Hope for the Future

He didn't have to do that. Anybody watching this game came away with two, instant thoughts: Campbell held his own against a soon-to-be Pro Bowl quarterback, even looked better than Romo at times. And, who's got T.O.?

Whatever Campbell's shortcomings at the end, this loss was on the defense. How the most dangerous weapon on the field was not double-covered must be a mystery to even the most casual fan.

The NBA equivalent would be covering Steve Kerr like a blanket while letting Michael Jordan roam free. Had Campbell seen as many zone defenses Romo and Owens saw, he might have thrown for 450 yards. There was no excuse for T.O. scoring every Dallas touchdown, none whatsoever. Let anyone else beat you.

How close Campbell came to negating Owen's magical afternoon, though. Moss came off the field after he ran a perfect post pattern and beat his man on a first down from the 20-yard line. Campbell overthrew him by maybe a foot near the back of the end zone. The receiver smiled ruefully and put his right index finger and thumb together, mouthing, "This close, this close," to the sideline.

That's how close Campbell is to becoming a tremendous quarterback in this league, the difference between, perhaps, 7-3 and 5-5.

Given the green light by a coaching staff suddenly learning to trust his instincts and improvisation, he's now thrown for five touchdowns the past two weeks and picked apart better-than-average defenses.

Beyond making T.O's highlight tape for him, against a team playing like a potential NFC champ for much of the season, there is not much to quibble with given the Redskins' injuries. Let's be honest: Owens hearing Sean Taylor's footsteps instantly changes the complexion of this game; T.O. had not had a 100-yard receiving game against the Redskins since Taylor has been there. Taylor, of course, was out Sunday with a knee injury.

But there is this second-guess: Fourth and one from their 40-yard line in the first half. The Redskins, already leading 7-0, had started the drive at their own 4-yard line. They had done everything right and profited from some wild, broken-play luck to have advanced the ball that far.

Why not show ultimate confidence in the offense instead of asking Shuan Suisham to make a 50-yard field goal, which he missed? Why not keep the Cowboys, a team averaging more than 32 points per game, on their heels there? Just a thought, the kind that comes to mind when Campbell starts rifling 20-yard out patterns into the arms of his receiving corps, using dinks and dunks to keep the Cowboys off-balance and essentially using the passing game as a running game.

For a few minutes, it appeared the West Coast offense had come to Washington. Crazy, no, that they now have a competent kid who can run it for at least the next few years? Make of this loss what must be made of it, but don't think Jason Campbell is going to be a .500 quarterback for very long.