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(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “It’s a Disaster” by OK Go

After losing to yet another doormat last week, falling to the previously winless Carolina Panthers 20-17, the Washington Redskins absolutely needed a strong showing against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday.

That’s because, heading into the Chiefs game, the Redskins were just 2-3 after playing one of the easiest schedules in the history of the NFL.

Kansas City came into the game as the sixth-consecutive team the ‘Skins have faced this season without a win. And if you toss aside the New York Giants, who Washington played week one, the combined record of St. Louis, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Carolina was 2-17 – with both wins coming against the burgundy and gold.

So yeah, if there was ever such thing as a must-win game … well, this was it.

Of course, nothing is easy for the 2009 Washington Redskins.

That’s the only explanation for running back Clinton Portis fumbling away the ball on the opening drive – ensuring that yet another pitiful team felt they were in the game against the Redskins. And sadly, the rest of the first half was even worse, with Washington heading into the locker room down 3-0 at the break.

Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell completed nine out of 16 passes for 89 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and a QB rating of 46.1. Portis went into halftime with just 23 yards on 11 carries and the fumble. We’d mention someone in the passing game, but the Redskins don’t have one.

Seriously though, the ‘Skins offense had just four first downs in the first half and were behind in pretty much any category the NFL keeps stats in.

Campbell and the offense were so ineffective that the Chiefs nearly doubled their time of possession (19:51 to 10:09), which meant that even though the Redskins defense had performed well, they were on the field way too much in the first half.

At that point, no one could have faulted coach Jim Zorn if he threw a uniform on and trotted out onto the field to play quarterback himself to start the second half. Anything had to be better than what ‘Skins fans were subjected to in the first half.

2. “A Good Idea at the Time” by Ok Go

Todd Collins is more than a back-up quarterback. He’s a savior. At least, that’s what we’ve heard over and over and over and over pretty much all season long from a vocal minority of Redskins fans who swore he was the answer to all the team’s problems.

Nevermind that he’s only ever been successful running an Al Saunders offense (*700-page playbook not included) he has roughly four decades of experience in. These fans were adamant that he could step in immediately and become a West Coast sensation overnight, quickly showing fans, coaches and Jason Campbell himself how a quarterback should play.

All of that sounds great … until Collins actually got in the game.

His first pass attempt was a thing of beauty – a 42-yard bomb to wide out Santana Moss. But the rest of Collins’ outing was remarkable for one reason – he actually played so poorly that fans chanted “We Want Campbell! We Want Campbell!”

For the day, Collins went six for 14 for 75 yards (with a QB rating of 60.1). Take away the Moss pass, and you’re looking at five completions on 13 attempts for 33 yards. And that’s before we mention that he was sacked twice, fumbled twice and brought down for a safety when the game was on the line because he’s too slow to actually avoid any sort of rush.

We doubt it, but maybe, just maybe, Collins dreadful day was enough to show those fans that Tom Brady couldn’t be successful in the Redskins offense, as presently constructed.

The offensive line is a joke. No one plays with any confidence. Points are so hard to come by that our good friends from Japers’ Rink pointed out that the Redskins and Alex Ovechkin both finished the week with six points (with Ovechkin winning the tiebreaker via his shootout goal Saturday night against Nashville).

3. “Maybe, This Time” by Ok Go

As you all know by now, Portis and fullback Mike Sellers had a little dust up recently after Sellers found out that Portis asked the coaches to bench Big Mike in favor of Todd Yoder.

It seems, after seeing Sellers miss key blocks time and time again, Portis finally had enough and figured it was easier to change fullbacks instead of waiting for Sellers to learn how to pick up the right defender. So why do we bring this up?

Well, Portis has 73 touchdowns over the span of his eight-year career. And none of those 73 touchdowns were as long as the 78-yard run Portis broke off early in the third quarter against Kansas City. But did Portis get in the endzone on the longest run of his career? Nope. Not a chance. And why is that? You guessed it. Because Sellers had one guy to block and couldn’t do it, so Portis got tackled on the 10-yard line.

The Redskins had to settle for a fieldgoal that drive and any hope of someone other than kicker Shaun Suisham scoring points on the day was crushed.

