The week three 24-17 home loss to the New York Giants left a bitter taste in the mouth. After all, the Washington Redskins’ much vaunted running game had 58 seconds and four plays from the Giants one yard line to get the ball in the end zone and send the game into overtime. A combination of weak play calling and poor execution suggested to fans that perhaps progress was an illusion for yet another year.

After a bye week to re-group, but without leading receiver Santana Moss, the coaching staff delivered a perfect game: 34-3 against a Mike Martz offensive unit that had broken an NFL fourth quarter points record the week before. Al Sanders scripted a varied and incisive attack  whilst Gregg Williams produced defensive schemes that held the high-powered Detroit Lions’ receivers to short yardage.

In addition the defense came up with five sacks of Jon Kitna, two interceptions (a 61-yard touchdown and a 35-yard runback), a two-point safety by Andre Carter plus two forced fumbles (Washington and Daniels). Special teams also contributed with a fine 62-yard punt return from James Thrash that was stripped from him but recovered by Rock Cartwright at the Lions three-yard line. After a false start penalty by Todd Wade, Mike Sellars completed the eight-yard pass on first down to erase the memory of the game against the Giants.

Perhaps the most significant barometer of success was found in the progress of Jason Campbell at QB. He stated before the game that he needed to improve his stats and he came out of the game with figures of 23 of 29 for 248 yards and two touchdowns. His 125.3 quarterback rating was not far short of perfect and the 23 completions and 248 yards were career bests.

The Redskins’ 366 yards of offense compared with the 144 yards achieved by the Lions. A cautionary view would be that perhaps the Lions’ defense gave Campbell too much time to throw and some fans will want to see how Campbell executes in future against top defenses. Yet, Moss was absent and after seven receptions in the first half Randle El left the game with a hamstring injury. In contrast to previous games this year Thrash was ready to step up whilst Keenan McCardell, originally a 12th round Redskins draft choice, hauled in two similar plays of 19 and 20 yards that suggest he will be a significant free agent addition to the Washington offense once he has a full grasp of the playbook.

But for all the euphoria after the game the season is still very young. The Redskins also have a light schedule as a result of their bottom place in the NFC East last season and this factor alone would suggest that if they are truly an improving side then they should reach the play-offs in January. Of the 16 games this season and the 13 opponents they will face only eight teams currently have winning records and five of those teams are at 3 and 2. Only the Packers at 4 and 1, the Cowboys at 5 and 0 and the Patriots at 5 and 0 could be said to be contenders. Of the losing teams, the Eagles and the Vikings are at 1 and 3, the Jets and the Bills are at 1 and 4 and the Dolphins at 0 and 5.