Today:1 p.m.
Where:Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
TV:Chs. 5, 45
Radio:ESPN 980
STARTERS
Offense
WR 89 Santana Moss
LT 74 Stephon Heyer
LG 66 Pete Kendall
C 61 Casey Rabach
RG 77 Randy Thomas
RT 69 Jason Fabini
TE 47 Chris Cooley
WR 82 Antwaan Randle El
QB 17 Jason Campbell
RB 26 Clinton Portis
FB 45 Mike Sellers
Defense
DE 92 Demetric Evans
DT 64 Kedric Golston
DT 94 Anthony Montgomery
DE 99 Andre Carter
OLB 52 Rocky McIntosh
MLB 59 London Fletcher
OLB 54 H.B. Blades
CB 23 DeAngelo Hall
CB 22 Carlos Rogers
SS 25 Mike Green
FS 30 LaRon Landry
K 6 Shaun Suisham
P1 Ryan Plackemeier
PR 82 Antwaan Randle El
KR 31 Rock Cartwright
KR 83 James Thrash
Injuries
Out: Marcus Washington (ankle).
Questionable: LB London Fletcher (foot), DT Kedric Golston (ankle), DT Cornelius Griffin (shoulder, abdomen), CB Shawn Springs (calf).
Probable: G Pete Kendall (knee), CB Carlos Rogers (illness), DE Jason Taylor (not injury related), G Randy Thomas (knee, neck), TE Todd Yoder (knee).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
J. Campbell41526263.1277811685.4 Randle El4375.04610152.1
Portis26612604.7317 Betts511703.3141 J. Campbell391704.4220 D. Thomas24522.529t1 Moss12727.0270 S. Alexander11242.280
Cooley6771310.6281 Moss6187614.467t5 Randle El4855711.6313 Portis262017.7290
Horton3134.3100 Landry2189.0130
Evans3.5 Carter3.0
Suisham0/06/65/710/151/3
SCHEDULE
Sept. 4at N.Y. Giants L 16-7 Sept. 14 New Orleans W 29-24 Sept. 21 Arizona W 24-17 Sept. 28 at Dallas W 26-24 Oct. 5 at Philadelphia W 23-17 Oct. 12 St. Louis L 19-17 Oct. 19 Cleveland W 14-11 Oct. 26at Detroit W 25-17 Nov. 3Pittsburgh L 23-6 Bye week Nov. 16 Dallas L 14-10 Nov. 23 at Seattle W 20-17 Nov. 30 N.Y. Giants L 23-7 Dec. 7at Baltimore L 24-10 Today at Cincinnati 1 p.m. Dec. 21 Philadelphia 1 p.m. Dec. 28 at San Francisco 4:15 p.m.
BENGALS
STARTERS
WR 85 Chad Johnson
LT 73 Anthony Collins
LG 62 Nate Livings
C 53 Eric Ghiaciuc
RG 63 Bobbie Williams
RT 79 Stacy Andrews
TE 82 Reggie Kelly
WR 84 T.J. Houshmandzadeh
QB 11 Ryan Fitzpatrick
RB 32 Cedric Benson
FB 49 Daniel Coats
DE 68 Jonathan Fanene
DT 94 Domata Peko
DT 97 John Thornton
DE 98 Antwan Odom
OLB 93 Rashad Jeanty
MLB 57 Dhani Jones
OLB 59 Brandon Johnson
CB 20 David Jones
CB 29 Leon Hall
FS 34 Kyries Hebert
SS 42 Chris Crocker
P 19 Kyle Larson
K17 Shayne Graham
PR 84 T.J. Houshmandzadeh
KR 16 Glenn Holt
KR 87 Andre Caldwell
Injuries
Out: DE Eric Henderson (neck), QB Carson Palmer (elbow).
Doubtful: T Levi Jones (hamstring), S Chinedum Ndukwe (foot), RB Chris Perry (groin), TE Ben Utecht (foot), RB Kenny Watson (hamstring).
Questionable: CB David Jones (knee).
Probable: S Kyries Hebert (neck), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (hand), LB Rashad Jeanty (shin), DE Antwan Odom (shoulder).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Fitzpatrick30418259.915126966.9 C. Palmer1297558.17313469.0 J. Palmer12758.34130225.3
Benson1303923.0301 Perry1042692.625t2 Fitzpatrick372366.4221 Watson13554.270 C. Palmer6386.3150 Houshmandzadeh199.090
Houshmandzadeh 898859.9464 C. Johnson5050710.1264 Kelly281957.0310 Chatman211949.2250
TEAM 26422848.7469 OPPONENTS267297911.270t21
INTERCEPTIONS No. Yds Avg Long TD
Rivers 13939.0390
B. Johnson 13535.0350
Geathers2.5 Ndukwe2.0
Graham1/15/53/47/80/0 Rayner0/01/10/00/00/0
SCHEDULE
Sept. 7 at Baltimore L 17-10 Sept. 14 Tennessee L 24-7 Sept. 21 at N.Y. Giants L 26-23 Sept. 28 Cleveland L 20-12 Oct. 5 at Dallas L 22-31 Oct. 12 at N.Y. Jets L 26-14 Oct. 19 Pittsburgh L 38-10 Oct. 26 at Houston L 35-6 Nov. 2 Jacksonville W 21-19 Bye week Nov. 16 Philadelphia T 13-13 (OT) Nov. 20 at Pittsburgh L 27-10 Nov. 30Baltimore L 34-3 Dec. 7 at Indianapolis L 35-3 Dec. 21at Cleveland 1 p.m. Dec. 28 Kansas City 1 p.m.
