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It's not easy playing for the Washington Redskins, even when the team wins a game.
Of course, when the Redskins' only victories are against winless teams and one of their losses is to – horrors – the Detroit Lions, D.C. fans might be a little skeptical.
Quarterback Jason Campbell, as an example, doesn't know what kind of reception he'll get when he goes out.
“I went to an event (earlier this week) for domestic violence and the people there were very supportive in what we were doing,” Campbell said, a few days after Washington had evened its record at 2-2 with a 16-13 victory against the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “When we beat St. Louis 9-7, it (got) pretty critical around here. You would have thought we lost with the way things were going on around us.”
When the Redskins face the Carolina Panthers (0-3) on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, it will be the fifth time this season that Washington has played a winless team. Technically that's true: The New York Giants hadn't won a game when they beat the Redskins 23-17 in the season opener.
So it's something the Redskins are used to, right?
“The hardest teams to beat are the ones searching for a win right now,” said Campbell. “The reason for it is because teams feel like they … tend to play with a lot more urgency and a lot harder. You can't overlook (the Panthers) by any means, because the last time we played them in the preseason they put a good whoopin' on us.”
Campbell was referring to a 47-3 victory by the Panthers in the preseason – the 2008 preseason. For some, that might seem like the last time the Panthers have won a game. The streak, including preseason games, actually is eight – including a winless preseason and a season-ending playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Redskins qualify as a streak breaker. Their loss to the Lions snapped an 19-game regular-season losing string by Detroit.
“There is a lot of scrutinizing going on when they don't (win),” Redskins coach Jim Zorn said of the Panthers. “I'm not fooled by anything from that standpoint. We lost to Detroit and Detroit was a very good football team. There is a lot of publicity because of their streak, but I didn't really look at their record. I could see on video what kind of team they had.
“I can see the same thing with (the Panthers). They are very good. The psychology of it is to get ready for a very good football team. That is what we're hoping to do.”
