Portis Aiming for Return in Week 2

Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis is targeting the second game of the season 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 Friday for the first time since partially dislocating his left shoulder four 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,” he said. “But who knows? If not, I should be ready for Houston. They want me to be 100%.”

In a bit of a surprise, Portis said he was initially told he wouldn’t return until the third or fourth game of the regular season, making the injury considerably more serious than originally portrayed by the Redskins.

“I’m actually ahead of schedule,” he said.

Portis said he has had no full contact on his shoulder, which he hurt making a tackle in the exhibition opener against Cincinnati.

“I tried to show coach that I still had it, but I don’t think he fell for it,” said Portis, who rushed for a franchise-record 1,516 yards last season.

*

Making his debut for the Miami Dolphins, Daunte Culpepper -- playing for the first time since a knee injury ended his 2005 season last October -- failed to throw a touchdown pass, and his quarterback rating was 48.6. He and star receiver Chris Chambers combined for only 59 yards on five completions in Thursday night’s 28-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Daunte did a lot of good things in the game,” Dolphins Coach Nick Saban said. “He made a lot of good throws. He moved around. I don’t think he was apprehensive at all. The timing in what we did at times was not what it needs to be, which is really a team thing.”

*

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Marcus Stroud did not practice for the second consecutive day and remained questionable for the season opener Sunday against Dallas.

Stroud, who has played in every game during his five-year career, sprained his right ankle in practice Wednesday and has been in a protective boot since.

Linebacker Mike Peterson practiced for the second day in a row but was also listed as questionable. Peterson, the Jaguars’ top tackler the last three years, sprained a knee ligament on Aug. 26.

*

Former Green Bay Packers running back Najeh Davenport signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Davenport, who has rushed for 1,068 yards in 39 NFL games, sat out most of last season after breaking an ankle Oct. 9 against New Orleans. He was released last weekend by Green Bay.

*

The NFL opener Thursday night in which the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins, 28-17, earned a fast national Nielsen rating of 12.6 with a 21 share and had about 19.3 million viewers.

This was the fifth Thursday night opener for the NFL, and the 12.6 is the second highest rating on broadcast television in the series behind a 12.9 for ABC in 2003 when the Washington Redskins defeated the New York Jets, 16-13.

Thursday night’s game got a 50.6 rating in Pittsburgh, a 22.7 in Miami but only an 8.6 in Los Angeles.

*

-- Larry Stewart