(My Sportsbook) - The public perception of Jim Zorn has run the gamut during his 10-month reign as head coach of the Washington Redskins. The 55-year-old former NFL quarterback went from curious hire to new-age sensation after the Burgundy and Gold sped out to a 6-2 record midway through his debut season, but the bloom appears to be coming off the rose in the second half.

It isn't just that the Redskins endured their fourth loss in five games in this past Sunday's Beltway battle with the Baltimore Ravens, or that the team's once-promising playoff hopes have all but disappeared. It's the way Washington has been losing that has left everyone -- Zorn included -- scratching their heads with bewilderment.

With Sunday's 24-10 setback to the high-flying Ravens, the Redskins have now scored 10 points or less in each of the four defeats of their month-long slump. After putting up at least 23 points during its impressive 4-1 start, Washington has slowly regressed to a No. 29 ranking among the NFL's 32 teams in scoring offense.

"I just cringe every time I think about us scoring only 10 or 7 (points)," said Zorn, who came to Washington with a well-respected reputation as an offensive mind from his tenure as quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks. "We have to be able to sustain drives. We're not good enough yet on offense, period. We've shown that we're not good enough to sustain and teams have just been playing their (base) defenses."

The Redskins were shut out by Baltimore's vaunted defense over the first three quarters and committed two early turnovers that the Ravens turned into touchdowns. Washington did put together a pair of scoring drives over the final 15 minutes, but both came as a result of short fields produced by takeaways by the team's still-stout defense.

Running back Clinton Portis, the Redskins' unquestioned offensive engine, was a non-factor as well. The banged-up seventh-year pro, who's dealing with an assortment of injuries, managed just 32 yards on 11 attempts and was given only one carry in the second half. Portis hasn't had more than 20 touches or over 68 rushing yards in any of Washington's four most recent losses.

Zorn's sputtering offense will have another major hurdle to clear for the final three regular-season games, as it was announced on Monday that five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Chris Samuels tore his right triceps against the Ravens and will miss the rest of the year. The Redskins also could be without veteran right tackle Jon Jansen, who sprained his left knee in Sunday's game, for this weekend's matchup with Cincinnati.

QUICK HITS: Rookie strong safety Chris Horton also sat out the second half of the Baltimore game after suffering a shoulder stinger...Washington's defense held the Ravens to 281 total yards and 12 first downs despite playing without three starters in cornerback Shawn Springs (torn calf), linebacker Marcus Washington (high ankle sprain) and tackle Kedric Golston (ankle)...Middle linebacker London Fletcher, who continues to play through a badly bruised left foot, racked up a team-best 12 tackles and extended his streak of consecutive games started to 132...The Redskins had been 4-1 on the road this season prior to Sunday's loss.

NEXT UP: The Redskins will try to snap out of their slump against a Cincinnati team that has allowed the fourth-most points in the league. The Bengals, who are an AFC-worst 1-11-1 as well, have lost three in a row and have been outscored by a 69-6 margin in their two most recent defeats. Washington will be visiting the Queen City for the first time since posting a 34-27 win at the now-defunct Riverfront Stadium in 1991.

PHILADELPHIA: While the Redskins are in danger of falling out of the playoff race, the Eagles put themselves right back in the mix with an eye-catching 20-14 victory on the road over the NFC's top dog, the New York Giants, this past Sunday.

Philadelphia gained its crucial win by controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides and maximizing the talents of the dynamic Brian Westbrook, who further proved the assortment of injuries that hampered him earlier in the season were no longer an issue with a dominating individual performance.

Westbrook piled up 131 rushing yards on a career-best 33 carries and added a game-best 72 receiving yards on six catches, while scoring the Eagles' two touchdowns as well. The standout back broke free for a 30-yard scoring run in the second quarter, then later burned Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce in one- on-one coverage for a 40-yard touchdown catch that gave his team a 17-7 lead early in the fourth.

