Washington Redskins at Denver Broncos Preview

By J.E. | Saturday, October 08, 2005 | ( 0 )

Got something to say?

The surprising Washington Redskins (3-0) head to Invesco Field to take on the Denver Broncos (3-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 4:15pm ET.

Not many people expected the Redskins to be one of the few remaining undefeated teams at this point in the season. It hasn't been easy, though. In fact, the Redskins' widest margin of victory in their 3 wins is a scant 3 points.

They'll have little room for error this week against a Broncos team that has come on strong in the last couple of games. Mark Brunell will get the start at quarterback again. He has thrown for 587 yards and 4 touchdowns thus far. Brunell's main target has been offseason acquisition Santana Moss. Moss has 15 receptions for 342 yards and 2 TDs this year, with both of those touchdowns coming in the Redskins' 14-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.

Clinton Portis will try to establish the running game for Washington. Portis has gained 263 yards in Washington's first 3 games, and would like nothing more than to score his first touchdown of the season against his former team.

Denver is coming off a convincing 20-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. After a dismal 34-10 Opening Day loss to Miami, the Broncos have now won three in a row. The key to their success has been their running game. Mike Anderson, who gained just 5 yards on 4 carries in the Miami game, has rushed for 262 yards and a touchdown since then. Backup Tatum Bell is also becoming a bigger factor in the Denver offense. Bell chipped in 60 yards on 15 carries in last week's win. Look for both of these guys to get plenty of touches against Washington.

Quarterback Jake Plummer is much more effective when the ground game is working. Plummer threw the ball just 26 times against the Jaguars, connecting on 19 of those passes for a total of 136 yards. He also hooked up with Dwayne Carswell from short range for two scores. If Plummer has another mistake-free game on Sunday, chances are good that the Denver Broncos will be able to hand the Washington Redskins their first loss of the season.

Got something to say?