The play broke down at the start, with the line failing to heed the protection change. And a linebacker burst through the middle, intent on reaching Jason Campbell. Help arrived as Mike Sellers altered his path just a bit, bumping the defender off stride.
Not that it bothered the Redskins quarterback. He calmly stepped aside, his eyes focused downfield on a sprinting Santana Moss, and unleashed a perfect pass for a 67-yard game-winning touchdown.
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Campbell’s timely throws gave the Redskins an improbable 29-24 win over visiting New Orleans (1-1).
Washington (1-1) trailed by nine points on two occasions in the third quarter.
But the running game — Clinton Portis rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns — and Campbell’s timely throws rallied the Redskins.
“Every week he gets better and better,” Moss said, “and we get better with him.”
Campbell completed 24 of 36 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown, for a passer rating of 104.1; the Redskins gained 455 total yards. This followed a week in which Campbell received criticism following a lackluster Week 1 performance against the Giants.
Not that he showed much early in this win. Among others, Campbell missed Moss in the second quarter when he threw too late as the receiver broke inside the Saints’ 5-yard line.
“He didn’t hit every throw that was there,” Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. “I was frustrated.”
Three throws ended the frustration:
» On second and 22 from his own 6, and trailing 24-15 midway through the fourth quarter, Campbell drilled a 23-yard pass to tight end Chris Cooley in the right seam. Portis capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.
“That was the biggest play of the game for us,” Campbell said of the pass.
» On the game-winning touchdown, Campbell changed the protection, spotting the free safety showing blitz. Moss had single coverage on the right and the safety, playing deep middle, couldn’t get over.
The line was mixed up on the protection scheme, guard Pete Kendall said, allowing the linebacker to come through the middle. Campbell, knocked by his coach for botching a similar scenario last week, handled this one well.
“To crank one like that, wow, that was a big throw,” said Zorn. “He took a big step forward today. … He just grew this whole week.”
» The final pass of the game was a third and 2 slant to Moss. That clinched the game for Washington.
“Jason gained a lot today, confidence and motivation,” Moss said. “Motivation that he can win with his arm and confidence that he has guys who can catch the ball.”
UP NEXT » Redskins vs. Cardinals
WHEN » Sunday, 1 p.m.
WHERE » FedEx Field
TV » FOX
RADIO » 980 AM/SIRIUS 126
Arizona enters with a 2-0 record, but the Cards have done it against San Francisco and Miami. So how good are they? Quarterback Kurt Warner can still hurt teams thanks to quick decisions and accurate throws.