Sobering fact: the Redskins have given up as many safeties as they’ve scored touchdowns over the last two weeks. So basically, if they’re in an endzone, it’s 50-50 as to which team gets to celebrate.

4. “Do What You Want” by OK Go

Say what you will about the conditioning of Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, but the guy continues to impact games more than anyone else wearing burgundy and gold this year.

Against Kansas City, Fat Albert was everywhere – finishing the game with five tackles, four quarterback hits, one pass defended and a half of a sack. But the Haynesworth effect goes much further than just one guy – all he has to do is take the field and it free up his teammates to make plays around him because of the constant double and triple teams that Haynesworth requires.

That explains why defensive end Andre Carter has 5.5 sacks in six games, after finishing the 2008 season with just four sacks. It also explains how a rookie like linebacker/defensive end Brian Orakpo can have four sacks through six games when the guy he effectively replaced, All-Pro defensive end Jason Taylor, had just four all last season. Opposing offenses have to gameplan so much for Haynesworth that his teammates can’t help but to benefit.

The Redskins had five sacks against the Chiefs, and have 11 sacks over the last three weeks. All this from a team that recorded only 24 sacks all last year. So yeah, we’ve got no problem with Haynesworth coming off the field for a couple plays here and there. Because he still impacts the game more than anyone else on the roster – even when he’s only on the field for 65 percent of the snaps.

5. “Shortly Before the End” by OK Go

The Jim Zorn Era is officially coming to an end. That’s the only reasonable explanation for the news that Vinny Cerrato relieved Zorn of his playcalling duties.

It might be difficult to believe now, but when Cerrato and friends first hired Zorn before the 2008 season, it was to be the offensive coordinator. Management was convinced this guy was an innovator and, more importantly, that Zorn was the guy who could get Campbell to reach his potential.

Of course, legitimate NFL head coaches don’t like to walk into a situation where your boss has already handpicked your staff, so no one else wanted to take over the Redskins head coaching job, which is why Zorn received the promotion to coach just 15 days later.

After a 6-2 start, everything looked great. The Redskins offense looked solid and Campbell went a month at a time without throwing an interception. But then something happened. Maybe defenses caught up to Zorn’s west coast offense or the offense became too predictable.

Whatever the case, the ‘Skins have gone just 4-10 since then and now Zorn has been stripped of the sole reason he was brought to D.C. in the first place. We fully understand that things aren’t working on offense for the Redskins, but this isn’t the way to improve the situation. All this does is cut the legs out from under Zorn.

In a perfect world, he’d have said, “I’m not giving up playcalling. Either fire me or go away.” Unfortunately, he’s too classy for that. So he’ll be left to dangle in the wind until management sees fit to finally let him go. And when he’s gone, a new coach with a new quarterback will take over and eventually suffer the same fate, unless owner Daniel Snyder realizes the organization’s problems run a lot deeper than a coach or a quarterback.

Our only question is: how ironic is it that Cerrato was the one to tell Zorn he’s in over his head?

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Ordinary People” by John Legend

The city of Charlotte is beautiful. The locals are ridiculously friendly. And because the Carolina Panthers are still a relatively new franchise, there are still an obscene amount of diehard Washington Redskins fans in the area.

So much so, that a handful of the local media members were convinced Sunday’s game would be a home game for the ‘Skins, with burgundy and gold supporters outnumbering disgruntled Panther fans still waiting for the team’s first win of the season.

Here’s the kicker – regardless of which team you cheer for, it’s virtually impossible not to notice how similar these two teams are. Both have supremely talented individuals who, for one reason or another, don’t necessarily translate to team wins. Both teams are at their best when the running game is doing the heavy lifting and the quarterback doesn’t get in the way. Both defenses want to play aggressive and make the opposing signal callers uncomfortable.

And through the first month of the season, there are even more similarities. Neither team has been able to put together a full 60-minute performance. At times, both teams look careless with the football on offense, resulting in too many fumbles and interceptions. Neither team has much of a margin of error. The biggest difference between the Redskins and Panthers? Washington came in 2-2, while the Panthers were 0-3.

