Starting running back Clinton Portis will be out at least this week and maybe longer due to a serious concussion he suffered last week against the Falcons.  He has carried the ball 124 times for 494 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 9 passes for 57 yards (6.3 avg) with a TD grab so far this season.  Ladell Betts will get the first chance to replace Portis but he has a banged up ankle.  He has carried the ball 26 times for 91 yards (3.5 ypc) with a TD run and he has also caught 16 passes for 173 yards (10.8 avg).  If Betts were healthy the Redskins wouldn’t suffer much of a dropoff with Portis out but with him gimpy Rock Cartwright might get a chance to get in on the fun.  He has carried the ball 8 times for 27 yards (3.4 ypc) and he has also caught 4 passes for 11 yards (2.8 avg) this season.  The Redskins have also re-signed RB Quinton Ganther to help out with depth at running back while Portis is out of action.

The Washington Redskins (2-6) are going into their game Sunday against the Denver Broncos (6-2) a little banged up.  Quarterback Jason Campbell is going to play through an ankle injury and running back Clinton Portis is out with a concussion.  His back-up Ladell Betts is probable, as he is also battling an ankle injury.  The offense will have a big challenge, especially since their top skill positions are not 100%.  The Broncos have lost two straight though, giving up an average of 29 points in those losses.  They only give up 280 total yards a game though, so it will be a tough one of the Redskins.

The Redskins defense should attack Kyle Orton the way the Steelers did last week.  Orton has his worst game of the season, throwing three picks.  If the Skins can mimick what the Steelers did, they will have a great shot at the upset win.  Their running game struggled as well, but don’t expect that to happen again.  The Redskins will need to get a lot of turnovers if they want to win this one, but I don’t really see that happening so I’m picking the Broncos in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Denver Broncos 27, Washington Redskins 17

The Redskins have lost starting safety Chris Horton for 4-6 weeks due to ligament damage in his toe.  Horton has played in all 8 games for the Redskins this season and he has made 37 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, he has forced 1 fumble and he has defensed 3 passes.  Reed Doughty will replace Horton in the starting lineup at strong safety.  He has played in all 8 games for the Redskins this season and he has made 43 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and he has 1 sack.  This is only a minor downgrade for the Skins as Doughty is a decent player.

UPDATE:  The Redskins have placed Chris Horton on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.

The Redskins were awful again earlier today as they fell behind 24-3 at the half before showing some pride in the second half.  Jason Campbell completed 15 of 22 passes for 196 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (which was returned 62 yards for a TD by Falcons’ CB Tye Hill).  The pick six was not entirely his fault as the pass bounced off Fred Davis’ brick hands.  Campbell also carried the ball 5 times for 40 yards (8.0 ypc).  Todd Collins finished up this mess by completing 4 of 5 passes for 12 yards.  Ladell Betts led the way for the Redskins on the ground with 15 carries for 70 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Fullback Mike Sellers led the way in the passing game for the Skins with 56 yards receiving on 3 catches (18.7 avg).  Santana Moss pitched in with 5 catches for 47 yards (9.4 avg).  The Redskins finished up with 312 total yards in this game on offense (136 rushing, 176 passing).

Safeties Chris Horton and Reed Doughty led the way for the Redskins with six tackles apiece in this game.  But, rookie OLB Brian Orakpo was the best player on the D today for the Skins as he finished up with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  The Falcons rolled up 306 total yards on offense in this game (181 rushing, 125 passing).  The Redskins are now 2-6 on the season.

Kicker Steve Suisham has done a very solid job for the Redskins this season.  He is 9 for 9 on field goals and he is 9 for 10 on extra points.  That means that the Redskins have only left 1 point on the field because of the kicking game.  That is outstanding and with the Redskins’ offense struggling they need to make every point count and Suisham is kicking great this season.

The Washington Redskins need to get something going on offense if they are to start winning some games.  The Atlanta D will give the Redskins a lot of opportunities to get back on track as they are allowing 121.7 yards rushing and 256.4 yards passing per game this season.  Personally, I would just come out and pound the Falcons’ D with Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts until the Falcons prove they can stop it.  That would make things a lot easier on Jason Campbell who has not had his best year so far.  Still, look for TE Fred Davis to be big part of the offense in this game for the Redskins this week on the short stuff over the middle.  If the Redskins indeed establish a good running game then they will likely go up top to Santana Moss.

The Falcons will have to deal with a solid Redskins’ D that is only allowing 283.5 yards of total offense (118.6 rushing, 164.9 passing) per game this season.  With that in mind look for the Falcons to continue riding the hot hand which belongs to Michael Turner.  The Redskins are only allowing 3.9 yards per carry despite giving up 118.6 yards per game on the ground.  The Falcons’ O-Line has only allowed Matt Ryan to be sacked 9 times this season but they will have their hands full with DE Andre Carter who has 6.5 sacks.  Tony Gonzalez likely has the chance to have a big game here as the Redskins will no doubt try to take WR Roddy White out of this game.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 23, REDSKINS 20

The Redskins have signed 25-year old punter Sam Paulescu.  Paulescu will step right into the starting lineup this weekend against the Falcons.  Paulescu has played in 11 games in his NFL career and he has punted the ball 58 times for 2,434 yards (42.0 avg) so far.  He has pinned the opposition inside the 20-yard line 15 times (25.9%) and he only has 5 touchbacks (8.6%) in his career.  The Redskins might have Paulescu as a long term option at punter as Hunter Smith’s groin is acting up once again.  The Skins are considering putting him on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.  The Redskins have released Quinton Ganther to make room on the roster for the Paulescu.

The Redskins will be without backup linebacker H.B. Blades against the Falcons this weekend due to the fact that he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last Tuesday.  Blades has 10 tackles this season as he mostly just plays on special teams for the Redskins.  They shouldn’t miss him too much against the Falcons.

The Redskins will be without Byron Westbrook for at least one week due to recent minor knee surgery.  Westbrook has played in 7 games this season for the Redskins and he has 4 tackles.  He has also returned 1 punt for 0 yards.  The Redskins won’t miss Westbrook too much as he does most of his work on special teams.