Welcome back Clinton Portis. Hello offense, good-bye grumbling.
Washington quarterback Mark Brunell may have completed his first 22 passes for an NFL mark, but the Redskins’ 31-15 victory over Houston on Sunday was really about Portis. It wasn’t just his 30-yard touchdown run to seal the game at halftime or even his 164 combined yards and two scores that made the difference. Portis gave the Redskins someone to follow after barely playing in the 0-2 start because of a bad shoulder.
“It was fun having an opportunity to be back on the field,” Portis said. “The energy was there. The excitement was there.”
Oh, there was plenty of excitement. Houston is one of the NFL’s worst teams so Washington should have kicked them to the curb. If not, the season would have been essentially done.
Maybe it’s false courage given Houston won two games last year and has a new coach, but Washington needed something to believe it can beat Jacksonville, the New York Giants and Indianapolis in the coming month. The Redskins now know they can score often and their quarterback isn’t over the hill.
“There is pressure,” coach Joe Gibbs said. “We’ve been through a long streak here not having anything to cheer about. That’s so depressing for everybody. It is a big relief for me and for the coaching staff and players.”
The Redskins found their groove through the short game. Brunell threw so many dinks and dunks that Dunkin Donuts is a new sponsor. Offensive guru AlSaunders realized Brunell no longer has the arm to go deep so the offense was pulled closer. High-percentage plays simply overwhelmed the Texans.
The offensive line manhandled the Texans at times and kept Brunell off his back. While repeated penalties — including holding calls on both tackles on the same play — can’t happen against good teams, the blocking was respectable.
And the backfield was outstanding. Everything is possible when Southeast Jerome is running downfield. Portis’ 74 yards off a short pass after Houston took a 7-0 lead may have saved the season.
Ladell Betts delivered a breakout 124-yard effort with one touchdown. There’s nothing like rushing for 234 yards and three touchdowns overall to set up the passing game.
Does this mean the playoff chase is alive? Only if the defense plays better, penalties are reduced and the offense overcomes coming defenses that will play eight-man fronts.
But if nothing else, the coming weeks now seem worth watching.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