When running back Clinton Portis caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Jason Campbell it wasn’t a product of the Redskins offense doing anything special, rather it came courtesy of a Panther turnover on their opening drive. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the gift-wrapped touchdown was exactly what the Redskins did for Tampa Bay one week earlier.

If there was any justice in this world, this game featuring two mediocre teams still searching for an identity, would have ended in a tie.

2. “Tie My Hands” by Lil Wayne

Roughly three minutes into the game, the Redskins were dealt a stomach punch that would quickly alter the rest of the afternoon. Offensive tackle Chris Samuels collided with a defender head on and suffered a “stinger,” which is essentially numbness in his neck and shoulder. Team doctors felt it was best for Samuels to take the rest of the day off, which meant a guy you’ve never heard of – namely reserved offensive lineman D’Anthony Batiste – was thrust into action.

It should also be mentioned that before the game, the coaching staff decided to bench right guard Chad Rinehart in favor of “Big” Mike Williams, who was making his first start since 2005. So basically, 40 percent of the offensive line was comprised of people who never play. Kind of limits what you can do as an offense, right?

“It changed a lot,” said Campbell. “It changed the whole dynamic of our offense and what we wanted to do. It was a tough situation to lose Chris early in the game. It hurts our play-action game, it hurts our run game and it’s definitely a tough situation when you lose him that early in the game.”

Campbell wasn’t exaggerating. The ‘Skins offense was nonexistent without Samuels, a six-time Pro Bowler, in the lineup. Washington had a total of 10 possessions on the day – two touchdowns, one fieldgoal, five punts, one turnover on downs and one safety allowed. Their two touchdown drives came only because the Redskins defense created turnovers and put them so close to the endzone that they HAD to score. Combined, the two drives were three plays for 14 yards.

There was no rushing game. Campbell was sacked five times, compared to just eight sacks through the first four weeks. If you’re looking for a reason why the offense failed to show up on a day the team somehow managed to score 17 points, look no further. If you’re looking for answers as to why the team ignored upgrading the team’s biggest weakness, the aging and fragile offensive line, well … we hear the general manager has a radio show.

3. “Nothingman” by Pearl Jam

It goes without saying that the Redskins had to change up their gameplan without Samuels in the lineup. We understand that means sacrificing some receiving options to provide extra support for your pass blockers. But it’s simply inexcusable that tight end Chris Cooley didn’t have a single catch on the day.

In fact, Cooley didn’t have a single pass even thrown his way against Carolina. The only time he touched the ball was when he recovered a fumble by wide out Santana Moss in the second quarter. This from a guy who has been the one constant on the Redskins offense in 2009.

He came into the game with 22 catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns on the year and at least one reception in 75 consecutive games. Sadly, after this weekend, he’ll have to start that streak over again.

4. “Can I Kick It” By A Tribe Called Quest

It shall forever be known as “The Tough Muff.”

With the Redskins clinging to a 17-12 lead with roughly 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the game took a controversial turn when wide out Antwaan Randle El was back to field a punt. Cornerback Byron Westbrook was attempting to block his man while Randle El waved for a fair catch. Unfortunately for the ‘Skins, the punt was short and Randle El had no chance to actually make the fair catch.

Instead, what you saw was Westbrook, who was locked up with a Panther gunner, driven back into Randle El and during the chaos the ball bounced off of Westbrook’s foot. Carolina recovered the ball and scored moments later. Game. Set. Match.

When the team was up 17-2 in the second half, it didn’t look like it would happen, but fear not, in the end, the Redskins found the banana peel. And for the third time this season, a previously winless team leaves with victory number one courtesy of the burgundy and gold.

5. “Panic Switch” by Silversun Pickups

Even fans in denial about the current state of the Redskins know that coach Jim Zorn is on the hot seat right about now. Heading into the Carolina game at 2-2, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility to believe Zorn and friends would need to win at least two out of three games before the bye week to stave off his impatient owner and remain employed.

Another loss to another bottom dweller isn’t going to help anyone’s cause – especially when pretty much every mainstream outlet that covers sports has used the words “Mike Shanahan” and “Washington Redskins” in the same sentence over the last week.

