Race in the East Is ‘Skin Tight

For weeks, Clinton Portis usually rescued the Washington Redskins. On Saturday, Portis got plenty of help against the NFC East-leading New York Giants.

Santana Moss caught three touchdown passes -- two from Mark Brunell and one from Patrick Ramsey -- Renaldo Wynn blocked a potential game-changing field goal, and the Redskin defense kept New York running back Tiki Barber under wraps to propel Washington to a 35-20 win before 90,477 at FedEx Field.

Portis turned in another solid performance, rushing for 108 yards in 27 carries, running for one touchdown and passing for another.

“It was really a total team effort,” Coach Joe Gibbs said. “They knew what needed to be done, and they knew they needed to play hard.”

The only note of concern was a knee injury that sidelined Brunell for most of the second half. Director of sports medicine Bubba Tyer said Brunell sprained a ligament in his right knee when he was sacked by Giant linebacker Nick Greisen 56 seconds into the third quarter.

Tyer said Brunell would undergo an MRI exam Monday, and his status for next Sunday’s game at Philadelphia is uncertain.

With their fourth consecutive victory, the Redskins improved to 9-6 and are just one win away from clinching their first postseason berth in six years. The Dallas Cowboys (9-6) kept their playoff hopes alive by edging the Carolina Panthers, 24-20, but the Atlanta Falcons (8-7) bowed out of the race with a 27-24 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Minnesota Vikings (8-6) can keep pace with Washington and Dallas by defeating the Baltimore Ravens tonight.

The Redskins also have a chance for their first NFC East title since 1999. If they beat the Eagles on New Year’s Day and New York loses to Oakland on Saturday, Washington would win the division title with a better divisional record (5-1 vs. 4-2).

“There was more at stake today,” said Giant Coach Tom Coughlin, whose team is seeking its first division title since 2000. “It didn’t have to come down to this, but we didn’t help ourselves in any way today.”

The same could not be said for the Redskins, who eased the memory of a 36-0 loss to New York on Oct. 30. Washington amassed 380 yards (compared with a season-low 125 in the first meeting), committed zero turnovers (versus four) and won the time-of-possession battle by more than six minutes (as opposed to losing it by almost 20 minutes).

Moss tied a career high with touchdown catches of 17, 59 and 72 yards, the last coming from Ramsey on the team’s second possession after halftime.

“It was big for Patrick and it was big for us,” Moss said of the score, which gave the Redskins a 28-17 advantage. “You want a guy to come in and really get that confidence going. I wanted to make any and every play that I could for Patrick, knowing that anything I did could elevate his game.”

Ramsey completed five of seven passes for 104 yards in his first significant appearance since starting the opener against the Chicago Bears. But the offense continued to rely on Portis, who set a franchise single-season record with his eighth 100-yard games and is 32 yards away from eclipsing Stephen Davis’ single-season rushing mark of 1,432 yards in 2001.

On the other side, Barber, the league’s second-leading rusher before Saturday, was limited to 80 yards in 16 carries and didn’t get to 100 yards rushing for the first time in six games.

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How they stand

Playoff seedings if season ended Saturday. Division winners and top two non-division winners qualify (S-South Division; N-North; E-East; W-West):

*--* AFC 1. Indianapolis (S) 13-2 2. Denver (W) 12-3 3. Cincinnati (N) 11-4 4. New England (E) 9-5 Wild Card 5. Jacksonville (S) 11-4 6. Pittsburgh (N) 10-5 7. Kansas City (W) 9-6

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*--* NFC 1. Seattle (W) 13-2 2. Chicago (N) 10-4 3. N.Y. Giants (E) 10-5 4. Tampa Bay (S) 10-5 Wild Card 5. Carolina (S) 10-5 6. Washington (E) 9-6 7. Dallas (E) 9-6 8. Minnesota (N) 8-6

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