CINCINNATI — Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Washington Redskins are in a mess of trouble.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.— Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and the desperate Philadelphia Eagles proved more of a headache for the New York Giants than all the chaos surrounding Plaxico Burress.

Any lingering doubt whether the NFL faces serious issues about guns and player safety was emphasized on this particular Sunday.

LANDOVER, Md.  — The New York Giants have shoved every distraction aside, including a shooting incident involving their star receiver, to become as dominant as, say, a Chicago Bulls team with Michael Jordan.

Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress was accidentally shot in the right thigh and spent the night in the hospital, another dramatic turn in a tumultuous season in which the star New York Giants receiver has been fined and suspended.

Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley used to go to work with his house unlocked, his garage door open and his mind at ease.

Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty Tuesday to a state dogfighting charge, a move that could make him eligible to leave prison early and potentially speed up a return to pro football.

SEATTLE — The only thing questionable about Clinton Portis is why he even bothers to practice.

ASHBURN — Pressure. The defensive line isn’t generating enough. The offensive line is allowing too much.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.  — The Super Bowl champion New York Giants are running over opponents. Not even Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens’ league-best rushing defense could avoid becoming the latest victims.

HOUSTON — Joe Flacco is making a team known for defense look pretty potent on offense.

Low on sleep and lacking answers, the Washington Redskins showed up Tuesday morning to watch tape of a 23-6 mauling by the Pittsburgh Steelers before taking off for their bye week.

CLEVELAND — Baltimore’s rookies came through and the Ravens’ old man kicked it in, too.

LANDOVER, Md. — Two winning teams. Prime-time football. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins duking it out on the field not far from the nation’s capital, while John McCain and Barack Obama get in a last round of campaigning via television at halftime.

DETROIT — Santana Moss dashed Detroit’s hopes of finally winning a game.

LANDOVER, Md. — For 2½ quarters, the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns produced lots of punts and no points.

The Washington Redskins and their fans have discovered the futility of looking at a schedule and projecting into the future. As in “We have three easy games coming up and will be 7-1.”

LANDOVER, Md. — Josh Brown kicked a 49-yard field goal on the last play of the game Sunday, giving the St. Louis Rams a 19-17 upset of the Washington Redskins to end an eight-game losing streak over two seasons and make Jim Haslett a winner in his coaching debut.

Riding a four-game winning streak few would have predicted, Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn on Monday gave his first news conference as a heavy favorite.

PHILADELPHIA — Another road win against a division opponent has the Washington Redskins in perfect position to make a run at the NFC East.

in less than a month, the mood needle on the Washington Redskins has swung from overwhelmed to overjoyed.
Whether it’s coach Jim Zorn leading cheers of “Hip, Hip, Hooray!” in the locker room or the usual pandemonium that follows any victory over the team the fans love to hate, the supposed bottom-feeders of the potent NFC East have made it known they intend to be a player when postseason berths are on the line in December.

PITTSBURGH — Nothing in their college careers prepared Joe Flacco and Rashard Mendenhall for this.

IRVING, Texas — New Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn was looking for something to help him build up a healthy dose of hate for the Dallas Cowboys. Turns out, he kinds of likes playing his team’s archrival.

IRVING, Texas — New Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn was looking for something to help him build up a healthy dose of hate for the Dallas Cowboys. Turns out, he kinds of likes playing his team’s archrival.

ASHBURN, Va. — Jim Zorn stormed 10 yards onto the field, mad as a hornet, when the Washington Redskins had to waste a timeout in the first quarter because they had 12 men on the field.

LANDOVER, Md. — “Avoid, reset and throw.” Jason Campbell did just that, then hit Santana Moss for a 67-yard touchdown pass that won the game.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady will miss the entire season with a left knee injury that needs surgery, leaving the New England Patriots without one of the game’s great quarterbacks and severely damaging their hopes of a return trip to the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady will miss the entire NFL season with a left knee injury that will require surgery, leaving the New England Patriots without one of the game’s great quarterbacks, their Super Bowl hopes severely damaged.

PHILADELPHIA — This is what a healthy Donovan McNabb looks like.

Days away from his regular-season snaps, rookie Chris Long told himself to not get too excited. The second pick of the draft knows he needs to conserve energy.