 15 of 27 passes for 133 yards with a 12-yard TD pass to Santana Moss.  Clinton Portis gave a solid effort in this game with 84 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.7 ypc) and he also laid a couple of vicious blocks on defensive linemen.  Antwaan Randle El played well despite playing with a broken hand as he caught 7 passes for 73 yards (10.4 avg).  Santana Moss didn’t really show up until late in the game as he finished with 5 catches for 37 yards (7.4 avg).  The Giants’ completely shut down TE Chris Cooley as he only caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  The Redskins finished up with 84 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 27 passes for 125 yards in this football game.  The only scoring drive that the Redskins had was set up by a 50-yard kickoff return by Rock Cartwright. 

The defense of the Redskins was on the field for a long time and it’s pretty amazing that they held the Giants to only 16 points in this game.  Linebacker London Fletcher was the main man on the Redskins’ defense in this game with 17 tackles.  Fred Smoot was pressed into the starting lineup and he had 8 tackles and a interception in this game.  Rocky McIntosh was also busy for the Redskins finishing with 8 tackles against the Giants.  Safety LaRon Landry finished with 6 tackles and 1/2 a sack but he was run over early in the game by Brandon Jacobs of the Giants and that set the tone of this game.  The Giants finished up with 154 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.8 ypc) in this football game and they completed 19 of 35 passes for 200 yards.  The Redskins have nowhere to go but up after this awful performance to open up Jim Zorn’s head coaching career.

After looking over the Redskins schedule I think I would make a confident play on the over.  The Redskins are a very underrated team who are going to surprise some people.  Wait until you see what Jason Taylor brings to the defense and that side of the football is why I think the Redskins could be a playoff team this year.

This will be a very interesting football game tonight in New Jersey.  The Redskins split with the Giants last season with each team winning on the road.  The Redskins spanked the Giants 22-10 in New Jersey last season and they will be looking to duplicate that feat.  To make that happen the Redskins must run the football well with Clinton Portis against DTs Barry Cofield, Fred Robbins and linebacker Antonio Pierce.  The Redskins will likely keep the passing game short using TE Chris Cooley often against safeties James Butler and Michael Johnson.  If the Giants’ defense creeps up too far then look for the Redskins to go up top to Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El. 

The Giants are looking to defend there Super Bowl Championship of last season but they will do it without a bunch of key defensive players who have either left, retired or are injured.  With that in mind look for the Giants to try to pound the football to set up the play action pass downfield.  Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward must have success against the Redskins’ defense to slow the impressive pass rush that the Skins have with DEs Jason Taylor and Andre Carter.  But, it won’t be easy as the Redskins have three outstanding linebackers who are good at stuffing the run in London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh and Marcus Washington.  If the line is able to hold and give Manning time to throw the football he should have a good game with CB Shawn Springs out of this game due to injury.  CBs Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot don’t match up too well with big WRs like Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer.  Also, look for Manning to target 2nd year TE Kevin Boss over the middle quite a bit. 

PREDICTION:  NEW YORK GIANTS 20, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 17.  I think the Giants will win a close game but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Redskins pull an upset here.

Poor Marcus Mason.  The Redskins decided to keep three running backs so he got the shaft.  Mason played in 5 games this preseason for the Redskins and he carried the ball 66 times for 317 yards (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 56 yards (7.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Redskins won’t be able to add him to the practice squad as the Ravens signed him to theirs.