WASHINGTON — With the Washington Redskins having the day off, quarterback Jason Campbell took a rare break from football Tuesday. Instead of reviewing game film or going over the playbook, he decided to just relax at his house and take his mind off the game.

A once-promising season is threatening to slip away, with the Redskins having lost three of their last four games. And as is typical in the unforgiving world of the NFL, criticism of the team's quarterback is intensifying with each loss.

Frustration by fans — not to mention sports radio and television pundits — boiled over after Sunday's 23-7 loss to the New York Giants. Callers filled talk radio programs with attacks on Campbell's performance, with many saying he should be benched in favor of backup Todd Collins, who led the Redskins' late, four-game winning streak that resulted in a playoff berth last season after Campbell was lost to injury.

There is no quarterback controversy in the Redskins' locker room, and Coach Jim Zorn reaffirmed Monday that Campbell remains the team's starter. Even so, the soft-spoken Campbell, who will turn 27 on Dec. 31, is unaccustomed to this level of scrutiny. In only his second full season as a starter, the native of tiny Taylorsville, Miss., is shouldering the burden of a franchise still trying to recapture the Super Bowl-winning success it enjoyed during the 1980s and early 1990s.

"People just don't understand," Campbell said with a tired voice as he leaned against a wall near the locker room at Redskins Park on Monday. "Right now, I'm getting all of the blame and, yeah, it's tough. As the quarterback, you know you're going to get too much of the credit when the team wins and too much when you lose. People are basically throwing me under the bus right now, and here I am still trying to get established in this league.

"But I'll accept all the blame, because the same ones who are riding me right now were the same people (earlier) this year that were saying something a whole lot different. I'm smart enough to know that it's not all on me."

Named the Redskins' starter midway through the 2006 season under former coach Joe Gibbs Campbell was sidelined during Washington's run to the playoffs in 2007 because of a dislocated kneecap. The team re-signed Collins, 37, in the offseason. But Campbell has worked closely with Zorn, who came to Washington from the Seattle Seahawks with a reputation as a good teacher of young quarterbacks.

The relationship appeared to be paying off well as Washington opened the season 4-1, and the stellar play of Campbell was pointed to as one of the reasons behind the team's strong start.

The Redskins were 6-2 at the midpoint of their schedule and appeared to be on a good path to qualify for the playoffs in consecutive seasons for only the second time since the 1991-92 seasons. Then came November and losses to Pittsburgh, Dallas and New York, with a lone victory against the lowly Seahawks. The Redskins, now 7-5, would not qualify for the playoffs if they began today.

The Redskins' performance, particularly a lack of scoring by the offense, has stirred more criticism of Campbell, who acknowledged this week that "you can't help but hear it when it's out there like it is now."

"You try not to listen to it, try to just stay away from all the negativity, but it's all over the place," he said. "But I know who I am and how hard I work. You always have to remember that. You can't let outside people get you down when they really don't know what's going on."

The Redskins average only 17.3 points per game, ranking 28th in the NFL. They scored 43 points in November — an average of 10.8 — and 23 points in three losses on their home field to the Steelers, Cowboys and Giants. The Redskins have scored four offensive touchdowns in their last four games, and are among only three teams — the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals are others — without a 30-point game.

Zorn said this week that his West Coast offensive scheme is fine. In his opinion, lack of execution by players is the Redskins' biggest problem. "I'll stay with that, because I believe it to be true," Zorn said. "Our schemes are good, and I think our adjustments are good, too. I think we've approached each game soundly. But we have to execute better."

Campbell is tied for 12th in the NFL in passer rating at 87.8. He has completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 2,560 yards, but has only 10 touchdowns with four interceptions. Last month, Campbell had a total of two touchdowns and four interceptions, and a passer rating below 74 in three games.

"I don't have a lot of touchdown passes, I know that," Campbell said. "I would love to have 20 touchdown passes right now, not because I want the stats, that's not what I care about, but I want us to score more points. But you can't throw touchdowns if guys are not open. It doesn't work like that."

To be sure, Campbell has room for improvement. He has made poor decisions reading defenses at times. Some of his passes have not been sharp. Zorn rated his performance against the Giants Sunday as "very average."

But Zorn also said he has confidence in Campbell. He has praised his quarterback for making strides in learning his third offensive system in four pro seasons and said he is committed to his development. "I put a lot on him to be right all the time," Zorn said. "He knows that I think he can really do it."