If that’s the case, the ‘Skins would need to defeat the winless Kansas City Chiefs and divisional rival Philadelphia Eagles to save their head coach.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “No Sign of Life” by OK Go

A week after losing to the pitiful Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins returned to FedEx Field for a matchup with the rebuilding Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the Lions had history on their side – namely the second-longest losing streak in NFL history – the Bucs might actually be the worse team this season.

One week ago, Tampa Bay got beat down by the New York Giants 24-0 in a game so ugly that they didn’t even get a first down until the third quarter. We’ll say it again – no first downs for an entire half of football.

Most teams would absolutely relish the chance to beat up on a bad Buccaneers squad, but this game was viewed entirely different in D.C.

A win was absolutely mandatory, because a loss meant that the wheels had officially come off the 2009 season. Had the ‘Skins lost, things would have reached a low usually reserved for Steve Spurrier or Richie Petitbon. Conversations wouldn’t focus on “if” head coach Jim Zorn and quarterback Jason Campbell were going to be run out of town, but “when.”

So what happened? Campbell fumbled on the opening drive and Tampa Bay immediately capitalized – with some nobody rookie quarterback named Josh Johnson connecting on an eight-yard pass to a formerly relevant wide out named Antonio Bryant to give the Bucs a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game. Once again the Redskins went out of their way to ensure an inferior opponent was in the game from the outset.

No sense doing anything the easy way. The rest of the first half was even worse. The Redskins had a total of six possessions in the first half and they resulted in three punts and three Campbell turnovers. The Redskins had just 99 yards of total offense at the half and for the first time, we seriously thought that Zorn should consider bringing in backup Todd Collins to try and get something going. Thankfully, it didn’t have to come to that.

2. “Adrenaline!” by The Roots

With the Redskins offense missing in action, the team needed someone – anyone – to step up and make a play. That’s when cornerback DeAngelo Hall made the biggest play of the season for the ‘Skins. Johnson dropped back on third down and floated a pass down the right sideline. As soon the ball left Johnson’s hand, Hall broke away from his man and dropped back into coverage to intercept the pass and set up Campbell and the offense with good field position.

Washington had the ball three times in the third quarter and put points on the board each possession. Campbell, the same guy who warranted being benched in the first half, completed seven of nine passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter. But the numbers don’t even do Campbell justice, because both of his touchdown passes were big-time completions.

The first, a rare redzone score, was threaded perfectly to tight end Chris Cooley in traffic. The second, was a 59-yard bomb that hit wide out Santana Moss in stride as he raced down the right sideline for the winning touchdown. A 10-0 dud was suddenly 16-10, with all momentum securely in favor of the burgundy and gold.

3. “We Made You” by Eminem

If the Redskins are smart, Vinny Cerrato will be on the phone first thing Monday morning attempting to trade for Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib. That’s because the Kansas product intercepted three Campbell passes on the day. To put that in perspective, the only person who caught more passes from Campbell Sunday was Cooley, who had five catches for 65 yards.

Sure, the Redskins had a chance to draft Talib during the 2008 NFL Draft before the Bucs ultimately chose him with the 20th pick. But they don’t like using the draft anyways, so why not offer a handful of draft picks and convert the guy to receiver? He’s already caught three passes from Campbell this year, which is one less than the production of tight end Fred Davis and receiver Devin Thomas combined. We’d say more on the subject, but honestly, we just threw up a little.

4. “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion

As if the Redskins weren’t facing enough adversity, the team was dealt a sucker punch when 2009 MVP Hunter “The Punter” Smith was forced to leave the game with strained groin after his first punt of the day. Which meant kicker Shaun “Shazam” Suisham was called into duty on his behalf, and while his numbers were anything but spectacular – three punts for an average of 26.7 yards and a long of just 32 – his performance was huge. Especially when you find out Suisham last punted in a game situation back in high school.

So yeah, while we despise Celine Dion, we hear Canadians love her. And since the Canadian kicker got the job done when the team needed someone from the bullpen, we’ll turn the volume down a little and let him enjoy his national anthem.

