Ladell Betts

Here are our grades for the Eagles' 20-12 loss to Washington last night: RUSHING OFFENSE Brian Westbrook rushed for 96 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Grade: B PASSING OFFENSE Donovan McNabb again struggled with his accuracy and averaged just 5.2 yards per attempt. WRs Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis combined for a total of 55 receiving yards. Grade: F RUN DEFENSE Eagles did another solid job of stopping the run, holding Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts to 83 total yards.

Ladell Betts' second game against the Eagles this season was statistically twice as good as his first, but the end result was the same. Betts had career highs in carries (33) and rushing yards (171) for the second week in a row, but it did not stop the Eagles from defeating the Washington Redskins, 21-19, yesterday at FedEx Field. Last week, Betts set career highs with 28 carries for 155 yards in a 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He felt no better yesterday than he did a week ago. "It's tough at the end of the day, because individual accolades don't mean a whole lot when we don't get the win," Betts said.

Exactly who is calling the plays for the Washington Redskins these days? Just about everyone. It's been well-documented that the front office stripped coach Jim Zorn of playcalling duties four games ago and gave them to consultant Sherm Lewis. But Lewis didn't know the whole playbook - he'd only just come out of retirement - so the team has been working with a convoluted arrangement. Lewis, in the coaching box working with offensive assistant Chris Meidt, decides whether the play will be a pass or run. If it's a pass, he calls the play down to offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, who relays it to quarterback Jason Campbell.

There's not much a player can say when it appears the team is phasing him out. Accepting it seems wrong. Complaining about it seems wrong. So Stephen Davis shrugged. "What am I going to say? What can I say?" the Washington Redskins running back said. He didn't speak in an impolite or angry manner. In fact, he looked at reporters and added: "Nothing against y'all. Trust me. Nothing against y'all. " Davis is Washington's No. 3 career rushing leader and the first player in franchise history to run for 1,000-plus yards 3 years in a row. He's not flashy, but he has excellent vision and the reputation for turning a 3-yard gain into a 6-yard gain.

Clinton Portis' season was in jeopardy in the first quarter of the first preseason game when he decided to launch his body into Cincinnati cornerback Keiwan Ratliff while making a tackle following an interception. Four injuries later, Portis' season officially ended yesterday, when the Washington Redskins placed their star running back on injured reserve. His final tallies for the season: 127 carries, 523 yards, seven touchdowns, two shoulder injuries, one sprained ankle, one broken bone - and only one costume.

Running back Clinton Portis is targeting Washington's second game for his return from a shoulder injury. He essentially ruled himself out for the Monday night opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Though he wore a helmet and his No. 26 jersey during the entire practice yesterday for the first time since partially dislocating his left shoulder 4 weeks ago, Portis said he is focusing on coming back against Dallas or Houston, Washington's third game. "The way things look, bro, you'll probably be seeing 2-6 against Dallas," Portis said.

The Minnesota Vikings released wide receiver Todd Pinkston yesterday, perhaps signaling the end of the former Eagle's career. Pinkston, the Eagles' second-round draft pick in 2000, started for the Birds for four seasons. But he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in his right leg on the first day of training camp in 2005 and spent the year on the injured reserve list. Pinkston missed the first three exhibition games this summer and caught only one pass against Pittsburgh on Aug. 25. He became expendable when the Eagles traded for Donte' Stallworth and was cut Aug. 30 before being signed by Minnesota.

The improvement was obvious, although it would have been difficult for the Eagles defense to get any worse after last week's 49-21 loss to Denver. After being scorched for 564 net yards against Denver, the Eagles' defense gained some redemption, even though the result didn't change during last night's 17-10 loss to the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The Eagles defense may have played well enough to win in the past, but not with the way the conservative offense was having trouble moving the ball.

Running back Ladell Betts signed a 5-year, $11 million contract extension with the Washington Redskins yesterday, opting to remain in Clinton Portis' shadow rather than test free agency after a career-best season. Betts, getting a regular chance to start while Portis is on injured reserve, has rushed for 100 yards in back-to-back games for the first time, including a career-high 155 last week in a loss to Atlanta. The Redskins host the Eagles tomorrow. The fifth-year back also has set season career highs in rushing attempts (141)

Fear the 'Skins' defense 1 The Eagles are one of just two teams that have scored more than 25 points on Washington's defense. But when they played the Redskins in October, seven of the Eagles' 27 points came from their defense and 14 points came via two long DeSean Jackson touchdowns. That night, the Eagles didn't have one drive of more than four plays that led to points, and they were actually outgained in total yards, 308-262. Despite its 3-7 record, Washington is able to compete against any opponent because of its No. 4-ranked defense.

