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Portis powers Redskins past Browns

Oct 20, 2008 - 2:25 AM By Tim Hipps PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) -- Clinton Portis recorded his seventh rushing touchdown of the season as the Washington Redskins rebounded from last week's defeat with a 14-11 triumph over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Portis, who rushed 27 times for 175 yards, opened the scoring with a three-yard run with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter. He notched his fourth straight game of more than 120 rushing yards for the first time since Weeks 12-15 of the 2003 season when he was with the Denver Broncos.

"They played team ball in Denver," said Portis, who sang the praises of his former teammates for keeping him going.

"I had the likes of Shannon Sharpe, Rod Smith, Eddie McCaffrey, Ashley Lelie - those guys took a lot of pressure off of me. It took a long time to get to the team feel in D.C. ... Now the offensive guys have the defense's back and the defense has the offense's back, and everybody wants to go out and win."

Portis singled out the Redskins' offensive line, backs and receivers for setting him up for another big rushing performance.

"They are playing excellent without the ball," Portis said. "If you look at our team, it's structured that you never know who is going to get the ball. Somebody is going to have a big day and somebody's not. For (Chris) Cooley, Santana (Moss), (Antwaan) Randle El and (James) Thrash and those guys to continue to fight and block - we didn't throw the ball a lot today, but those guys stayed after it. And Mike Sellers, week in and week out, is a great blocker. We're playing great team ball right now, and that's what we want to take down the stretch."

"There are some times when we make him look good, and there are other times when he makes us look good," Redskins tackle Jon Jansen said. "That's why they call it a team game."

Jason Campbell tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Santana Moss to push the advantage to 14-3 for Washington (5-2), which suffered a last-second, 19-17 loss to the then-winless St. Louis Rams last Sunday.

"Anytime you get down there, you don't want to be the guy who said I got down on the one and didn't get in," said Moss, who spun past Browns defensive back Erick Wright and into the end zone like a whirling dervish. "I pretty much say it's all-out warfare. It's either me or him and I was not going to take it head on, so I did the best thing I knew how to do, and that's spin."

Phil Dawson's 54-yard field goal attempt to tie the game with 25 seconds remaining sailed wide right for Cleveland (2-4), which looked decidedly different than the team which battered the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, 35-14, on Monday.

"I think we helped them also because we didn't play as well as we needed to play to give ourselves the best chance in the game," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "Early on, we had some field positions and couldn't take advantage. Toward the end of the game, it was just too little too late and we came up short and we weren't able to hit that field goal to put it into overtime. (The Browns) played hard, but I don't think they had the same energy as they did Monday night."

Portis' touchdown jaunt capped a six-play, 62-yard drive, highlighted by Moss' 35-yard catch and run that featured two flashy spin moves. Campbell also connected with Antwaan Randle El on a 13-yard slant pattern to the Browns' 3-yard line to setup Portis' plunge.

"Clinton does a great job of accelerating and just grinding yardage out," Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. "He kind of squirts out the other side. It's fun to watch, really."

Portis picked up 27 yards on a dash around left end early in the fourth quarter. One play later, Campbell completed a scoring pass to Moss that gave the Redskins a 14-3 lead with 12:28 remaining. With the grab, Moss went over the 6,000-yard career receiving mark with 6,015 yards.

After the Redskins stopped the Browns on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line with 5:47 remaining, Portis rambled for 24 yards around right end but fumbled on the play. Defensive back Brodney Pool recovered for Cleveland on the Washington 29-yard line with 5:36 left. Browns defensive back Eric Wright knocked the ball loose and Rodney

Pool recovered for Cleveland on the Washington 29-yard line with 5:36 left.

"Rock Cartwright had just come over to me and said, 'You can go for 200 today,'" Portis said. "And the only thing I was just thinking was, 'Man, if I get a corner, (it's mine)' Mike (Sellers) and (Jon) Jansen had great blocks and I fought off a defender and all I could think was 97 yards. I could see the end zone and I felt like I was going to get there. I was running wild and trying to dig and he got me with a great play on the ball.

"When it came down to the critical play of the game, I put the ball on the ground," Portis added. "I've got to do better than that."

Five plays later, Browns quarterback Derek Anderson completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Cribbs. Anderson then connected with Braylon Edwards for a two-point conversion that pulled Cleveland within 14-11.

Campbell completed 14 of 23 passes for 164 yards without an interception. His 224 passes without an interception is a franchise record and the Redskins have an NFL record streak of 332 pass attempts without an interception. Aside from Campbell, Todd Collins (105), Randle El (two) and Portis (one) have contributed to the record that surpassed the previous mark of 281 set by the Oakland Raiders in 2001.

Both teams punted on their first three possessions that consumed all but 56 seconds of a scoreless first quarter. The Browns then went three-and-out and punted for the fourth time on the final play of the period.

At halftime, the game remained scoreless. The last time the Redskins played a scoreless half was on September 13, 1981, against the New York Giants.

The trend continued throughout the game as the teams combined to punt 16 times and the Browns finished with only 236 net offensive yards.

"They put a lot of pressure on us," said Anderson, who completed 14 of 37 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown without an interception. "We were frustrated. We had some opportunities in the first half we didn't take advantage of. Going into halftime at 0-0 was bad. It's frustrating, but give them credit.

"Their defense made some key plays. London Fletcher had two plays at the goal line. And Portis had a great game running the football. They are a good football team."

Zorn said he could not wait to watch the game film.

"It took great pause and a heroic effort on those goal-line stands," Zorn said. "To make them work, we had to establish the line of scrimmage behind their line, and that's what happened. We surged forward and got after it."