5. “Bouncin’ Back” by Mystikal

This was not a great week for safety Chris “The Predator” Horton. First, he becomes the fallguy for the team’s disappointing start and gets pulled from the starting lineup in favor of Reed Doughty. Then, some jackass fan who writes a blog on Horton’s website thought it was appropriate to call out defensive coordinator Greg Blache, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and Hall. Nevermind the fact that we’re completely convinced Haynesworth is unstable. An athlete (not named Terrell Owens) never calls out a teammate. And sure, the guy who wrote this is a nobody … but he wrote it on Horton’s site. Which makes Horton look bad.

So yeah, this was not the best week ever for “The Predator.”

And even though he played less snaps than usual, Horton made his time on the field count. And for the second-straight home game, when the Redskins needed one play to preserve the victory, Horton stepped up. Defensive lineman Jeremy Jarmon stripped the ball loose from Tampa Bay running back Clifton Smith and Horton dove on the ball. Game. Set. Match.

At this point, the Redskins have two legitimate playmakers in the secondary – Horton and Hall. When either is near the ball, good things happen. And the more plays Horton makes, the harder it’ll be for coaches to keep him off the field.

(photo by Paul Sancya)

1. “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugees

The most intriguing aspect for the Washington Redskins as they headed to Detroit to face the winless Lions was simple – how would the team respond leaving the hostile-work environment known as FedEx Field in favor of Detroit?

Yes, that’s how bad things had gotten just three weeks into the 2009 season. The ‘Skins needed to pack up the car for a road trip in order to get away from the boo birds, so they headed to Motown, where a mostly apathetic Lions fanbase has seen so many losses over the last decade or so that, if they show up on gameday, it’s usually with a brown paper bag over their heads.

What happened next is already well known. The Redskins are now officially the laughingstock of the NFL, losing to Detroit 19-14. It’s the Lion’s first victory since Dec. 23, 2007, and snaps the second-longest losing streak in league history. If reserve linebacker Robert Henson didn’t like the home crowd last week, just wait until next week against Tampa Bay the first time the Redskins go three-and-out.

Sunday the Redskins lost in front of the smallest crowd in Ford Field history (less than 41,000). There’ll be twice as many people in attendance at FedEx Field next week, and it’s a safe bet they’re not going to be in a great mood. Things are about to get interesting around here.

2. “Pity and Fear” by Death Cab For Cutie

Here’s the most painful part of it all – the Lions pretty much dominated this game from start to finish. They held the ball for nearly 37 minutes. They had 381 yards of total offense. They converted 10 of 18 third downs. Led by a rookie quarterback making just his third professional start, they marched up and down the field at will – putting together four monster scoring drives against what we believed was a dominant Redskins defense.

The Lions first scoring drive went 99 yards in 12 plays. Their second scoring drive went 74 yards in 11 plays. Their third scoring drive went 86 yards in 18 plays. Their fourth and final scoring drive went 85 yards in eight plays. Meanwhile, the Redskins started the game with an 11-play drive that went 75 yards and put zero points on the board because the team couldn’t find the endzone. One team was able to impose its will Sunday. The other team was the Redskins.

3. “Moment of Clarity” by Jay-Z

This isn’t going to be very popular, but we feel it needs to be said. Mike Sellers is quite possibly the most overrated member of the Washington Redskins. Think about it. Any time someone is telling you how great Sellers is, it’s normally him talking. And honestly, every time we make it a point to watch him during a game, we come away less than impressed.

Last week he dropped a “gimme” touchdown pass that would have gone a long way towards quieting the backlash the team felt from fans after barely pulling out a victory against the woeful St. Louis Rams. This week, we watched him stand flat footed on a pass from Campbell that the defender had time to run around Sellers to defend. Had the defensive back been able to hold onto the ball, it would have been the easiest interception for a touchdown of his career – all while Sellers stood there wondering what the hell just happened.

And that’s not even the worst part. For more than a year we’ve noticed a very troubling trend. Every single time the Redskins have absolutely had to gain one yard with the game on the line, they fail. The team’s offensive line issues are well documented, but if we’re talking about going for it on fourth-and-a-foot, shouldn’t your supposed Pro Bowl fullback be able to get enough push to get your Pro Bowl running back that one yard?

