The Washington Redskins (4-11) will be rapping up their disappointing season on the road against the San Diego Chargers (12-3).  The Chargers have clinched a first round bye, so their starters probably won’t play a lot.  That means the Redskins have a very strong chance of winning this game.  The longer the Chargers’ starters play, the less likely the Redskins will win.  They may play more than you would think too since the Chargers have two weeks before their first playoff game.  They might want to keep their guys in rhythm and play them more, but they will still be resting up some no matter what.

Jason Campbell and the Redskins offense will likely get a lot of reps against the Chargers back-ups, so Campbell may have a big day.  I would expect more from the Redskins usual averages of 214 yards passing and 96 rushing yards per game, but it all depends on how much rest the Chargers’ starters get.  This is pretty much a meaningless game, but both teams will be playing with pride.  Although the Chargers starters aren’t expected to play a lot, I am still going to give them a small advantage at home.

PREDICTION:  San Diego Chargers 27, Washington Redskins 24

The Washington Redskins (3-9) have been losing a lot of close games this year, and holding on to a lead in the 4th quarter has been a problem for them.  Their opponent on Sunday, the Oakland Raiders (4-8), have won two of their last three and both of them were comeback wins.  If the Redskins want to avoid another late let down, they cannot let Raiders’ quarterback Bruce Gradkowski have a game like he did last week where he threw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Redskins do have a solid pass-defense, and are holding teams to under 200 yards on average.  If they can keep Gradkowski in check, they should win.

The Redskins offense needs more out of their running game.  With Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts both out, they will need Quinton Ganther and Rock Cartwright to step up.  Jason Campbell has been playing well lately, so if he can have another similar game his performance against the Saints last week, then the Redskins have a great shot.  This will probably be a close game, but I think the Redskins will be able to hold the Raiders off.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Washington Redskins 24, Oakland Raiders 20

The Washington Redskins (3-8) should pretty much put another loss in their record as they don’t have much of a chance against the New Orleans Saints (11-0).  The Redskins may be able to score some points, but they have no chance at keeping up with Drew Brees and the explosive Saints offense.  The best bet for the Redskins is to try and eat up as much clock as they can and keep the ball out of Brees’ hands.  That means Rock Cartwright will have to have the game of his life running the ball.

The Redskins defense probably already has a headache just trying to prepare for the Saints offense.  They are not a bad defense, but the Saints are on another level and will probably do whatever they want on offense like they have done most of the year.  They average 426 total yards of offense and no team has been able to beat them this year, so there is no way the 3-8 Redskins will be able to do what every other team has failed to do.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:   Washington Redskins 17, New Orleans Saints 42

It is rivalry week as the Washington Redskins (3-6) head to Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys (6-3).  Although the first place Cowboys are the better team, the Redskins always come ready to play against their rivals and have won five of the last eight contests.  The Skins will need to be on top of their game though and Jason Campbell will need more than 194 passing yard average he has had the past two games.  Campbell has been using a lot of short passes and screens lately to try and limit his interceptions, but to keep up with Tony Romo and Cowboys’ offense Campbell will have to take some shots down-field.  Campbell will have to do it without the help of Clinton Portis, who is sitting out another game due to a concussion he is still suffering the effects from.  That means Ladell Betts will be the starter again and hopefully he can repeat his performance from last week where he rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.

The Redskins defense should be taking note of how the Packers defended the Cowboys last week.  The Packers nearly shut the Cowboys out and completely shut down their running game.  If they can contain Marion Barber and Felix Jones like the Packers did last week, then it will make it a lot easier to defend Tony Romo and the passing game.  Romo is likely to make some mistakes and possibly throw a pick if the Redskins can eliminate the Cowboys’ running game.  This will be a tough task though, so I think the Cowboys will win a close one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 28, Washington Redskins 20

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 Washington Redskins (2-3) are at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (0-5) Sunday.  This will be the six game in a row that the Redskins are taking on a win-less team (including week one against 0-0 NY Giants).  They have not fared well against those teams, as the Detroit Lions ended a 19-game losing streak and the win-less Carolina Panthers beat them last week.  The Redskins do a terrible job of keeping a lead, proving that last week when they blew a 17-2 lead in their loss to the Panthers.  They are facing a Chiefs team that is improving and almost beat the Dallas Cowboys last week, falling in overtime 26-20.  They did have a late game comeback with 2:16 left in the 4th quarter to send the game into overtime, so this is going to be a tough game for the Redskins.

Quarterback Jason Campbell needs to step it up and play more consistently.  The Skins running game has been effective, with Clinton Portis having 338 yards on 91 carries (3.7 avg) and a touchdown.  Campbell has been very inconsistent and seems to be afraid to throw the ball down field.  He has a high completion percentage (67%) because he dumps it down almost every pass and struggles to get passed 200 passing yards.  The Redskins are going to need Campbell to have a good game, and he should since the Cheifs are giving up over 270 passing yards per game.  I think the Chiefs are improving a lot though, and the Redskins seem to be taking a step back each week as they either lose or barely beat win-less teams.  With the schedule they have had so far, they should be 4-1.  I think the Chiefs are going to upset the Redskins in this one, with Matt Cassel leading the way.  Cassel is a good quarterback when he is healthy, and has thrown seven touchdowns on 711 yards and only two interceptions with a 59 % completion rate.  The Redskins are going to fall again to a win-less team in a close game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 23, Washington Redskins 21

The Washington Redskins (2-2) are taking on another win-less team this week, as they are on the road against the Carolina Panthers (0-3).  The Redskins two wins were both against win-less teams and they are looking to continue that trend.  The Redskins should have a lot of success running the ball since the Panthers are the worst in the league at stopping the run.  They give up 183 rushing yards per game, so look for Redskins’ running back Clinton Portis to get a lot of carries.  Portis has rushed for 281 yards on 72 carries (3.9 avg) so far this year and has failed to rush for 100 yards in a game and has no touchdowns.  He could have himself a breakout game against the Panthers pathetic run defense, so I am expecting him to finally break that 100-yard barrier.

The Skins D is not very good at stopping the run either, so the Panthers’ running back DeAngelo Williams could have a big game.  Williams has rushed for 180 yards on 41 carries (4.4 avg) and has two touchdowns so far this season, so the Redskins need to make sure they slow him down.  They also have to worry about running back Jonathan Stewart, as the second year player has 99 yards on 23 carries (4.3 avg). If they can stop the running game than they will be in great shape to win the game, as the Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme has been having a horrible season and has thrown seven interceptions already.  The Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell has had some turnover problems recently as well, as he threw three picks last week.  If Campbell takes care of the ball in this game and if the Skins can limit the Panthers running game, then they should win this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Washington Redskins 28, Carolina Panthers 23

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.

I like the Redskins stable of running backs but teams will try to stack the box and dare the Redskins to throw the football.  The Redskins will need Jason Campbell and Antwaan Randle El to step up if the passing game is going to take off.  TE Chris Cooley and WR Santana Moss are outstanding targets in the passing game but they need help.  The defense should be better against the run with LB London Fletcher and rookie SS LaRon Landry.  Still, I have to take the under for the Redskins this season.

The over/under for Redskins wins is 9.  The Redskins are 18-1 to win the Super Bowl and 8-1 to win the NFC.

The Redskins are hard to figure out.  I think they could go over or under, so I would just not bet either way.