Clinton Portis isn't about to let one loss define the Redskins' season.
Washington is coming off a disappointing 24-17 loss to the New York Giants, a game in which the Redskins led 17-3 at halftime.
Asked this week if the team feels a loss of momentum, Portis replied: "I don't think so. You want to go undefeated all season long--everyone wants that. Once it doesn't happen, you have to figure out what's the next step. You have to figure out a way to continue to win.
"Now we are 2-1. We lost one game. Is that the end of our season? That game is not going to make or break our season. But at the same time, what we need to do now is stop the bleeding.
"This week we have the opportunity to have a bye. The following week, we play Detroit, who has been playing great ball. We have to go out and find a way to beat Detroit and if we do that, we will be feeling good about ourselves again.
Portis had 14 carries for 60 yards and one touchdown against the Giants, and caught six passes for 37 yards.
Early in the fourth quarter, Portis mishandled a handoff by Jason Campbell in a play that resulted in a fumble. It was a critical play, as the Giants recovered the fumble and drove downfield for the game-winning score.
In a decision that has drawn scrutiny, coaches did not use Portis during the game's final plays. With time running out in the fourth quarter, Ladell Betts was stopped twice from scoring a game-tying touchdwon at the Giants' 1-yard line.
Asked what he was thinking as he watched the end of the game unfold, Portis said: "I was thinking Ladell was going to get that yard. I really felt like he was. There wasn't an argument going on over on the sidelines like, 'Why am I not in?'
"If Ladell had scored that touchdown, it wouldn't be a problem. But we didn't score, so now it's, ?Well, why wasn't Clinton in?' But who is to say I would have scored?"
"They called the play, Ladell was in the game, and I'm sitting over there like, 'Please save this game for us.' It gave us the opportunity to stay undefeated, but it didn't happen."
Through three games, Portis has rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He has a 4.7 yards-per-carry average.
Portis said he expected to use the bye week to rest up for the 13-games-in-a-row grind the team faces coming out of the bye.
"I'm going to get healthy, get some rest," he said. "I'm going to try to catch my little cousin play some high school football down in Mississippi, but nothing major."
-- BODIFORD BACK WITH THE PACK
Redskins practice squad wide receiver Shaun Bodiford re-signed with the Green Bay Packers this week.
The Redskins had claimed Bodiford, a second-year player, off waivers from the Packers on Sept. 2. They kept him on the 53-man roster for the first two weeks of the regular season, but he was inactive on GameDays.
Bodiford was released by the Redksins shortly after the team signed veteran wide receiver Reche Caldwell. Last Saturday, he was brought back to the practice squad.
NFL teams can obtain a player from another team's practice squad, as long as that player is signed to the active roster.
Replacing Bodiford on the Redskins' practice squad is offensive lineman Justin Geisinger, who spent time on the Redskins' practice squad earlier this season.
