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Week 5: Redskins 23, Eagles 17

The Redskins overcome an early two-touchdown deficit to extend their winning streak to four games, rallying for a 23-17 win over the Eagles in Philadelphia.

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"He wanted that play so bad, he asked [Zorn] to give it to him," center Casey Rabach said. "It's the same play we scored that four-yard touchdown on. He had faith in us, we had faith in him, and he ran his [butt] off."

Portis gained three yards, the Redskins got a first down, and then Campbell finished things in a familiar way. He has kneeled to run out the clock in each victory during the winning streak, adding the final touch to outcomes that have become less of a surprise each week. Washington (4-1) has been among the league's best teams, its season-opening loss to the New York Giants a distant memory.

The Redskins have completed, on paper, what appears to be their most difficult stretch, having played three NFC East opponents on the road in their first five games. Consecutive victories over the Cowboys and Eagles (2-3) have helped put the Redskins in a strong position as they face the St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions -- a combined 1-11 -- in their next three games.

The Redskins are rolling behind Zorn, and owner Daniel Snyder and Vinny Cerrato, Washington's executive vice president of football operations, were upbeat in the locker room after the game. The Redskins remained cool in a tough spot, which is how they roll with Zorn, players said.

"All that stuff happened, they did all that stuff in the first [seven] minutes of the game, and we knew we had a lot of football left," defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander said. "Coach always talks about staying right there in the middle. You see he does it that way, so that's what we do. But, man, it was fast."

Westbrook sat out the Eagles' previous game because of an ankle injury. He showed no lingering effects on the opening possession Sunday, capping a 12-play, 80-yard drive with his nine-yard touchdown run. Then Jackson, standing at Philadelphia's 32-yard line, got under a ball that punter Durant Brooks kicked 37 yards without the hang time special teams coach Danny Smith would prefer.

As Washington's punt-coverage team pursued, Jackson cut back away from the sideline, spotted a seam and accelerated to the middle of the field. Once there, Jackson outran Washington's defenders to the left sideline and went untouched for his first career touchdown on a punt return.

Only 27 seconds elapsed on the game clock between Westbrook's run and Jackson's punt return. The Redskins faced their second-biggest deficit of the season, having trailed the Giants 16-0 in the first half of their 16-7 loss at Giants Stadium.

"We were a little bit shocked," Zorn said. "We didn't do anything. They came out with an incredible drive. They mixed it up, they kept us off-balance, and put it away. Then with the return, sometimes things like that happen. I'll tell you what our players did: They stayed poised.

"We didn't try to grab bag and then change our whole game plan. We just stayed with what we had. Then when we got the first field goal, the thing I started saying on the sideline was, 'One score at a time. That was number one, now we just have to work on the second one.' "

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson relied on his normal assortment of blitz packages, which caused problems at first. The Redskins, however, began to pick up the blitzes well, and Campbell burned the Eagles often with passes to Cooley in the middle of the field.

"They brought every blitz you can name in the playbook," Campbell said. "Our guys continued to stay calm and just weather the storm early, which is what he [Zorn] always talks to us about. They hit us in the mouth early, but we were patient. That's what we were. That's what Coach Zorn wants us to be."