He matched the acclaimed quarterback on the other side, lifting spirits with his performance. The loss mattered; but Jason Campbell’s career day soothed the disappointment, for some at least. He handled the no-huddle with savvy; he directed fourth-quarter scoring drives and scared Dallas.
But here’s what Campbell focused on: his late-game interception.
“That’s the one play I remember,” he said.
It’s the one play that prompted him to cry in the locker room after the game; that caused him to later call his brother and dad seeking solace and a few words of wisdom.
Campbell passed for a career-best 348 yards and threw two touchdown passes. He also nearly led a rally, and huge upset, at Dallas. But the one play he regrets is the one that all but clinched the 28-23 Cowboys victory.
On third and 10 from the Dallas 19-yard line, Campbell ran to his right away from the pressure. He threw slightly across his body to Antwaan Randle El, but corner Terence Newman was right there for the easy interception.
“I was kind of indecisive whether to run or whether try to make a playto Randle El,” Campbell said. “I should have ran.”
But some of the players wonder if his performance might change how the offense is run over the next six games. Clearly, the Redskins don’t want Campbell to throw 54 times as he had to Sunday, a result of running their two-minute offense just before halftime and because they struggled to run as well as desired.
“You definitely can build on it,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. “It showed we could throw the football.”
But Gibbs also stresses balance more than anything, a point he emphasized Monday. Still, between Sunday and the rise of using the no-huddle, the Redskins’ offense is becoming more multi-dimensional.
“We have become more of an open-up offense, without a doubt,” Gibbs said. “The more chances we get, the more chances those guys have to make plays. When we limit it, it’s hard for those guys to make a lot of plays.”
Campbell threw for 258 yards after halftime. The wideouts combined for 21 catches, a sign of a new aggressiveness.
“Hopefully it means coaches see something and continue to let him do that,” receiver Santana Moss said. “I don’t want to take away from being balanced, but if we can get up on a team and stay in it for the fourth quarter with a good team, then we should be able to open it up every now and then. It shouldn’t be a thing that you just do in desperate measures.”
Or, as cornerback Fred Smoot said, “They just need to let Jason play.”
