Ladell Betts

Ashburn, Va. -- Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said he erred in his criticism of officials and instant replay after the team's 36-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Gibbs, who vented on Monday, was particularly incensed that officials did not overturn Mike Alstott's game-winning, two-point conversion with 58 seconds left and would not allow him to challenge a ruling on Joey Galloway's 34-yard catch that led to Tampa Bay's first touchdown. "If we disagree on something, I should just say, `Hey, we're going to turn it in, and see where we go,'" Gibbs said yesterday after practice at Redskins Park.

Rob Bironas kicked a 53-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining and the Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans 20-17 for their fourth straight victory after an 0-6 start. The Texans (5-5) had a chance to tie it, but Kris Brown's 49-yard attempt with 1 second remaining was wide left. It was his second miss of the game and the second straight game he's missed a chance to send the Texans to overtime. The Titans (4-6) haven't lost since Vince Young took over at quarterback.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The long-standing debate about the detriments of NFL preseason games outweighing the benefits came painfully to light for the Washington Redskins in their 19-3 loss Sunday night to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. A partially dislocated shoulder for starting tailback Clinton Portis was one of three serious injuries the Redskins sustained, but won't be enough to make coach Joe Gibbs rethink how he will use his front-line players in the remaining three preseason games, starting Saturday night against the New York Jets at FedEx Field.

The argument could be made that the Washington Redskins are playing better than any other team in the NFC East right now. Yes, those 3-6 Redskins without Clinton Portis . Better even than the division-leading Dallas Cowboys, who they play today in Arlington, Texas, in the 99th game of their bitter rivalry. Simply put, the last-place Redskins are the only NFC East team that won its last game. Could it be the sign of a turnaround toward a late-season surge? "I just sense that we won one game; we won our third game of the season.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins released 13 players yesterday, including wide receiver and Gambrills native Darnerien McCants. McCants, an Arundel High School alumnus who was selected by the Redskins in the fifth round (No. 154 overall) of the 2001 draft, played in 29 games in three seasons with the team. Last year, however, McCants was deactivated for 10 games and registered five receptions for 71 yards partly because he did not play on special teams. This preseason, McCants caught three passes for 29 yards.

Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has put the kibosh on the condiments. Receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted this week that he was going to send mustard to the Pittsburgh Steelers before their game Sunday at Heinz Field, a way of whipping up interest in the AFC North showdown. On Wednesday, the receiver backed down. No mustard will be headed up the Ohio River. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to send anything this week, thanks to Marvin Lewis," Ochocinco said.

ASHBURN, Va. - Stephen Davis would like nothing more than to watch Washington Redskins fullback Rock Cartwright succeed. Just not Sunday, when Cartwright's Redskins visit Davis and the Carolina Panthers at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. "I'm proud of him," said Davis, who was the starting tailback for Washington last year during Cartwright's rookie season. "He's worked hard to be in the position that he's in. Hopefully, he can have a successful day, but otherwise, [I hope] we can come out with the victory."

As the dog days of summer appear to be ending, so too are Washington Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey's days in the doghouse. Criticized for missing open receivers and throwing too many interceptions earlier in the preseason, Ramsey planted seeds of optimism with his second straight encouraging showing in the Redskins' 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedEx Field in Landover on Friday night. In the past two games against the Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals, Ramsey has completed 21 of 37 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns.

The argument could be made that the Washington Redskins are playing better than any other team in the NFC East right now. Yes, those 3-6 Redskins without Clinton Portis . Better even than the division-leading Dallas Cowboys, who they play today in Arlington, Texas, in the 99th game of their bitter rivalry. Simply put, the last-place Redskins are the only NFC East team that won its last game. Could it be the sign of a turnaround toward a late-season surge? "I just sense that we won one game; we won our third game of the season.

Rob Bironas kicked a 53-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining and the Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans 20-17 for their fourth straight victory after an 0-6 start. The Texans (5-5) had a chance to tie it, but Kris Brown's 49-yard attempt with 1 second remaining was wide left. It was his second miss of the game and the second straight game he's missed a chance to send the Texans to overtime. The Titans (4-6) haven't lost since Vince Young took over at quarterback.