With the cold and blustery conditions at Giants Stadium presenting a stern challenge for both clubs to throw the ball, the normally pass-happy Eagles shifted philosophy with a ball-control game plan that produced 144 yards on the ground. New York, owners of the NFL's top rushing offense, wasn't nearly as successful in that area against a Philadelphia defense that aggressively crowded the line up front. The Eagles held their division rivals to 88 rushing yards and just 211 total on the day.

"I thought both lines, offensive and defensive, just played their hearts out," said Eagles head coach Andy Reid. "Anytime you can have the yardage that we did, and the pressure on (Giants quarterback) Eli (Manning) when we did, when you stop the running game like that. It was a great job by those front guys."

The Eagles are hoping that Sunday's big win is the start of a late-year surge that was reminiscent of two years ago, when the team closed out the regular season with five straight wins to sneak into the postseason. At 7-5-1, Philadelphia trails Dallas and Atlanta by a half-game for the second of the NFC's two Wild Card berths, with the Cowboys slated to visit Lincoln Financial Field in the December 28 finale.

QUICK HITS: Westbrook's fourth-quarter touchdown catch moved him past Harold Carmichael for first place in Eagles history in the category of yards from scrimmage. He now has 9,085 total yards over his seven-year career... Westbrook's two touchdowns on Sunday give him 14 on the season, which surpasses his previous career high of 13 set in 2003...Safety Brian Dawkins played in his 180th lifetime game as an Eagle, which tied Carmichael for the most in franchise history...Tight end L.J. Smith established season-bests with six catches and 44 receiving yards in Sunday's win...Wide receiver Kevin Curtis suffered a concussion late in the first half and did not return after intermission...Reserve offensive lineman Nick Cole made his second career start for the Eagles, taking over at right guard after regular Max Jean-Gilles fractured his right ankle in Philly's Thanksgiving Day win over Arizona.

NEXT UP: The Eagles aim for a third straight win when the floundering Cleveland Browns enter Lincoln Financial Field this coming week for a Monday night clash. The 4-9 Browns come in on a three-game losing streak and will be starting third-string quarterback Ken Dorsey due to season-ending injuries to top two triggermen Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.

DALLAS: For 3 1/2 quarters of Sunday's marquee interconference matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys played like champions. However, the star-studded team failed to finish what it started, and the AFC North- leading Steelers took advantage with a furious rally that further clouded the postseason chances of last season's No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Pittsburgh scored 17 unanswered points over the final 7:15 of play to earn an improbable 20-17 victory over the Cowboys at a frigid Heinz Field. The remarkable run, capped by cornerback Deshea Townsend's 25-yard interception return touchdown with just 1:40 remaining, sent shockwaves through a Dallas squad that seemingly had put itself in position to make a late run for the NFC East title.

The Cowboys had the game well in hand after stopping Pittsburgh's Gary Russell on a 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line with 12:20 left, but essentially attempted to rest on the laurels of their 10-point lead the rest of the way. The determined Steelers responded with a flurry of momentum-changing plays to deny what would have been an all-important ninth win of the season for Dallas.

A long punt return by Steelers wideout Santonio Holmes deep into Dallas territory, soon after the goal-line stand, set up a field goal that trimmed the deficit to 13-6, and Pittsburgh's dynamic defense forced a three-and-out soon afterward. The Steelers responded with their best drive of the day, an eight-play, 67-yard touchdown march that tied the contest with 2:04 to go.

Two plays after the score, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten weren't in sync on a route, with Townsend picking off the overthrown pass and racing to the end zone to complete the startling comeback.

While the loss wasn't a crippler for Dallas, which currently has a tie-breaker edge on Atlanta in the race for the NFC's final Wild Card spot, the preseason Super Bowl contenders wasted a golden opportunity to solidify their playoff standing. And with games against the New York Giants, Baltimore and Philadelphia -- teams that are a combined 27-11-1 at the moment -- coming up, the Cowboys know nothing is for certain right now.

We've got three tough games, and I think we all know where we stand," said Witten. "Our back's against the wall and it's a huge challenge for us, so you can't let (Sunday's loss) affect you and you've got to move forward."

