The Redskins snapped the Lions’ 19-game losing streak yesterday as they just didn’t play a good football game.  The heat will be on Jim Zorn because he called a short pass at the end of the game with some pitches involved instead of just throwing the ball in the end zone despite losing by five points at the time.  Jason Campbell actually played a solid game here completing 27 of 41 passes for 340 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception.  He also had 1 carry for 21 yards.  The Redskins abandoned the running game early in this game as Clinton Portis led the team with only 42 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.5 ypc).  Jason Campbell did a good job of spreading the ball around as 10 different players caught at least 1 pass in this game.  But it was Santana Moss who stood out for the Skins catching 10 passes for 178 yards (17.8 avg) with a TD grab.  The Redskins rolled up 390 total yards on offense in this game (65 rushing, 325 passing) despite only having possession of the football for 23:12.

The Redskins did not play good at all on defense as they just couldn’t get off the field.  LB London Fletcher (16 tackles) and safety LaRon Landry (8 tackles) led the way for the Skins yesterday.  The Lions finished up this game with 381 total yards on offense (154 rushing, 227 passing).  The Redskins are now 1-2 on the season.

The Lions have played two of the best teams in the NFL so far this season and now they have to deal with the very physical Washington Redskins who come to town.  The Lions should give the ball to Kevin Smith as much as possible in this football game.  Sure, the Redskins have MLB London Fletcher and DT Albert Haynesworth but that hasn’t stopped opposing teams from averaging 114.5 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry this season.  If the Lions can get the running game going that would set up some play action passing for Matt Stafford who can pound the ball downfield to Calvin Johnson who the Redskins will no doubt be double covering.  The Lions must control the clock with their running game and short passing game if they want to win this Sunday.

The Redskins were in a tooth and nail battle last week with the terrible St. Louis Rams winning only 9-7 at home.  That is bad news for the Lions as they will not overlook them this week.  The Redskins like to run the football and Clinton Portis (141 yards rushing) and Ladell Betts will likely run all over the Lions’ D which is allowing 134.5 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry so far this season.  The Redskins could decide to pass to get the lead and then grind the game with the running game.  The Lions are allowing 255.5 yards passing per game this season and opposing QBs have a 134.9 rating against them this year. 

PREDICTION:  WASHINGTON REDSKINS 23, DETROIT LIONS 10

The Redskins have lost starting right guard Randy Thomas for the rest of the season due to a torn right triceps muscle.  Chad Rhinehart will replace him in the starting lineup.  Rhinehart was a 3rd round pick of the Redskins in 2008 but he spent the season on the practice squad.  This will be a huge dropoff in play for the Redskins likely hurting them more in the running game.

The Redskins controlled the clock for 34:53 of this game and that really helped out the defense.  Jason Campbell completed 23 of 35 passes for 242 yards yesterday.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 28 yards (4.0 ypc) but he couldn’t lead the team to any TDs against the Rams.  Clinton Portis was solid in this game carrying the ball 19 times for 79 yards (4.2 ypc) and catching 2 passes for 9 yards (4.5 avg).  Chris Cooley was the main man in the passing game for the Redskins with 7 grabs for 83 yards (11.9 avg).  The Redskins finished up with 362 total yards on offense (125 rushing, 237 passing) in this game.

LB London Fletcher led the way for the Redskins on D with 9 tackles yesterday.  Safety Chris Horton (8 tackles) and CB Carlos Rogers (5 tackles, fumble recovery) both also helped out Fletcher on the D.  The Rams finished up with 245 total yards on offense (126 rushing, 119 passing) in this game.  The Redskins improve to 1-1 with the ugly win yesterday.

The Rams have lost 19 of their last 21 games and they looked pathetic last week against the Seahawks.  The Redskins are likely going to be ready to pound someone after losing a tough one to the Giants last week.  The Rams would love to run the ball against the Redskins in a attempt to control the clock.  The Redskins gave up 103 yards rushing to the Giants last week but only 3.3 yards per carry.  That means that Steven Jackson will have to be on his “A” game in order to deal with DT Albert Haynesworth, ILB London Fletcher and the rest of the Redskins’ D.  If the Redskins stop Jackson and force the Rams to throw the ball, this game could get ugly quick just like last week’s game.  WRs Laurent Robinson and Donnie Avery must be able to make some plays in this game if the Rams are to keep up with the Redskins.

