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

These two teams always seem to play good games regardless of records.  The Redskins and a very banged up team right now but they have proved the last two weeks to be a very dangerous opponent so the Eagles better not overlook them.  The Redskins will likely try to run a pretty balanced offense this week.  Rock Cartwright will be the main man in the running game for the Redskins and he is a good player despite opening the season #3 on the depth chart.  Jason Campbell will likely be under a heavy rush from the Eagles who already have 30 sacks this season so the passing game will likely be kept short.  That means that the Redskins WRs and TEs are going to have to be willing to go over the middle and it will be interesting to see if they have the stones to do so as it’s a pretty soft bunch.

Head Coach Andy Reid of the Eagles is so set in his ways that the Eagles will likely continue to throw the ball a lot this week despite the fact that the Redskins are only allowing 161.6 yards passing per game this year.  The thing that will help Donovan McNabb the most this week as he has deep weapons in Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and short guys in TE Brent Celek and RB Lesean McCoy in the passing game.  That will make it hard for the Redskins to key on anyone in the passing game.  The Redskins are allowing 128.4 yards rushing per game (4.4 ypc) so Lesean McCoy could have a big game if the Eagles give him the ball enough.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 20, REDSKINS 14

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