REDSKINS VS BUCCANEERS PREVIEW

Saturday, January 7, 2006, 4:30 p.m. ET
Washington Redskins (10-6) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5)

The last time the Buccaneers and Redskins met was back in week 10 when Mike Alstott barreled his way into the end zone on a two-point conversion to give his team a one-point victory. The play was surrounded by controversy, as it was hard to determine on replay whether Alstott actually carried the ball across the goal line. The Redskins will have their chance to avenge that loss this week when they head back to Raymond James Stadium as the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs.

When the Redskins have the ball: Clinton Portis should get the ball early and often on Saturday. The man of a million Halloween masks took 23 carries for 144 yards and scored during the 36-35 loss back in week 10, and he should have further success against a defense that has ceded at least 118 rushing yards in three of its last four home games.

Although Portis scored in the previous meeting, he is hardly a lock to reach paydirt again on Saturday. After all, the Buccaneers have allowed only two rushing scores in their last six outings. For that matter, the Skins have been known to give carries to everyone from Ladell Betts to Rock Cartwright to Mike Sellers in goal line situations.

Mark Brunell surprised us by tossing a pair of touchdowns in that week 10 meeting. He was also intercepted twice while passing for 226 yards. He should produce a similar total again this week when he faces a defense that has ceded at least 200 passing yards in seven of its last nine games. However, Brunell is one of only five quarterbacks to throw multiple touchdowns against the Bucs this year, so don't count on another two-score performance.

Although wide receiver Santana Moss led the team in receiving with four receptions for 79 yards in the last meeting, he was held scoreless by Monte Kiffin's stingy secondary. As such, look for Moss to flirt with 80 yards again this week.

Of course, Moss is the only Redskins wideout worth mentioning, as No. 2 wideout Taylor Jacobs was held to 11 receptions for 100 yards and no scores this season.

Contrarily, the Redskins get plenty of production from their tight ends/H-backs. Mike Sellers scored on his only reception last game, and Chris Cooley logged 66 yards on six catches. Cooley scored five times in the last five games of the regular season, but he'll be facing a defense that ceded only one tight end score at home during the regular season.

We should also point out that backup tailback Betts scored a pair of touchdowns against the Buccaneers. He returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown before adding a 17-yard touchdown reception later in the game. Ladell scored only one touchdown the rest of the season, so we do not expect similar production this time around.

John Hall kicked a pair of field goals and three extra points back in week 10, but the Bucs have surrendered an average of just one field goal per game over the last five weeks, meaning Hall is a risky fantasy play.

When the Buccaneers have the ball: The Buccaneers will have to move the ball through the air in order to beat Joe Gibbs' squad. Back in week 10, Chris Simms passed for 279 yards and three scores. However, only one other team completed multiple touchdown passes against the Redskins this year, so fantasy owners shouldn't bank on a repeat performance from Phil's kid when he faces a defense that allowed an average of 207 yards and one passing score during the regular season.

Rookie rusher Carnell Williams had no luck against the 'Skins the last time around. Cadillac was held to 10 carries for 20 yards. Granted, he was in the midst of a slump, as he failed to reach 30 rushing yards in the two preceding games. However, he bounced back for 116 yards the following week, so it's hard to say whether his struggles against Washington were due to Gregg Williams' defense or the foot injury that was bothering him at the time. We're more inclined to give the Redskins defense the credit given that they held opposing running backs to an average of 74 yards during the regular season. For that matter, Washington allowed only six rushing touchdowns all season.

Although the Redskins held Williams in check, they had a hard time containing Mike Alstott. The big fullback was held to nine carries for 21 yards, but he added two rushing scores and that game-winning two-point conversion with just 58 seconds left on the clock. Alstott scored five of his six touchdowns at home this year, so look for him to hit paydirt on Saturday.

The Buccaneers wideout worth discussing is Joey Galloway. Granted, Ike Hilliard and Edell Shepherd both scored against the Redskins, but those were the only scores logged by those receivers all season. Hilliard will get a rare start this week due to the toe injury that will keep Michael Clayton out of action.

As for Galloway, he lit up the Redskins secondary with seven receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown. Joey had more than double the number of receptions than his nearest teammate. He also scored eight more times than his fellow wideouts, and had four times the receiving yards. The Skins will focus heavily on shutting down Galloway this week, but he should still top his 80-yard average and find the end zone once.

Tampa hasn't been getting much production out of their tight ends this season. Rookie Alex Smith had eight grabs for 75 yards two weeks ago, but he hasn't scored a touchdown since way back in week one. Meanwhile, Anthony Becht hasn't reached 30 receiving yards or the end zone all season.

Matt Bryant was held to just four points in the last meeting between these squads. However, the Redskins have ceded multiple field goals in three of their last four games, meaning Bryant is a threat for a Chuck Woolery (two and two).

Finally, home field advantage could prove to be the key for the Buccaneers, who finished 6-2 on their home turf during the regular season. More importantly, the Redskins beat three playoff teams (Bears, Seahawks, Giants) at home this season, but lost to the Buccaneers and Giants on the road while compiling a 4-4 record away from home.

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