The Redskins want to get back to their kind of football and they should be able to do that this week against the Rams.  Rookie LB James Laurinaitis will have his hands full in trying to deal with Clinton Portis who is primed to have a huge game this weekend.  The Rams allowed 167 yards (4.9 ypc) against the Seahawks and Julius Jones is not in Portis’ league as a RB.  The Rams didn’t have any sacks last week so Jason Campbell should be able to relax in the pocket.  The Rams did pick off two passes last week but Campbell is usually good in his decisions with the football.  WRs Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El should be able to make some plays downfield against the Rams’ D.  TE Chris Cooley caught 7 passes last week and he will likely put up similar numbers this week.

PREDICTION:  REDSKINS 24, RAMS 3

The Redskins gave Antwaan Randle El a lot of money with the expectation that he would turn into a impact WR.  The Redskins are still waiting for Randle El to get to that level of play.  He did catch 7 passes for 98 yards (14.0 avg) in the season opener against the Giants and the Redskins hope he can keep up the good work.  Randle El has now played in 112 games in his NFL career and he has caught 305 passes for 3,782 yards (12.4 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 78 times for 436 yards (5.6 ypc) in his career.  The Redskins should bring back trick plays in which Randle El throws the football as he is stunningly effective on those kind of plays.  Randle El has completed 20 of 25 passes (80%) for 281 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs (153.1 QB Rating) in his career.

The offense was the reason the Redskins last yesterday.  Jason Campbell completed 19 of 26 passes for 211 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 16 yards.  Clinton Portis carried the ball 16 times for 62 yards (3.9 ypc) yesterday.  Punter Hunter Smith got 1 carry for 8 yards which went for a TD with 21 seconds to go before halftime.  It was a fake field goal and it was a beautiful play as Smith was untouched on his journey to the end zone.  Antwaan Randle El (98 yards) and TE Chris Cooley (68 yards, TD) each caught 7 passes apiece in this game.  The Redskins only had possession of the ball for 23:52 of this game finishing with 272 total yards on offense (85 rushing, 187 passing).

The defense appeared to get tired in this game as they were on the field far too long.  Linebacker London Fletcher led the way for the Skins with 18 tackles in this game.  CB DeAngelo Hall pitched in with 7 tackles and a interception.  The Giants finished up with 351 total yards in this game (103 rushing, 248 passing).

The Giants pushed the Redskins around last season sweeping them and outscoring them 37-14!  The physical playing style of the Giants had a lot to do with that and that’s a big reason why the Redskins laid out the jack for Albert Haynesworth.  The Giants won’t change however as Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw will be pounding away at the interior of the Redskins’ D.  If the Giants establish the running game the Redskins will be in trouble as Eli Manning is a master at play action.  The Redskins have three legit corners (DeAngelo Hall, Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot) and they match up very well with the Giants’ WRs.  With that in mind look for Kevin Boss to get a lot of action in the short passing game.

The Redskins should open up the offense in this game and let Jason Campbell throw the ball downfield.  Big plays will be there for Antwaan Randle El and Santana Moss if Campbell can get them the football.  Chris Cooley will also likely have a solid game for the Skins tomorrow.  Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts will also get a lot of work in on Sunday in New Jersey.

PREDICTION:  NEW YORK GIANTS 21, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 20

The Jaguars took this game very seriously and it showed on the scoreboard.  Jason Campbell made a quick exit after completing 4 of 6 passes for 33 yards.  Chase Daniel was next up and he completed 8 of 16 passes for 85 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 17 yards (5.7 ypc) but lost a fumble.  Colt Brennan finally looked sharp completing 10 of 14 passes for 83 yards before leaving the game with a injury.  Dominique Dorsey led the way on the ground for the Redskins in this game with 4 carries for 18 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  WR Marko Mitchell led the way in the passing game with 6 grabs for 52 yards (8.7 avg) with 1 TD catch.  The Redskins finished up with 254 total yards in this game (57 rushing, 197 passing).

Linebacker Robert Henson led the way for the Redskins’ D in this game with 7 tackles.  The Jaguars finished up with 343 total yards in this game (79 rushing 264 passing).  The Redskins finished the pre-season with a 1-3 record.