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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 1:49 p.m., Sunday, October 19, 2008

NFL: Portis runs for 175 as Redskins beat Browns 14-11

By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

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

Then Clinton Portis really started piling up the yards. Santana Moss starting doing spin moves after catching the ball. London Fletcher led a huge goal line stand. The Browns, not to be outdone, made things interesting with a late touchdown, a 2-point conversion, and a field-goal attempt that was wide right with 25 seconds to play.

After nearly putting the fans to sleep, two teams packed a lot into a little bit of time today. Portis broke the scoreless tie with a 3-yard run in the third quarter and rushed for 175 yards on 27 carries, and Moss spun his way to an 18-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter as the Redskins beat the Browns 14-11.

The Browns nearly recovered from a 14-3 deficit, scoring on Joshua Cribbs' 1-yard catch and Braylon Edwards' 2-point conversion reception with 2:44 to play. Cleveland then forced Washington to punt and drove to the Redskins 36 in the final minute, but Phil Dawson missed what would have been a career-long 54-yard field goal with 25 seconds to play.

The Redskins (5-2) have won five of six, having bounced back from last week's loss to the St. Louis Rams. The Browns (2-4) had won two straight, including last week's upset win over the New York Giants.

The Browns couldn't replicate that magic against the Redskins. Their point production dropped from 35 to 11. Their yards total plummeted from 454 to 236. Derek Anderson went from 310 yards passing to 136 and was hurt by several drops by his receivers. Kellen Winslow, playing after missing last week's game with an unidentified illness, didn't catch a pass until late in the fourth quarter.

Portis, meanwhile, kept grinding away in his fourth consecutive 100-yard game. He has 818 yards rushing only seven games into the season. Moss, kept quiet the previous two games, caught four passes for 75 yards. Jason Campbell went a modest 14-for-23 for 164 yards, but he still hasn't thrown an interception all season.

The game's first 14 possessions ended in 13 punts and a missed field goal. The drought was broken at the exact midpoint of the third quarter when Portis reached the ball across the goal line. The score was set up by the game's first big pass play: a 35-yard completion to Moss, who made two spin moves after the catch to add valuable yards downfield.

The Browns answered with a 58-yard drive — including a 22-yard run by Jamal Lewis in which he hurdled cornerback Fred Smoot — to get on the board with a 37-yard field goal from Dawson. It was the first Cleveland drive not to end in a punt.

The Redskins went ahead 14-3 on Moss' touchdown with 12:28 remaining, coming after a 27-yard run from Portis.

The Browns responded with a 6½-minute drive but came away with no points despite a first-and-goal at the 1. Fletcher made the tackles on first and second downs, and Demetric Evans batted away a pass on fourth down.

But Portis was stripped by Eric Wright at the end of a 24-yard run on the next play. Brodney Pool recovered, and the Browns scored five plays later on a fourth-and-goal pass to Cribbs.