We’re not even mentioning the debacle that was Sellers carrying the football in Cincinnati last year. No need to go that far back. Just last week, Sellers and the Redskins offense couldn’t get it done on fourth down as the ‘Skins tried to run out the clock, and it happened again on the first drive of the day against Detroit. Go back and watch the play again – and specifically watch Sellers. If you do, chances are you’ll come away thinking the same thing we did – if this is his best effort, it’s a good thing he already got paid.

4. “This Place is a Prison” by The Postal Service

Which brings us to running back Clinton Portis.

Where do we begin? His offensive line is old and unreliable. His fullback is more flash than substance. And when the Redskins are driving down the field with minutes left in their worst-case scenario (you know, losing to the worst team imaginable), Portis contributed as much as Tom Cruise. That’s because Portis was, for reasons unbeknownst to us, sidelined in favor of the rarely used Rock Cartwright.

Think about it – you’ve got one of the premiere backs in football at your disposal, and you opt to go with a guy trying to stave off nobodies like Marcus Mason and Anthony Alridge just for playing time. In what world does that make sense?

With time running out on the game and possibly even the competitive portion of the season, Campbell completed three consecutive passes to Cartwright, the third of which was the team’s third offensive touchdown of 2009. Meanwhile, Portis might as well have read lines with Cruise. At least then he could have felt like he was doing something to earn a paycheck.

Through three games Portis has just 47 carries for 183 yards and zero touchdowns. A year ago, Portis had 65 carries for 248 yards and three touchdowns through the first three games. In the words of Joe Theismann, “It’s not rocket surgery.” He can’t help if he doesn’t touch the football. And people wonder why, from time to time, Portis daydreams about playing for a different franchise.

5. “Never Change” by Jay-Z

There will be plenty of “Fire Jim Zorn” talk this week. There will be call for the benching/trading/deporting of Jason Campbell. Just know, those folks are either unwilling or unable to see the big picture. This issue goes deeper than a head coach or quarterback.

There is a fundamental flaw with the way the Washington Redskins choose to do business. While successful teams build through the draft while focusing primarily on the offensive and defensive lines, Vinny Cerrato and friends continue to chase the big names. Why watch film of college kids when you can scout your players on Dancin’ with the Stars?

When you play fantasy football it’s cool. When your favorite football team does it … not so much. And when your team cannot win the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball against a doormat Lions squad that had lost 19-consecutive games … well, it’s time for a little accountability.

Bringing in a new quarterback or coach isn’t going to fix the problem (unless they pull a Marty Schottenheimer and demand Cerrato pack his bags before arriving at Redskins Park). Think about the last decade of mediocrity. Coaches and quarterbacks have come and gone, but what has been the constant? Cerrato.

It’s completely acceptable for fans to be outraged right about now. They just need to make sure they focus that anger in the right direction. Last year the equally inept Matt Millen was run out of Detroit and this weekend showed us that the Lions are heading in the right direction. Let’s learn from this travesty and be honest about the state of the franchise. The glory days are long gone. You now root for a team that regularly loses to the likes of the Lions, Rams and Bengals.

Step one is admitting the Redskins have a problem. Step two is taking action.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “What They Gonna Do” by Jay-Z

On the first offensive play of 2009, running back Clinton Portis broke free for a 34-yard run to get the New York Giants attention. And before the Washington Redskins could even take advantage of the momentum, they manage to shoot themselves in the foot on the very next play.

We love the idea of striking while you’ve got the defense on its heels, but wide out Antwaan Randle El needed to throw the ball away when he didn’t see anyone open downfield. He said as much in the post-game locker room. He didn’t, and the result was an 11-yard loss. Three plays later the ‘Skins punted.

We’re not killing Randle El – he was one of the bright spots Sunday (seven catches for 98 yards). We’re simply using these two plays to illustrate how the day went for the Redskins as the lost their season opener 23-17. One step forward. Two steps back.

