Skins' secondary shackles Hasselbeck

SEATTLE - After playing the first three series of the game, Carlos Rogers went over to DeAngelo Hall on the sideline.

"You know, y'all can come in," Rogers said. "We need to start rotating."

Hall, a former Virginia Tech star, and Fred Smoot did that, subbing for Rogers and Shawn Springs to keep the secondary fresh throughout a 20-17 victory.

Right now, the secondary is a big, happy family, one that shut down Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, holding him to 103 yards and intercepting him to shut down a fourth-quarter comeback. And in case anybody was wondering about that interception, Smoot was happy to inform them.

It was Springs, a former Seahawk, who twisted his body to nab the underthrown ball, but as he relived the play in the locker room, Smoot stood over his shoulder supervising the interview.

"I think Fred Smoot called the play outside to jump the route," Springs said, to a nod of approval.

The talk continued amongst the corners, with Smoot reliving his call as he and Rogers stuffed sodas into their travel bags for the six-hour flight home.

"It's a long trip, but it's like tacking six more hours on if you lose," Rogers said.

The defense had the opportunity to seal the game because the Redskins' offense put 20 points on the board. Most of that was due to the efforts of Clinton Portis, who ran for 143 yards. Portis running wild has been a theme in all of the Redskins victories.

"I think for our offensive line, there's a comfort level when you're running the ball, and it opens up the pass," he said. "We've got balance."

Portis didn't score, though. Instead he left the game with an injury with the ball on the 1-yard line, and Ladell Betts picked it up. Portis suffered a number of injuries and had to be treated at halftime before he could come back in the game.

The other touchdown was a 10-yard pass from Jason Campbell to Antwaan Randle El during the third quarter.

Campbell was sacked twice but on the whole had enough time to throw his passes with a normal rhythm, something that has been a struggle recently. He was helped by throwing out of a two-tight end formation, which brought Todd Yoder in to assist with blocking.

The Redskins also picked up a pair of field goals from Shaun Suisham, who hit the crossbar on a 43-yard attempt to start the game but converted from 26 and 22 yards. He's struggled with distance kicking over the last two weeks.

Elsewhere on the special teams, punter Ryan Plackemeier failed to boot any of his three kicks longer than 38 yards.

"I missed those first two, couldn't get out of a rut, and didn't have another chance," he said.

He lacked chances because Washington's offense did its job and ate up clock in the second half. The defense allowed the Seahawks to counter two of those scores but held on the final possession. While the defensive line was banged up, the secondary forced Seattle into predictability.

"We want to make you one-dimensional and shut down the pass," Rogers said. "OK, you ran, but you really wanted to pass."

Hall added that the cornerbacks did a good job of switching out after they had run a long or tiring route with a receiver.

But at running back, Portis didn't want a similar breather. Despite not practicing at full speed all week, he was just as powerful in the fourth quarter. Portis said that even though he wasn't working out, he still was doing his study work.

"I've been playing football for seven years," he said. "Obviously, I've got an understanding of the game if I cannot practice and then go out there and play."

The rest of the Redskins are counting on that as they hunker down for a fight to make the playoffs.

"That's the guy you need to have a big day," Santana Moss said. "When he has a big day, we're all going to have a big day."

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Washington 0 7 10 3--20
Seattle 3 7 0 7--17
First Quarter

Sea--FG Mare 45, 7:19. Drive: 5 plays, 34 yards, 1:20. Key play: On the first play of the drive, running back Maurice Morris turned a run up the middle into a 44-yard gain, moving the Seahawks into the red zone.
Second Quarter

Was--Betts 1 run (Suisham kick), 4:32. Drive: 11 plays, 62 yards, 5:42. Key play: Santana Moss costs the Redskins field position after tangling with Seattle's Josh Wilson. On third and long, he redeems himself by drawing pass interference from Kelly Jennings, setting up a series of Portis runs and the Betts score.

Sea--Morris 4 pass from Hasselbeck (Mare kick), :29. Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 4:03. Key play: Morris has the big gains, but Julius Jones gets his first carry and changes the pace, going for 19 yards. There were no big plays for Seattle -- they didn't have a third down the entire drive.
Third Quarter

Was--FG Suisham 26, 7:21. Drive: 11 plays, 49 yards, 5:36. Key play: On fourth and 1 at the Seattle 16, Clinton Portis powers off of Darryl Tapp's tackle to secure a first down.

Was--Randle El 8 pass from J.Campbell (Suisham kick), 3:25. Drive: 3 plays, 35 yards, 1:47. Key play: After running inside the tackle box all drive, the Redskins so with five receivers and spread the field for Randle El's touchdown catch.
Fourth Quarter

Sea--Carlson 10 pass from Hasselbeck (Mare kick), 13:24. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 5:01. Key play: The secondary begins to struggle, capped off by a wide-open touchdown pass to Carlson. Rocky McIntosh and Chris Horton were in the area but unable to get near the receiver.

Was--FG Suisham 22, 9:19. Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, 4:03. Key play: On third and 1 from the Seattle 5, Jason Campbell rolled out with fullback Mike Sellers, hitting him with a pass that Sellers dropped, forcing the field goal.

A--67,771.
Was

Sea
First downs24 13
Total Net Yards386 228
Rushes-yards41-187 20-139
Passing yards199 89
Passes20-33-0 12-24-2
Sacked-yards lost2-7 2-14
Punt returns-yards2-18 1-10
Kickoff ret.-yards3-84 5-124
Interceptions Ret.2-13 0-0
Punts3-31.7 4-47.8
Fumbles-lost2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards2-20 6-51
Time of possession38:27 21:33
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Washington, Portis 29-143, J.Campbell 6-32, Betts 5-7, Sellers 1-5. Seattle, Morris 14-103, J.Jones 2-21, Hasselbeck 2-11, Duckett 1-4, Weaver 1-0.

PASSING -- Washington, J.Campbell 20-33-0-206. Seattle, Hasselbeck 12-24-2-103.

RECEIVING -- Washington, Cooley 5-54, Moss 4-72, Sellers 4-30, Randle El 2-18, Portis 2-16, Kelly 2-12, Yoder 1-4. Seattle, Morris 3-10, Engram 2-34, Carlson 2-14, Weaver 2-14, K.Robinson 1-14, Branch 1-11, Taylor 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS -- Washington, Suisham 43 (SH). Seattle, Mare 53 (WR).