QUICK HITS: Running back Marion Barber did not make the trip for Sunday's tilt after dislocating his right pinkie toe in Dallas' Thanksgiving Day win over Seattle. Rookie Tashard Choice started in Barber's place and posted career- best totals of 88 rushing yards and 23 carries against the league's top-ranked run defense...Romo was intercepted three times on the afternoon and had a string of back-to-back 300-yard passing games end after throwing for 210 while completing 19-of-36 attempts...Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware recorded his 16th sack of the season with a takedown of Ben Roethlisberger in the third quarter, the most by a Cowboys' player since Randy White had 16 in 1978. Ware has recorded a sack in 12 of 13 games this year...The Dallas Morning News reported on Monday that the Cowboys and offensive tackle Marc Colombo, an impending free agent, agreed to a four-year contract extension through 2012.

NEXT UP: Dallas won't have a chance to play for an NFC East championship when it hosts the Giants this Sunday, as New York clinched first place in the division with the Cowboys' loss to the Steelers, but it will have an opportunity to avenge a 35-14 defeat to Big Blue at Giants Stadium back on November 2. Romo did not play in that game while recovering from a broken finger he endured in a Week 6 loss at Arizona.

N.Y. GIANTS: Despite clinching their first NFC East championship since 2005 and a fourth straight postseason appearance on Sunday, the Giants were hardly in a celebratory mood.

Having built a glossy 11-1 record on the strength of overpowering the opposition, New York instead got pushed around in its Week 14 home loss to Philadelphia. Moreover, the Giants appeared sluggish and disinterested at various points of the contest, fueling speculation that the frenzy created by wide receiver Plaxico Burress' recent off-field exploits had taken its toll on the usually strong-willed club.

To a man, the Giants denied that the ongoing investigation of Burress' self- inflicted shooting at a Manhattan nightclub just prior to their 23-7 victory at Washington on November 30 was a distraction too big to overcome, and that the talented wideout's absence was a factor in the offense's least productive output of the season.

"I don't think it affected us," remarked quarterback Eli Manning about the Burress situation. "We just didn't play our best. That's part of football. I give a lot of credit to Philadelphia for what they did and making things tough for us. We get a lot of big plays in games from the run and the pass. Today we just didn't have it."

New York's 211 total yards and time of possession number (25:06) were its worst figures of the season, while Manning mustered a season-low 123 passing yards and hit on just 13 of his 27 attempts in the tough Meadowlands conditions. The Giants, who entered the matchup averaging a league-best 29.3 points per game, did not score an offensive touchdown until 15 seconds were remaining until the final whistle.

The Giants seemed to get a needed spark in the final play of the first half, when defensive end Justin Tuck blocked a field-goal try by the Eagles' David Akers and cornerback Kevin Dockery returned the loose ball 71 yards for a touchdown which cut Philadelphia's lead to 10-7. However, the Giants failed to sustain the momentum after the break, with the Eagles embarking on a clock- killing 15-play drive to open the second half while continuing to hold New York's offense in check.

The debate as to whether Sunday's setback was simply an off day for the Giants or if Burress' saga will have a long-range impact may be answered this coming weekend, when the defending world champions head to Dallas for a key battle with one of their fiercest rivals.

QUICK HITS: Running back Brandon Jacobs sat out the fourth quarter after aggravating a mild left knee sprain that caused him to miss New York's win at Arizona two weeks back. He ended the game with 52 yards on 10 attempts... Cornerback Aaron Ross also left Sunday's test after spraining an ankle late in the first half...Westbrook became the first opposing running back to rush for over 100 yards on the Giants this season...Dockery's score was the second of his career, having previously recorded a 96-yard interception touchdown at Dallas on October 23, 2006...Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was with Burress at the time of last week's incident, registered a season-high 15 tackles (12 solo) against the Eagles.

NEXT UP: The Giants return to the site of one of their most thrilling wins of last year's storybook season this Sunday. New York knocked off the top-seeded Cowboys by a 21-17 count at Texas Stadium during last January's NFC Divisional Playoffs, avenging a pair of losses to Dallas during the 2007 regular season. The G-Men have won 15 of their last 16 road games since a 45-35 defeat to the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in the 2007 season opener.