KEY MATCHUP
Redskins OTs Stephon Heyer and Jason Fabini vs. Bengals DEs Antwan Odom or Daryl Blackstock and Jonathan Fanene
Heyer was a huge surprise as a rookie free agent in 2007 when he started at right tackle in place of the injured Jon Jansen and Todd Wade in the December run to the playoffs. Heyer beat out Jansen this summer and started the first three games before spraining a knee. He never got his job back as the running game took off with Jansen in the lineup. Heyer, more adept as a pass blocker than a roadgrader despite being 6-foot-6, 325 pounds, has started just once at left tackle - against winless Detroit.
Fabini (6-7, 309) is likely to start for Jansen, who sprained his left knee last Sunday in Baltimore. The 34-year-old has started 135 career games, but all 14 of his starts in the last three years came at right guard last season in place of the injured Randy Thomas. Fabini was a left tackle for most of his eight seasons with the New York Jets (1998 to 2005).
Odom (6-5, 280) recorded only 4.5 sacks in his first three seasons with Tennessee before becoming a regular and producing eight sacks in 2007. Odom signed with Cincinnati in March but has just two sacks in nine games (seven starts). Fanene, a seventh-round pick in 2005, made his first start last week and has one career sack. Neither Odom nor the 6-3, 255-pound Blackstock (four sacks in four years) nor Fanene (6-4, 295) is dynamic, so they will be good for Heyer and Fabini to break in against as a tackle tandem.
THREE KEYS
1. Get ahead
The Redskins fell behind the Ravens 17-0 last week and never got even. The previous Sunday, they trailed the New York Giants 13-0 in the first quarter and were never really in the game. Washington needs to score first to bolster its shaky confidence and prevent the lowly Bengals from believing they can hang with a playoff contender in December.
2. Hassle Fitzpatrick
Despite their woes, the Bengals do have a pair of primo receivers in Chad Johnson, the NFL’s yardage leader from 2003 to 2006, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who tied for the lead in catches in 2007. Trouble is, it’s a big drop from injured No. 1 quarterback Carson Palmer to Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Redskins want to harass the former Harvard passer into bad decisions.
3. Keep Portis happy
Astute Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher knows what will restore the smile to the face of unhappy running back Clinton Portis: giving him the ball 30 times. Portis touched the ball just 26 times against the Giants and Ravens, allowing his battered body to heal up somewhat. Portis wants more of the workload, and coach Jim Zorn should oblige him.
THE EDGE
WHEN THE REDSKINS HAVE THE BALL
Facing the ferocious pass rushes and superior run defenses of the Steelers, Cowboys, Giants and Ravens in a five-game stretch was too much to handle for the Redskins, who were already having trouble scoring. Losing Samuels and Jansen hurts, but Heyer and Fabini are better prepared to play than when they were pressed into service in 2007. Coach/play caller Jim Zorn needs to re-establish his stars against a bad Cincinnati defense. Portis hasn’t scored since Week 7, and ace receiver Santana Moss since Week 8. Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley has just one touchdown all year, and that wasn’t on a pass from quarterback Jason Campbell.
Edge: Redskins
WHEN THE BENGALS HAVE THE BALL
Take away the Giants game and Washington’s defense has been stout during the team’s 1-4 slide, allowing averages of just 18 points and 250 yards while forcing seven turnovers. It took just three games for cornerback DeAngelo Hall to replace Fred Smoot as a starter. Hall and Pro Bowl candidate Carlos Rogers should match up well with Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. While tackle Cornelius Griffin and safety Chris Horton have joined Fletcher and tackle Kedric Golston among the gimpy starters (not to mention ailing former starters Marcus Washington and Shawn Springs), the Bengals’ last-ranked offense doesn’t scare anyone.
Edge: Redskins
SPECIAL TEAMS
Shaun Suisham ended his string of misses beyond 26 yards last Sunday, but his .710 field goal percentage remains the lowest of any active kicker. Cincinnati’s Shayne Graham has nailed 16 of his 18 attempts this season. The Bengals’ Kyle Larson is the AFC’s last-ranked punter, but Washington’s Ryan Plackemeier is the league’s worst. The Redskins’ Antwaan Randle El has struggled on punt returns, a duty Houshmandzadeh just assumed for the Bengals. Washington’s Rock Cartwright and Cincinnati’s Glenn Holt have identical 24.1-yard averages on kickoff returns. The Redskins are better covering kickoffs, and the Bengals have the edge on punts.
Edge: Bengals
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