Week 4 vs. Dallas Cowboys

Dallas - When the dust settled, the Redskins emerged from Week 4 with an impressive 3-1 record tied for second place in the tough NFC East. The Redskins took a surprising and significant step towards becoming a legitimate playoff caliber team by beating the Dallas Cowboys on the road. After starting very slow in Week 1 against the N.Y. Giants, the Redskins have reeled off 3 strong victories. What has been the difference between Week 1 and Weeks 2-4? Two words, Jason Campbell.

Campbell is suddenly flourishing under new Head Coach and Quarterbacks Coach, Jim Zorn. The change in Campbell's play was on display again this week in Dallas as Campbell continued to elude Dallas pass rushers with nifty footwork time and time again. He showed great poise stepping up in the pocket to make big plays when the Redskins needed them and he hung in there until the last possible second to launch the football with defenders in his face before taking some monster hits. He has established a solid connection with WR Santana Moss and continues to mix passes with Anwaan Randle El, Chris Cooley and, the ageless and consumate professional, James Thrash.

On the other side of the ball, the Redskins did an excellent job defending in the secondary and stuffing the Dallas rushing game. They limited perhaps the best offensive team in football to just 17 points before yielding a late touchdown in their prevent defense. Shawn Springs stepped up and did an outstanding job blanketing Terrell Owens and taking him out of the game early.

Despite their current winning streak and this week's impressive road win over the Cowboys, who many experts have picked to go to and win the Super Bowl, the Redskins still have plenty of room for improvement. They continue to struggle getting to the quarterback and managed 0 sacks on the day against Dallas. With Phillip Daniels out for the season and Jason Taylor now out of the lineup indefinitely, the Redskins may be forced to start taking more chances on defense to create pressure up front. Don't be surprised if Marcus Washington and LaRon Landry begin finding their way into the opponents backfield in blitz packages over the next few weeks.

Another area of constant concern is the injury prone secondary. Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers are all Pro-Bowl caliber cornerbacks, but they also have more points on their frequent hospital member card than the rest of the team combined. While Springs typically started strong against Dallas, he again typically had to leave the game early in the third quarter because of a injury, which turned out to be a calf strain. If Springs is unable to start the next game, Carlos Rogers will need to finally step up and play like the dominating first round draft pick the Redskins thought he would be.

All in all, the Redskins must be happy with what they have accomplished so far and Washington fans would no doubt vote for Jim Zorn if he was added at the last minute to the presidential ticket. But can they keep it up with so many aging and injury prone players on both sides of the ball? I tend to doubt it, but I will enjoy it for now.

Final Score: Washington 26 - Dallas 24

Highlights of the Redskins' Week 4 Win over the Dallas Cowboys

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog