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| ARI at TB | BAL at PIT | CAR at TEN | CIN at BUF | DAL at PHI | DEN at DET | GB at KC | HOU at OAK |
| JAX at NO | NE at IND | SD at MIN | SEA at CLE | SF at ATL | WAS at NYJ | ||
Week 9 Game Recap: Washington Redskins 23, New York Jets 20
What you need to know
| Washington Redskins |
Washington trailed throughout the game but fought hard via a strong rushing attack and earned an overtime victory over the New York Jets. Clinton Portis was the MVP of the game, with 196 yards on 36 carries and one touchdown. Next in line would have to be kicker Shaun Suisham, who connected on all five of his field goal attempts, including the overtime game winner of 46 yards.
Quarterback Jason Campbell had a rough game, but it was overcome by the overwhelming strength of the rushing attack. Campbell threw no touchdowns and one interception, and his favorite targets were Santana Moss and Chris Cooley. No Redskins player had more than four catches or 58 yards.
Portis was an absolute beast. He set season highs in carries and yardage, and was the primary offensive weapon Washington used to get back in the game after falling behind by 14 points. He was especially strong in the late portions of the game, when the Redskins effectively abandoned the pass and did so with great success.
Rocky McIntosh had a great game, garnering 12 tackles and a sack.
| New York Jets |
Leon Washington returned the game's opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. He provided a spark for the Jets that led to 17 first half points and a maximum lead of two touchdowns. Despite this hot start, the defense wore down against Washington's potent rushing attack, while the offense slowed and sputtered throughout the second half. Ultimately, Washington caught up to New York and took the game in overtime.
New starting quarterback Kellen Clemens had a good game. He looked comfortable, capable, and proved efficient despite his inexperience. Clemens favored his starting receivers, throwing 11 balls to both Jericho Cotchery and Brad Smith. He hit tight end Joseph Kowalewski for a one yard touchdown score in the first half. He managed the game well and had no turnovers. Cotchery led all receivers with 90 yards on five catches, but also lost a fumble on a promising Jets' drive.
Thomas Jones and the Jets' rushing attack didn't have much success against the Redskins' defense. The Jets' game plan focused on passing plays, despite leading throughout the game and having an inexperienced signal caller taking the snaps.
Middle linebacker David Harris had 24 tackles as he continued to impress in fill-in duty for the injured Jonathan Vilma.
What you ought to know
| QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 12 - 23 - 142 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 31 - 0 |
Campbell had an off game. He found it difficult to find and hit open receivers. Campbell looked early and often to targets that weren't his wide receivers. His favorite target was wide receiver Santana Moss, with seven looks, although five of these came after halftime. Tight end Chris Cooley was his second option with six targets. Campbell showed atypical scrambling ability, with 31 yards on two rushes. He threw an interception on a promising second half drive when he targeted Clinton Portis on a short route. Campbell and the Washington passing game played second fiddle to Portis and the rushing attack, although it was a formula that ultimately proved successful.
| RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 36 - 196 - 1 (1 targets) |
Portis had a great game. He was pretty much the entire Washington offense. Portis' 36 carries and 196 yards were both season highs. His performance on the game winning drive was particularly strong, as the Redskins ran every play of the drive and still succeeded in getting in to field goal range. Portis was the very definition of a workhorse back. He was the target on Campbell's lone interception.
| RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 9 - 64 - 0 |
Betts had most of his carries at the end of the game, when Portis was tired and the Redskins were running frequently.
| RB Mike Sellers, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 |
Sellers started as Portis' lead blocker, but contributed most of his stats through his three dump off catches.
| WR Santana Moss, Rec: 4 - 49 - 0 (7 targets) |
Moss led the Redskins in targets, but finished second in yardage. He was an afterthought in the first half, with five of his looks coming after halftime. Moss was primarily targeted on short and slant type routes.
| WR Antwaan Randle El, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) |
Randle El saw a decrease from his average amount of targets. He wasn't much of a factor in the game.
| WR James Thrash (1 targets) |
Thrash's only target was a deep ball in the end zone that was nearly intercepted.
| TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 4 - 58 - 0 (6 targets) |
Cooley was Campbell's second most favored target. He led the team in receiving yards, and showed a good ability to break tackles after the catch.
| PK Shaun Suisham 5 - 5 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 15 points |
Suisham made all five of his field goal attempts from 46, 40, 22, 40, and 46 yards. The last was the game winner in over time. He also made his only PAT.
| WAS Rush Defense |
Washington's rush defense allowed 124 total yards on 26 carries for a 4.8 average. They gave up no touchdowns and forced no turnovers.
| WAS Pass Defense |
Washington's pass defense gave up 226 yards on 23 of 42 passing for an average of 5.38 yards per attempt. They allowed one touchdown to tight end Joseph Kowalewski and had no interceptions. They sacked Jets' quarterback Kellen Clemens three times. They also forced a lost fumble on a catch by Jericho Cotchery.
| QB Kellen Clemens, Pass: 23 - 42 - 226 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 7 - 48 - 0 |
Clemens had a good game as the Jets new starting quarterback. He was especially strong in the first half. Clemens made good decisions, showed good instincts and a solid grasp of the offense, and displayed better scrambling ability and arm strength than the man he replaced, Chad Pennington. His favorite targets were Jericho Cotchery and Brad Smith, who saw an increase in production with starter Laveranues Coles out. He led the Jets offense on a first half touchdown scoring drive that he capped with a one yard touchdown to Joe Kowalewski.
| RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 13 - 49 - 0, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jones had a decent game running the ball, but never become a serious factor. The game plan called for more passes than runs, despite New York leading for most of the game. Jones' 65 total yards was second on the team.
| RB Leon Washington, Rush: 4 - 13 - 0, Rec: 4 - 18 - 0 (5 targets) |
Washington gave the Jets an early spark by returning the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. He had a few carries and saw a few dump offs in the passing game.
| WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0, Rec: 5 - 90 - 0 (11 targets) |
Cotchery led the team in receptions and yardage, and co-led the team in targets with Brad Smith. He made lots of tough grabs and showed decent run after the catch ability. Seven of his 11 looks came after halftime. He lost a fumble on a challenged play where he caught the ball and was immediately struck by two defenders and the ball popped out.
| WR Brad Smith, Rec: 4 - 27 - 0 (11 targets) |
Smith took advantage of a quarterback change and his opportunity with Laveranues Coles out of the lineup to earn five more targets than his previous career high. Despite all these looks, he finished fourth on the team in yardage, as he dropped several passes.
| WR Justin McCareins, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (5 targets) |
McCareins' looks came either very early or very late in the game. Clemens seemed to have some early chemistry with him, but then forgot about him until late in the game. McCareins finished third on the team in receiving totals.
| WR Chris Davis, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 |
Davis ran the ball once on an end around.
| WR Wallace Wright (2 targets) |
Wright saw a couple of looks but couldn't haul either of them in. Game notes indicated that he was injured on his last target.
| WR Laveranues Coles |
Coles missed his first game in seven seasons with lingering effects from a concussion.
| TE Chris Baker, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (6 targets) |
Baker had one of his better games of the season. His six targets were the most he had since Week 13 of 2006, and his 42 yards were the second best of the 2007 season. Baker seemed to be a bit mixed up with Clemens on a couple of throws that didn't connect. Either Baker or Clemens thought a different route was being run on these miscues.
| TE Joseph Kowalewski, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (1 targets) |
Kowalewski caught his only target of the game off a play action pass at the goal line. It was the first score of his career.
| PK Mike Nugent 2 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Nugent made field goals of 29 and 30 yards and both his PATs, but missed a late first half 54 yard attempt that was well short.
| NYJ Rush Defense |
New York's rush defense was pummeled by Clinton Portis and the Redskins' running attack. They gave up 296 total yards on 48 carries for a 6.2 average. They allowed one score to Portis and forced no turnovers.
| NYJ Pass Defense |
New York's pass defense gave up 142 yards on 12 of 23 passing for 6.17 yards per attempt. They allowed no touchdowns and intercepted a second half Jason Campbell pass.
