EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With every game having playoff implications for the Redskins these days, Clinton Portis and the new proud pop, Todd Collins, made sure Washington had something to play for next week.
Portis rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown and Collins led the Redskins on five scoring drives in his first start in 10 years, outplaying Eli Manning in a 22-10 victory that put a little doubt into the 9-5 New York Giants’ road to the postseason.
“It was another game we had to get and we just have to keep it going,” Portis said after Washington (7-7) won its second straight game and moved within a half-game of Minnesota for a wild-card berth. “We have a lot of strong will in this room.”
After losing four straight games, Washington is back in the hunt after enduring the tragic shooting death of Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor in late November.
The Vikings (7-6) play the Chicago Bears tonight, before meeting the Redskins in Minnesota next week. New Orleans also is 7-7 with two games to play.
“We’re thrilled,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. “I told our players that they were taking me for a ride.”
No one had a wilder ride this week than Collins, starting in place of Jason Campbell, who was hurt Dec. 6 against the Bears.
Not only did Collins lead them to victory, he did it two days after his wife, Andrea, gave birth to their second child.
Collins was in Boston for the birth on Friday and flew to the game Sunday morning in owner Daniel Snyder’s private jet.
