The Redskins and Texans both won hard fought, emotional battles over division foes last week.  We’ll find out soon enough on Sunday which team still has enough gas in the tank to prevail.  Here is a look at the match-ups:

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins will likely try to run the ball more this week in an attempt to keep the high powered Texans’ offense on the sideline.  Clinton Portis should be up to the challenge against a Texans’ D that gave up 4.4 ypc last week.  The Colts did throw for 419 yards on the Texans last week so Donovan McNabb should have more success putting the ball in the air in this game.  He will need to spread the ball around more this week though as Santana Moss and Chris Cooley caught 12 of his 15 completions.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans’ game plan will likely be much different this weekend against the Redskins.  Arian Foster will likely only get around 20 carries instead of the 33 he got last week.  Matt Schaub has to be licking his chops after watching game film of the Redskins’ D last week.  Look for Andre Johnson to potentially have a monster game this week.  Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones and Owen Daniels will also likely see a big bump in targets this week.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 27, REDSKINS 17

The Redskins were swept by a combined score of 24-6 last season by the Cowboys.  The Redskins have a couple of new sheriffs in town this year in QB Donovan McNabb and head coach Mike Shanahan.  The new look will begin this Sunday Night and here’s a look at the match-ups in that game:

When the Redskins have the ball:  Mike Shanahan’s new zone blocking scheme will be implemented for this game which means Clinton Portis could very well look like a new RB.  I look for the Redskins to attack the middle of the Cowboys’ D early and often to keep them honest before heading to the air.  Donovan McNabb has always liked to throw to his TEs so Chris Cooley and Fred Davis could have a huge game against the Cowboys’ safeties who aren’t the most talented pair around.  If the Redskins can keep DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer out of the backfield then Donovan McNabb is going to take some deep shots to Santana Moss, Joey Galloway and Anthony Armstrong. 

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Redskins are going to let ILBs London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh and NT Maake Kemoeatu handle the Cowboys’ running game.  That way the rest of the guys can deal with Tony Romo and his outstanding receivers.  LaRon Landry will likely get Jason Witten detail most of the night.  Reed Doughty will likely have to give help to whoever his guarding Miles Austin which means that Dez Bryant and Roy Williams will likely have single coverage.  The Redkins will blitz OLBs Andre Carter and Brian Orakpo as soon as they get off the bus in an attempt to get into Tony Romo’s head.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 17, REDSKINS 13

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

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 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

This game is no doubt going to be a defensive battle on Monday Night Football.  The Eagles can’t afford to throw the ball every down in this game to have success.  The Redskins will be likely blitzing a little bit more than usual taking a page from the game plan the Raiders used last week to shut the Eagles down.  To slow the blitzing the Eagles must run the ball and throw screen passes to Brian Westbrook and Lesean McCoy.  If the Eagles don’t have any threat of a running game than Donovan McNabb will be a sitting duck like last week.  The Redskins give up 118.0 yards rushing per game so the Eagles would be smart to mix things up better on offense in this game.

It will be interesting to see how new offensive co-ordinator Sherm Lewis plans to attack the Eagles’ D.  The thought here is that Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts will be very busy running the ball against a Eagles’ D that is allowing 103.8 yards rushing per game but only 3.6 yards per carry.  The Eagles will be blitzing from the minute they get off the team bus so look for Jason Campbell to throw a lot of short passes to TE Chris Cooley.  The Raiders’ TE Zach Miller repeatedly torched the Eagles last week so look for Cooley to have a big game.  If the Eagles start to sneak up to stop the running game and the TE look for the Redskins to throw the ball downfield no matter who the QB is.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 16, REDSKINS 13