Chad Ochocinco 's pretend $1 bribe is going to cost him a lot more. The Cincinnati Bengals receiver was fined $20,000 and reprimanded by the NFL for taking a dollar bill onto the field during an officials' review of one of his catches Sunday. Ochocinco held the dollar in his right hand at his side but didn't give it to the official, who motioned for him to stay away. Ochocinco said he was just having fun, but the league didn't like it. Ray Anderson , the league's executive vice president of football operations, sent Ochocinco a letter that said: "The very appearance of impropriety is not acceptable.

Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has put the kibosh on the condiments. Receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted this week that he was going to send mustard to the Pittsburgh Steelers before their game Sunday at Heinz Field, a way of whipping up interest in the AFC North showdown. On Wednesday, the receiver backed down. No mustard will be headed up the Ohio River. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to send anything this week, thanks to Marvin Lewis," Ochocinco said.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The long-standing debate about the detriments of NFL preseason games outweighing the benefits came painfully to light for the Washington Redskins in their 19-3 loss Sunday night to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. A partially dislocated shoulder for starting tailback Clinton Portis was one of three serious injuries the Redskins sustained, but won't be enough to make coach Joe Gibbs rethink how he will use his front-line players in the remaining three preseason games, starting Saturday night against the New York Jets at FedEx Field.

Ashburn, Va. -- Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said he erred in his criticism of officials and instant replay after the team's 36-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Gibbs, who vented on Monday, was particularly incensed that officials did not overturn Mike Alstott's game-winning, two-point conversion with 58 seconds left and would not allow him to challenge a ruling on Joey Galloway's 34-yard catch that led to Tampa Bay's first touchdown. "If we disagree on something, I should just say, `Hey, we're going to turn it in, and see where we go,'" Gibbs said yesterday after practice at Redskins Park.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins released 13 players yesterday, including wide receiver and Gambrills native Darnerien McCants. McCants, an Arundel High School alumnus who was selected by the Redskins in the fifth round (No. 154 overall) of the 2001 draft, played in 29 games in three seasons with the team. Last year, however, McCants was deactivated for 10 games and registered five receptions for 71 yards partly because he did not play on special teams. This preseason, McCants caught three passes for 29 yards.

As the dog days of summer appear to be ending, so too are Washington Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey's days in the doghouse. Criticized for missing open receivers and throwing too many interceptions earlier in the preseason, Ramsey planted seeds of optimism with his second straight encouraging showing in the Redskins' 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedEx Field in Landover on Friday night. In the past two games against the Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals, Ramsey has completed 21 of 37 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns.

Chad Ochocinco 's pretend $1 bribe is going to cost him a lot more. The Cincinnati Bengals receiver was fined $20,000 and reprimanded by the NFL for taking a dollar bill onto the field during an officials' review of one of his catches Sunday. Ochocinco held the dollar in his right hand at his side but didn't give it to the official, who motioned for him to stay away. Ochocinco said he was just having fun, but the league didn't like it. Ray Anderson , the league's executive vice president of football operations, sent Ochocinco a letter that said: "The very appearance of impropriety is not acceptable.

LANDOVER - If there's one positive note the Washington Redskins can take with them for the holidays, they can breathe easy in knowing that they are better than an expansion team. The Redskins proved that yesterday by racking up a season-high 247 rushing yards and limiting the first-year Houston Texans to 166 yards of total offense en route to a 26-10 victory before 70,291 at FedEx Field. Washington (6-9) broke a three-game skid and collected only its second win in the past seven contests, leaving left tackle Chris Samuels to remark, "It's a big win. A great Christmas gift."

LANDOVER -- Saddled for weeks with the dubious honor of owning the NFL's worst offense, the Washington Redskins took their frustrations out on the New York Giants yesterday. Running back Clinton Portis rushed for 148 yards, including a touchdown, and caught one of Patrick Ramsey's three touchdown passes for another as the Redskins thumped the Giants, 31-7, before a raucous crowd of 87,872 yesterday at FedEx Field. The win ended a three-game losing streak for Washington (4-8), which became the last team in the league to break the 20-point mark in a game this season.

ASHBURN, Va. - Stephen Davis would like nothing more than to watch Washington Redskins fullback Rock Cartwright succeed. Just not Sunday, when Cartwright's Redskins visit Davis and the Carolina Panthers at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. "I'm proud of him," said Davis, who was the starting tailback for Washington last year during Cartwright's rookie season. "He's worked hard to be in the position that he's in. Hopefully, he can have a successful day, but otherwise, [I hope] we can come out with the victory."