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.Campbell and new Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn’s West Coast offense succeeded in Week 2 as spectacularly as it failed in Week 1. Campbell went from uncomfortable to prolific, completing 24 of 36 passes for 321 yards in a 29-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints.The big play came with 3:29 left and the Redskins trailing 24-22. Campbell avoided the rush, stepped forward and hit Moss in stride, the receiver one step ahead of cornerback Tracy Porter.Zorn had chided Campbell for failing to “avoid, reset and throw” on a similar play in the season opening loss to the New York Giants, costing the team a potential long touchdown pass to Moss.The completion was the longest of Campbell’s career. Moss finished with seven catches for 164 yards for the Redskins (1-1).Seventh-round draft pick Chris Horton, making his first NFL start because of Reed Doughty’s illness, was in the right place at the right time with two interceptions off tipped balls and a fumble recovery — accounting for all three Saints turnovers.Horton’s second interception, a pass tipped by teammate Demetric Evans, ended the Saints’ last drive with 2:59 to play.Reggie Bush returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown that gave the Saints (1-1) a 24-15 lead at the end of the third quarter. But Clinton Portis’ second touchdown of the game — an 8-yard run — and the strike from Campbell to Moss more than erased the deficit.While Zorn was getting his first win as a head coach, the Saints stole the spotlight, announcing before the game that coach Sean Payton had been given a contract extension through the 2012 season.Bush, whose promising rookie year was followed by a sophomore slump, carried 10 times for 28 yards and caught seven passes for 63 yards. But his day was more or less mediocre until his second career punt return for a touchdown. He avoided three Redskins and flew down the left sideline, the play marred only by his taunting penalty near the end of the run.Robert Meachem, an oft-injured first-round pick a year ago, was active for the first time in his pro career because of Marques Colston’s thumb injury. His first catch was a touchdown: 19 yards from Drew Brees in the third quarter. The play capped an 80-yard drive that opened the second half and gave the Saints a 17-9 lead.The Redskins responded with an 83-yard drive, aided by a defensive holding penalty on Jason Craft that kept it alive after a sack on third-and-10. Portis (21 carries, 96 yards) ran through a crowd around the left side for a 9-yard touchdown, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed, keeping the Saints ahead 17-15.All of Washington’s five first-half drives ended in field goal attempts, with Shaun Suisham finding the mark from 22, 36 and 35 yards and missing from 49 and 30, the latter due to a bobble by holder Durant Brooks.The Redskins ran more than twice as many plays (38) in the first half as they did in the first half against the Giants (18). They outgained the Saints 203-112 in the half, but the Saints stayed in the game with a 1-yard touchdown run by Pierre Thomas that followed a fumbled punt by Washington’s Antwaan Randle El.—-Contact the Daily Reveille’s sports staff [email protected]
New Orleans loses 29-24 to Washington
By Joseph White
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
September 13, 2008