2. “Wake Up” by Rage Against the Machine

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who admittedly struggled against Eli Manning and the Giants passing game, intercepted a pass in the third quarter and returned it to the 11-yard line. Again, this was an ideal time to swing momentum in favor of the burgundy and gold. Had they been able to take advantage of the situation and punch it in from close range, it would have been a completely different ballgame (17-14 instead of 17-10 with a quarter to go).

Unfortunately, the offense’s very first play was a six-yard loss on a Portis running play that never had a chance, and Washington had to settle for a fieldgoal. Another opportunity wasted for a team that looks like it isn’t going to have a very large margin for error this season.

3. “Blame Canada” by South Park

Blame Jason Campbell. Blame the offensive line. Blame Obama’s health-care plan. Whatever the case, the offense sputtered at times and was way too careless with the football to win a game against a team as good as New York.

Campbell completed 19 of 26 passes for 211 yards, which was good for a 73 percent completion rate and a 93.6 QB rating. He threw a perfect touchdown strike to tight end Chris Cooley in the fourth quarter to pull within a score. But that’s not the complete story.

Campbell also looked extremely uncomfortable at times and took plenty of shots from an aggressive defense that smelled blood in the water. That pressure resulted in an interception and a Campbell fumble that was returned 37 yards by Giants defense end Osi Umenyiora for a touchdown in back-breaking fashion before the half.

The apologists will blame the appropriate scapegoats. The haters will call for heads on a platter. And at the end of the day, the results remain unchanged – Campbell and the Redskins offense just needs to be more consistent. They show flashes of Jim Zorn’s vision, but these moments are too few and far between. If Campbell and Zorn are going to be around long term, this needs to change. Until then, expect similar results.

4. “Why I’m Here” by Oleander

Be honest – who had punter Hunter Smith scoring the first touchdown of the 2009 season? Don’t feel bad. Even he didn’t expect to be the first Redskin to find the endzone.

Fun fact: Smith actually scored a touchdown one other time in his career, back in 2003 with the Indianapolis Colts he scored on a 21-yard fake fieldgoal run. So this eight yarder was nothing.

Where were we? Oh yeah … Smith’s eight-yard score on a fake fieldgoal was exactly what the doctor ordered right before halftime. Suddenly, the ‘Skins were down 17-7 and got the ball to start to second half. And at the moment, Redskins fans finally knew what it meant to have an actual NFL-caliber punter.

5. “Gimme Some More” By Busta Rhymes

Sure, NFC East games take on a greater meaning because so much is on the line. But this one just felt like they took it to another level.

Santana Moss found himself helmetless, at the bottom of the pile, in a shoving match. LaRon Landry and Brandon Jacobs got heated more than once. DeAngelo Hall had to be restrained on at least two occasions. These two teams had no interest in helping each other up after plays. They simply wanted to impose their will on an opponent they genuinely don’t like.

If this is what the 2009 season is going to be like, Matt Bowen was right when he told us the training room is going to be full Monday morning. As we know by now, the Redskins fell short and now find themselves in last place in the division. But there’s still plenty of games left to be played, and more importantly, they know exactly what it’s going to take to be a player in the best division in football. There will be no moral victories this week. But that doesn’t mean the team can’t learn from this.

Bonus track. “Old Time’s Sake” by Eminem (feat. Dr. Dre)

London Fletcher is good. Like, really good. The captain of the defense/middle linebacker was simply everywhere Sunday – finishing with a game-high 18 tackles and laying some big-time hits whenever anyone in a blue jersey dared to cross the middle of the field. There’s a lot of areas in need of adjustments between now and kickoff next weekend, but Fletcher isn’t one of them.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Deja vu” by Beyonce

Well, wasn’t that a perfectly fitting ending for the 2008 Washington Redskins?

The regular season finale against the San Francisco 49ers represented everything that was good and bad with the Redskins this season. The team got off to a fast start and looked ready to cruise to an easy win, but a muddling offense and a bad turnover on a Clinton Portis fumble in the second half gave away any momentum the ‘Skins had built and next thing you know ‘Skins fans are scratching their heads and searching for answers after a 27-24 loss.

2. “Déjà vu” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Sound familiar? It should. A 6-2 start had the talking heads and beat writers listing the Redskins in the league’s elite, with nearly everyone placing them in the top five of the NFL. But we’ve now just seen a 2-6 finish that’s got everyone involved frustrated, humbled and wondering what comes next.

When the Redskins rolled out 17-straight points in the second quarter, it looked like the burgundy and gold would match last year’s 9-7 record and go into the offseason feeling better about how the season went. And then the second half happened. That’s when we were treated to heavy doses of the same mental mistakes that have haunted the ‘Skins all season long. Dropped balls by receivers? Check. A defense that simply can’t make a stop when the game is on the line? Yep. Vanilla/predictable playcalling on offense? Absolutely. Add in the fact that the offensive line failed to get any push whatsoever to get the running game going (Portis’ longest carry of the day was just seven yards and he averaged just 2.8 yards per carry) and Zorn and friends are lucky the game was as close as it was.

3. “Make Me Better” by Fabolous

Really, from where we were standing on the sidelines, it looked like things would have been even worse had Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell not converted a few key third down plays (specifically the last play of the third quarter, a pass to tight end Chris Cooley, comes to mind) while also running for his life when no one was open and the pocket collapsed around him. Campbell rushed four times for 39 yards, including the fourth down play that tied the game with just over a minute to play in the game. There are a lot of people down on Campbell, and admittedly he needs to make something happen with this stagnant passing attack, but Jason showed a lot on Sunday.

Same goes for Chris Cooley, who continues to go all out every single play. We asked him after the game if it bothered him that he only had one touchdown catch this season (after averaging seven touchdowns a year his first four seasons in the league). Cooley said the team as a whole has had trouble in the red zone, so he just needs to work harder to get back on track. While other NFC East players whine and cry about not getting enough passes thrown their way, Cooley is more worried about what he can do to make his team better.

And the guy who absolutely deserves to be recognized for his hard work all season long is kick returner Rock Cartwright. The offense, the defense and every other aspect of special teams has taken turns driving Redskins fans crazy this year, but Cartwright’s returns have been the one constant positive. The guy returns every kick as if it’s his last and has more heart than players twice his size. The front office has a lot of decisions to make this offseason, but finding a dependable kick returner isn’t one of them.

4. “The Way I Are” by Timbaland

For the 49ers, running back Frank Gore finished his third-straight season with more than 1,000 yards rushing, which is a new team record. Right before halftime, we happened to be standing next to Portis, who is very good friends with Gore. We couldn’t pass up the chance to have a little fun, so we leaned over and asked “Whose better, you or Gore?”

Clinton started laughing and said, “A protégé can never be better than his mentor, and I taught him everything he knows.” Like I said, he was laughing and was in no way being serious, but it was an enjoyable comment all the same.

The other line of the day came from Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington when 49ers safety Michael Lewis was injured trying to bring down Jason Campbell.

“Don’t they know he’s been eating his collard greens his whole life? They can’t bring him down like that,” Washington said to no one in particular.

This team might be going through a rough spot, but they’re still highly entertaining.

5. “Changes” by 2Pac

For those folks, like Homer McFanboy, who are fans of Chris “The Predator” Horton, we got to talk to him in the locker room after the game. He told us he definitely “got his bell rung” and that it wasn’t the first concussion of his football career. He said he should be alright, and as soon as we finished chatting a team doctor pulled him aside to go over a few things (avoid loud noises, etc.) to recover from a concussion.

Horton’s injury aside, one couldn’t help but notice that the Redskins are finally getting healthy, now that there are no more games to play. We asked Bubba Tyer if it’s frustrating spending the entire season battling injuries, only to get healthy the last week or two of the regular season.

“Nah, I just take it week by week,” Tyer said.

Maybe that’s what ‘Skins fans need to do this offseason. Just take it easy and deal with whatever cards we’re dealt. Why stress over stuff that’s beyond our control? Why scream until we’re blue in the face because management decided to do something we didn’t like? Change is inevitable. There are clearly flaws with this incarnation of the Washington Redskins. Let’s all take a deep breath and see where our favorite football team takes us next.