In their final lap before a much-needed pit stop, the Redskins ran out of gas. Last night’s 23-6 loss to the Steelers started with a 6-0 lead, but it was one built on Pittsburgh’s mistakes.

The Washington Redskins players slept in this morning, ate breakfast, then did something they hardly ever get a chance to do during the season—nothing.

Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis was nominated by the NFL for the FedEx ground player of the week award for his play in Sunday’s victory against Detroit. Portis leads the league in nominations for the award (five) and victories (two). Last week he joined O.J. Simpson as the only two runners in NFL history to twice run for 120 yards or more in five consecutive games. He’s the league’s leading rusher right now with 944 yards and has a chance to reach the coveted 2,000-yard milestone.

Washington Redskins defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin’s sprained right shoulder will keep him out of Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Griffin has been playing hurt since injuring the shoulder Oct. 5 against Philadelphia. Coach Jim Zorn said it was time to let Griffin heal. “I’m going to hold him out,“ Zorn said. “I just want to give him a real rest.“

Flexibility isn’t something that usually happens on an offensive line. There are five players, all in fairly standard positions. But Redskins running back Clinton Portis is the league’s leading rusher (163 carries for 818 yards) for a reason—a seemingly endless supply of blockers to run behind. Aside from the five on the line, he also gets blocks from tight end Chris Cooley and fullback Mike Sellers, who will join the action if defenses are keying on Portis.

Redskins coach Jim Zorn noted Monday that he does a lot of talking about the right tackle position. Stephon Heyer beat out Jon Jansen for that job in training camp, then injured his shoulder four weeks into the season. Since then, Jansen has given the team a quality performance each week. “I’m very pleased. I’ve said that each week because I’ve been asked about Jon Jansen each week,“ Zorn said. “He’s been consistent in there.“

After sitting out Wednesday and Thursday, league-leading running back Clinton Portis practiced with the Washington Redskins on Friday. He had limited snaps, but his hip flexor will not prevent him from starting on Sunday against Cleveland. The team also is keeping an eye on its secondary, where Shawn Springs is questionable for Sunday after injuring his calf at the end of Thursday’s practice.

Redskins running back Clinton Portis sat our yesterday’s practice with a hip flexor, a minor injury that will not keep him out of Sunday’s game against Cleveland. It may, however, keep him from practicing this week. Coach Jim Zorn speculated that Portis may be limited to the team’s Saturday walkthrough. “He might even need one more day. It was pretty bad,“ Zorn said. “That’s all that is the problem, and I expect him to practice Saturday and I expect him to go on Sunday.

Since the Washington Redskins lost to the St. Louis Rams last Sunday, star running back Clinton Portis has not practiced with the team. He’s suffering from a hip flexor, a minor injury that will not keep him out of Sunday’s game, according to coach Jim Zorn. Zorn added, though, that Portis likely would not practice with the team until Saturday’s walkthrough before Sunday afternoon’s game against Cleveland.

ASHBURN Running backs and wide receivers are known for saying, “Give me the ball.“ Offensive linemen, at least one of the Washington Redskins offensive linemen, has a different chant. It’s more along the lines of, “Give me the Rolex. I’ll take the plasma TV.“ “Randy has been talking about a plasma TV,“ Redskins running back Clinton Portis said of right guard Randy Thomas. “He asked me for a Rolex this morning. The price of yardage is high around here.

Jim Zorn is confident that as good as the Washington Redskins’ offense has been for the past three games, this is not as good as it gets. “We have a chance to be a lot better,“ Zorn said. Zorn installed his version of the West Coast offense when he took over as coach. Things have not always gone smoothly. The season-opening loss to the New York Giants was filled with rough spots.

Early Monday morning, as he sat listening to the explanation of what was going on in his left calf, Washington Redskins defensive end Jason Taylor thought his career was in jeopardy. The Redskins’ medical staff was certain immediate action needed to be taken to prevent a major problem. Taylor was kicked in his calf in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against Arizona. He continued playing, was examined at halftime and again after the game.

Cornerback Carlos Rogers made his timely play after Kurt Warner’s pass was deflected by CB Leigh Torrence.

Neither James Thrash (high ankle sprain) nor Malcolm Kelly (sprained ankle) were able to practice yesterday. Kelly tried but was unable to run. Redskins coach Jim Zorn took that as a positive sign that Kelly could be back soon. Cornerback Fred Smoot had the day off because of his sore hip. With back-to-back games thousands of miles from home, the Arizona Cardinals have opted to make a week of it on the East Coast. Instead of returning to Phoenix for five days, then flying to Newark to play the New York Jets, the Cardinals will spend the week in Northern Virginia. They will practice at Catholic University in Washington.

The Washington Redskins capped a remarkable comeback, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter, to defeat the New Orleans Saints 29-24 here today.