Thumbs Up and Down « DC Pro Sports Report

THUMBS UP
KR Rock Cartwright averaged 28 yards on 5 kickoff returns and his final return of the game went for 43 yards, setting the offense up in great field position to tie the game.
TB Jason Campbell. Yes, you read that right — Jason Campbell the tailback. He missed some throws as a quarterback, but you can’t argue with the results when Campbell pulls the ball down and runs down the field. He rushed for 39 yards on 4 carries, including a 23 yard scramble and the tying touchdown. Campbell took some tough hits and made plays with his feet.
THUMBS DOWN
TB Clinton Portis is the #1 goat in this game. With the Redskins leading 17-7 early in the second half and with the ball, the game seemed well in control. Then Portis fumbled the ball away and the game was never the same. The 49ers took the fumble and turned it into 7 points and then scored another 10 points before the Redskins offense briefly got off the mat. Portis gained only 80 yards despite carrying the ball 29 times.
Head Coach Jim Zorn called one running play after another for Portis, despite the fact that Portis was doing almost nothing with the ball. I’m not sure why Zorn believed repeatedly slamming the ball into a defense stacked to stop the run would work, but he clearly believed it with all his heart. The Redskins repeatedly wasted decent field position in the second half while Zorn called one useless running play after another.
DISHONORABLE MENTIONS
The Redskins secondary, the best in the NFL all year long, fell apart tonight and repeatedly gave up big plays to the mediocre 49ers wideouts. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, considering the utter lack of anything even remotely resembling a pass rush. Still, it was disappointing to see once it finally happened.
WR Santana Moss had two critical and costly drops in the second half, both on good passes from Campbell that would have gone for first downs.