Having already dumped their quarterback for an untried newcomer, the Washington Redskins opened another offensive hole here on Wednesday as rusher Clinton Portis went on injured reserve, ending his season.
The move came two days after Portis underwent surgery for a broken right hand suffered after being tackled by Brian Dawkins in the first quarter of a 27-6 loss Sunday at Philadelphia.
The Redskins tumbled to 3-6 and last in the NFC East division, three games behind the New York Giants and needing a turnaround to revive faint playoff hopes.
PHOTO: AFP
Veteran coach Joe Gibbs benched Mark Brunell and made Jason Campbell, who has not played a moment in all 25 games of his NFL career, as the starting quarterback this weekend at Tampa Bay.
The loss of Portis puts the rushing duties onto Ladell Betts, who managed 83 yards on 20 carries after Portis went down on Sunday.
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, the co-chairman of the NFL's competition committee, was fined US$12,500 by the league for criticizing an official in last weekend's 27-26 loss to Baltimore.
After Sunday's game, Fisher said it was a "bad call by the umpire" that denied the Titans' recovery of a fumble in the third quarter. The Titans had stripped Mike Anderson of the ball while he was standing and recovered it, but officials ruled Anderson had been downed by contact.
Fisher challenged and lost a timeout when referee Jeff Triplette upheld the ruling, saying there was a fumble but "no clear recovery."
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