Can Redskins win another tough road game? - Tampa Bay Buccaneers News at Buccaneershome.com

Grandfather clauses don't exist in the NFL. Winning 13 games in one season doesn't guarantee a division title the next — Cowboys, anyone? And beating the best team in the league guarantees only a mark in the win column.

NFL Week 5

Week 5 action

Redskins at Eagles

Seahawks at Giants

Titans at Ravens

Bears at Lions

Falcons at Packers

Colts at Texans

Chiefs at Panthers

Chargers at Dolphins

Bucs at Broncos

Bills at Cardinals

Bengals at Cowboys

Patriots at 49ers

Steelers at Jaguars

Vikings at Saints

Analysis

Whitlock: WRs are crazy
Schein: Andy Reid on Hot Seat
Schrager: Quarterly Report

Video

Strahan on Giants
Marvez on Cowboys

Photos

Week 5's top moments
Raiders' coaching carousel

Case in point: The upstart Redskins.

Last week's commanding win at Texas Stadium ensured the Redskins will be given plenty of respect in the media and opposing locker rooms. That said, handling Dallas last Sunday doesn't translate to conquering the Eagles in Philadelphia.

In this week's Film Study, we'll take a closer look at what may transpire in Philadelphia this weekend.

Film study

Despite the Cowboys' immense talent on offense, the Redskins clearly trotted out the better attack last Sunday.

Jim Zorn's offense was extremely impressive, mixing the run and pass effectively with 37 out of 70 plays on the ground.

The first-half game plan reflected classic West Coast offense tendencies. Jason Campbell worked short passes, setting up the ground game. As the Cowboy coverage crept closer to the line of scrimmage, the opportunity to stretch the field would present itself.

Although there wasn't much of a vertical passing game in the first quarter, it became obvious how well the young quarterback from Auburn was scanning the field. Campbell was hitting his second and third options, something that Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart told Fox Sports reporter Pam Oliver he didn't think would happen.

Well, it happened.

After Campbell's touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El in the second quarter, analyst Troy Aikman observed, "How about what Brian Stewart said ... saying that Jason Campbell's 'not getting to his third progression in the read?'"

Randle El's touchdown and much of the Redskins' offensive success was in part due to the play of the offensive line. To check down to a second or third receiver requires time in the pocket.

It also takes poise. Campbell showed tremendous composure, taking advantage of what time he was given to read the defense. But while he played a solid game, he wasn't quite as impressive with his accuracy.

A perfect example of this came with the Redskins up 14-7 late in the first half. After a Dallas punt, Campbell had an opportunity to deliver a huge blow to the Cowboys.

First-and-10 from the Redskins' 39, Stewart's defense is in a base 3-4 with only Greg Ellis as an additional pass rusher with the three down linemen.

Campbell goes play-action on a seven-step drop. Santana Moss makes a double move on the right sideline, running a go route. Corner Terrence Newman is beaten by 10 yards. Trying to catch up, all Newman sees is a maroon shirt with a white "89" running free.

If Campbell hits Moss in stride, it's a touchdown.

He doesn't set his feet, hurriedly underthrowing him, which allows Newman to make the tackle at the Dallas eight. The Redskins settle for a field goal. If Campbell makes an accurate throw it's 21-7, but instead it's only a 10-point game.

It wouldn't cost Washington the game, but with Tony Romo, Drew Brees, or Donovan McNabb on the other side of the field, settling for field goals can beat you.

Speaking of McNabb, his Eagles were in a dogfight just a few hours later in the Windy City. The Bears shocked a national audience by dropping 21 on Philly by halftime.

Then the Eagle defense remembered that they were the Eagle defense and completely shut down Chicago in the second half.

So what was wrong in the first half? How did they allow three touchdowns to that offense?

Short fields always help. Kyle Orton and the rest of the offense were handed great field position when the Eagles fumbled on one possession and David Akers missed a 50-yard field goal on a subsequent drive. Chicago turned these two miscues into 14 points, seven coming on a one-handed catch by Devin Hester.

When the Bears did make hay offensively, they did it by mixing short passes to tight ends and backs, namely Greg Olsen and Matt Forte. This, along with stopping the run, put a tremendous amount of pressure on the young Eagles' linebackers.

While Chris Gocong, Stewart Bradley and Omar Gaither have played reasonably well, opposing offensive coordinators have tried to force them to play in space. In other terms, make them read, react and cover somebody.

Both the Rams and Cowboys utilized their tight ends and running backs to expose the young Eagle linebackers in the first two weeks. However, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has used the blitz so effectively that often their inexperience has been masked.

Exhibit A: Week 3 against the Steelers when Johnson's wrecking crew sacked Ben Roethlisberger nine times.

Much of that performance was due to the defensive line rotation, but Johnson has also leaned on the coverage of his three corners: Asante Samuel, Lito Sheppard, and Sheldon Brown.

Sending five or six rushers often requires corners to hold down receivers with no help. The Hester touchdown aside, the Eagle DBs are generally able to do that.

What I learned

I like Jason Campbell's game, but I'm not in love. He proved the Cowboys wrong and he's proven the organization's patience with him was well-founded.

However, I don't believe he will be able to put up the necessary amount of points in Philly. Washington needs at least 20, if not more, to win this week. While the 'Skins did score 26 in Dallas, the Eagles are better overall on defense, even with a trio of 24-year-old linebackers.

For the most part, the defensive backs have held up in one-on-one coverage when Johnson has sent everybody to the pocket. The corners Campbell faced last week in Dallas have not.

Lastly, I expect the Eagle line rotation to not only pressure Campbell, but put him on his back. Last Sunday, Campbell was able to scan the field for his second and third reads, but not this week. He did play well against the Eagles last year, but Johnson's defense is getting more sacks this season and benefiting from Asante Samuel's presence in the secondary.

Pick: Eagles

Odds and ends

Last week I thought the Packers should give the ball to Ryan Grant to take pressure off Aaron Rodgers. Trailing the Bucs 13-7 in the third quarter, Grant was called on to pick up a yard on a key third down. He responded by missing a huge backside hole and getting stuffed at the line. On Grant's next carry, he fumbled right into Jermaine Phillips' hands. That's not good, Packer fandom.

While Trent Edwards has played well, perhaps the biggest reason the Bills are 3-0 has been their defense's ability to get off the field. Buffalo opponents have converted only 10 of 52 third downs, making them the best in the league.

Flozell Adams watch: No sacks allowed, but Flo couldn't have been happy with the Cowboys' complete abandonment of the running game.

Elliot Harrison is the head researcher on FSN's Pro Football Preview.

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