Exactly who is calling the plays for the Washington Redskins these days? Just about everyone. It's been well-documented that the front office stripped coach Jim Zorn of playcalling duties four games ago and gave them to consultant Sherm Lewis. But Lewis didn't know the whole playbook - he'd only just come out of retirement - so the team has been working with a convoluted arrangement. Lewis, in the coaching box working with offensive assistant Chris Meidt, decides whether the play will be a pass or run. If it's a pass, he calls the play down to offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, who relays it to quarterback Jason Campbell.

Recent history: The Eagles defeated the Redskins on Oct. 26, 27-17. Washington leads the series, 78-67-6.   OFFENSE   Eagles: 354.7 yards per game (11th) Redskins: 309.6 yards per game (25th)   Quarterback   Eagles: Since his poor performance vs. the Redskins last month, Donovan McNabb has completed 65 percent of his passes and averaged 8.29 yards per attempt in four starts. He still needs to step up his play in the red zone, though. He's completed just 7 of 20 passes inside the 20 in the last four games.

TODAY Colts (9-0) at Ravens (5-4) 1 p.m., M&T Bank Stadium (CBS 3) Line: Colts by 1 Peyton Manning looks pretty good this week, huh? The Patriots decided they didn't have a chance at stopping Manning late in the game, and if that's not an endorsement for MVP, what is? The Colts have won 13 straight games when Manning passes for 300 or more yards. Baltimore didn't allow Cleveland to score last week. Let's just say this will be a tougher test. Redskins (3-6) at Cowboys (6-3)

The Eagles' defensive players aren't impressed. Tell them they're the top-ranked unit in the NFC and they shrug. "I think the big picture is winning," cornerback Sheldon Brown said after practice yesterday. "Statistically, it doesn't really matter where you finish. The goal is the Super Bowl. If you don't win it, those other statistics don't really matter. " Still, the Eagles' defense has risen all the way to No. 3 in the NFL rankings. Only Pittsburgh and Baltimore have allowed fewer yards, and those two teams are considered the defensive capitals of the NFL. You know, Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, James Farrior, etc. "The Washington Redskins is what's on our plate right now," safety Brian Dawkins said.

There were two more reminders last week of the short shelf life for NFL running backs, and why general managers are reluctant to offer them mega-bucks contracts when they approach 30 years of age. First, there was the admission of the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson that he's feeling worn down. Two years ago, Tomlinson, 29, was the league MVP and was widely regarded as the best running back in the game. Now he looks as if he's lost some of the initial burst of speed that made him so dangerous.

L.J. Smith called it a classic, which was clearly an exaggerated account of what transpired yesterday at FedEx Field. The Eagles' 33-25 win over the Washington Redskins was a wildly entertaining game, including a sensational screen pass to Brian Westbrook that decided the outcome, but the teams combined for more than enough mistakes (16 penalties and four turnovers) to remind everyone that these are the bottom two teams in the NFC East. "We had plenty" of mistakes, coach Andy Reid confirmed after his team opened the second half of the season with a win it had to have.

Today at 1 p.m., FedEx Field, Landover, Md. TV: Fox29 Radio: WYSP-FM (94.1) Line: Redskins by 3 Eagles defense vs. Redskins offense The Redskins' offense still relies far more on running the football than throwing it, and that's because third-year quarterback Jason Campbell remains a work in progress. He has had some solid games, including his effort in a Week 2 win over the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. His best performance of the year was in a 34-3 rout of the Detroit Lions.

DEEP BREATHS, now. There you go. The Eagles' season is not over. Really, it isn't. It might not be the season you expected. It almost certainly is not going to be the season that they expected. If the Eagles are going to pull themselves together, it is going to be a long, brutal slog. They are not, as coach Andy Reid said, "off by a hair. " They are not, as he said, "off by an inch. " They have significant problems and this will be very hard. Even if it ends up OK in the end, this will not be easy on the eyes.