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Campbell leads Redskins to rout of Lions

Oct 7, 2007 - 10:49 PM By Rich Dubroff PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LANDOVER, Washington (Ticker) -- The closest thing to a guarantee in the NFL is the Washington Redskins defeating the Detroit Lions at home.

Jason Campbell completed 23-of-29 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns Sunday as the Redskins posted a 34-3 victory over the Lions.

Washington (3-1) improved to 18-0 all-time at home against Detroit (3-2), which was denied its first 4-1 start in 16 years.

"It probably is the best that I've felt," Campbell said. "Anytime you can go out there and move the ball the way we did today is good."

Coming off a bye week, the Redskins have won three of their first four games for the first time since 2001.

Washington held Detroit to 135 total yards and the Lions' longest play was 16 yards.

"I thought they had a real good (defensive) plan," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. "We were concerned because their quarterback (Jon Kitna) is a tough guy and they have a real good scheme."

Harrassed throughout, Kitna was sacked five times and completed just 16-of-29 passes for 106 yards. One of the sacks resulted in a safety.

"The last two road games were debacles," Kitna said "It was bad for whatever reason."

In their last two road games, the Lions have allowed a combined 90 points. Two weeks ago, they suffered a 56-21 loss at Philadelphia.

"The last two road games have gotten away from us," Detroit coach Rod Marinelli said. "We were terrible on both sides of the ball."

Campbell completed 16-of-19 passes for 171 yards in the first half, when the Redskins held a three-to-one edge in time of possession. Detroit had possession for less than eight minutes in the opening 30 minutes.

Overall, the Lions converted just one of 10 third downs.

"It's tough to win if you're not getting off the field on third down and if you're not getting third downs," Marinelli said.

Chris Cooley caught a 7-yard pass from Campbell with 8:17 remaining in the second quarter to give the Redskins a 7-0 lead.

It culminated a methodical 14-play, 80-yard drive that took 7:55 and marked the third consecutive week Cooley caught a scoring pass.

Mike Sellers' 1-yard run gave Washington a 14-0 lead with two minutes left in the half. Antwaan Randle El caught a 37-yard pass from Campbell on 4th-and-2 from the Detroit 38 to set up the score.

"He (Campbell) did a real good job of of working everything," Gibbs said. "I thought he did a real good job of taking what was there."

However, Randle El left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Jason Hanson converted a 39-yard field goal with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter to make it 14-3.

On Detroit's next possession, however, Andre Carter tackled Kitna in the end zone for a safety with 28 seconds to play in the third quarter.

In the last three games, Kitna has been sacked 20 times, but he refuses to blame his offensive line.

"It's not all them," Kitna said. "It's a lot of what the defense is doing."

Detroit has a bye next Sunday - and it's probably coming at a good time.

"I know why there's a lack of belief (among the fans)," Kitna said. "We can't worry about what's going on around us. They'll believe when we give them something to believe in."

After Campbell tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Sellers, Scott Suisjam kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it 27-3.

Carlos Rogers capped the scoring by returning an interception 61 yards for a touchdown in the final minute.

"We made him make some quick decisions- and some bad decisions," Rogers said. "Today, they sent three or four receivers out, so it was easy to get some pressure in (Kitna's) face."

The Lions had been terrific in fourth quarters this season, including last week, when they scored an NFL-record 34 points in a 37-27 win over the Chicago Bears.

But they were blanked in the fourth quarter Sunday, and were just as bad in the first half, managing only 41 yards. Detroit's deepest penetration in the opening 30 minutes was its 42-yard line. Detroit receiver Roy Williams, who had 26 catches in the first four games, but had just three for 36 yards on Sunday.

Still, he scoffed at the Redskins' defense.

"They didn't throw nothing at us," Williams said. "They are what we saw on film- sit back and play zone- and make you run it- and we ran it."

"We're a tough-minded team and we'll bounce back," Kitna insisted.