(Sports Network) - When the NFL schedule came out in April, there were many prognosticators who had the Washington Redskins pegged to finish last in the competitive NFC East under new head coach Jim Zorn. In their minds, there was no way the Redskins would be sitting at 4-1 after their first five games, especially with three division rivals on the early slate.

Zorn's West Coast offense has proved all doubters wrong so far, and he has the Redskins off to their best start since the 1999 squad opened 4-1 and reached the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.

Zorn will try to keep his team focused on Sunday, when the winless St. Louis Rams pay a visit to FedEx Field looking to upset the surging 'Skins on their home turf.

Washington must not overlook the Rams with Cleveland on the horizon, since the division-rival New York Giants are unbeaten at 4-0 and Dallas sports a similar 4-1 mark in the NFC East standings.

The Redskins have ripped off four straight wins since a season-opening setback to the Giants, and are coming off an impressive 23-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Washington overcame a hostile environment and an early 14-0 deficit to silence the crowd and send Philadelphia to the bottom of the division standings.

Quarterback Jason Campbell has flourished so far under Zorn's unpredictable scheme, having thrown for 1,054 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. What's even better for Campbell, as well as the team, is that he has had the opportunity to kill the clock by kneeling down to end each of the last four wins.

Washington, which also won at Dallas in Week 4, is aiming for its best start since former head coach Norv Turner opened the 1996 campaign with seven wins over the first eight weeks. It has also won four in a row at FedEx Field dating back to last season.

The Rams, meanwhile, hope that their recent bye week will cure what ails them as they take on a tough Washington team this weekend. St. Louis is 0-4 for the second straight year after losing the first eight games of the 2007 season. Interim head coach Jim Haslett will make his Rams head-coaching debut after Scott Linehan got the boot a few days after a 31-14 setback to the Buffalo Bills in Week 4.

Linehan received heavy criticism from some of his players after he benched high-priced starting quarterback Marc Bulger for the Buffalo game. In July 2007, Bulger was rewarded with a six-year, $65 million extension that made him the highest paid player in franchise history. Linehan went 11-25 in his Gateway City stay.

St. Louis currently runs out one of the worst offenses in the NFL and will probably come close to matching its awful start of last season. It has the Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets on the upcoming docket. The Rams' best shot at a win may be against the San Francisco 49ers on November 16, and even that game will be tough since it's on the road at Candlestick Park.

Bulger, running back Steve Jackson and wide receiver Torry Holt have yet to put any fear in opposing defenses like they once used to. Sunday is a good time to get started for the Rams, who haven't won since a 28-16 victory over Atlanta on December 2 of last year.

SERIES HISTORY

The Redskins hold a 20-7-1 lead in their all-time series with the Rams, but were 37-31 overtime losers when the teams last met, in Week 16 of the 2006 season at the Edward Jones Dome. Washington won the three previous meetings, including a 24-9 road win in 2005 and a 20-7 triumph when the clubs last did battle in D.C., in 2002. The Rams last won a road game in the series in 1997.

In addition to the regular season series, the teams have split four all-time postseason matchups. The then-Cleveland Rams defeated the Redskins for the 1945 NFL Championship, and the L.A. Rams took down Washington in a 1974 NFC Divisional Playoff. The Skins returned the favor by downing the Rams in a 1983 NFC Divisional Playoff and a 1986 NFC First-Round Playoff.

Haslett is 2-1 all-time against Washington, with all of those meetings dating back to his tenure with the Saints (2000-2005), including 2-0 in games played at FedEx Field. The Redskins' Jim Zorn will be meeting both Haslett and the Rams for the first time as a head coach.

WHEN THE RAMS HAVE THE BALL

Bulger (519 passing yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) was given back the starting job after Haslett was named head coach last week. He wasn't all to blame for St. Louis' ineptitude on offense, but he certainly didn't help the cause. Backup Trent Green (236 passing yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) started against the then-unbeaten Bills in Week 4 and finished 17-of-32 for 236 yards and an interception in a 31-14 setback before the bye. Haslett then inserted Bulger back under center for the rest of the season, barring any injuries or problems. Bulger didn't speak to the media after Linehan made the switch, but finally broke his silence after being named starter again, saying how he was upset and that it wasn't the right move to bench him. Now the West Virginia product is back with the first team hoping to put the Rams into the win column. Bulger faced the Redskins once, a 37-31 overtime victory by the Rams on December 24, 2006, and passed for 388 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. St. Louis is 26th in passing offense this season and All-Pro wideout Torry Holt (15 receptions, 1 TD) hasn't done much to help. He has had no more than 76 yards receiving in a game this year, but does lead the NFL with 768 catches and 11,263 yards since 2000. In injury news, tight end Randy McMichael was placed on injured reserve with a broken tibia and torn ligaments and is expected to miss the rest of the season. McMichael was replaced on the roster by Daniel Fells, and Joe Klopfenstein has been named the starting tight end. Former Redskins offensive coordinator and current Rams coordinator Al Saunders served as Redskins assistant head coach under Joe Gibbs from 2006-07.

Right now the Redskins are feeling confident after winning four of their first five games of the season, and the defense should not have a tough time keeping the Rams' passing attack in check. Even though Washington is 20th in the NFL in pass defense (217.6 ypg), it has a fine crop of defensive backs. Safety Chris Horton (18 tackles, 3 INT) is second in the NFL with three interceptions, while cornerbacks Carlos Rogers (21 tackles, 1 INT) and Fred Smoot (19 tackles, 1 INT) are among the team leaders in stops. Smoot started for an injured Shawn Springs against the Eagles and helped shut down quarterback Donovan McNabb, who passed for 196 yards with no touchdowns. Springs was slowed by a calf injury that he suffered against the Cowboys and may sit out another week. Safety LaRon Landry (18 tackles, 0.5 sack) is a hard-hitting ballhawk who will be looking to lay out any one of the Rams' receivers.

Jackson (269 rushing yards, 1 TD) is coming off his best performance of the season in which he recorded 110 yards and his first touchdown of the year on 24 touches against Buffalo. With an extra week of rest, the bruising running back should be even more eager to get it going at Washington. Jackson had his first 100-yard rushing game since a December 16 loss to Green Bay in 2007. The Rams average just 84.0 rushing yards a game even with Jackson in the backfield, but a lot of blame can be put on the offensive line. Jackson has also been a nice addition to Saunders' style of offense by creating mismatches out of the backfield in the passing game. Jackson, whose 27-day holdout in the preseason seems to have had no effect, also leads the team in receptions (21) and receiving yards (211). He is averaging 120 yards from scrimmage a game, the second-highest mark in the league.

Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache brings an aggressive style of play to the table and his run-stopping unit currently ranks ninth in the NFL, allowing just 85.4 rushing yards per game. The Redskins have allowed just one 100-yard rusher this season, and that was Giants running back Brandon Jacobs in the opening game. Jacobs had 116 yards that day, and the defense has made the proper adjustments since. Philadelphia's elusive running back Brian Westbrook was limited to 33 yards, a touchdown and two broken ribs against the Redskins last Sunday. Middle linebacker and leading tackler London Fletcher (40 tackles) finished with four stops and a pass defensed against the Eagles and is fifth in the NFL in tackles. Defensive end Andre Carter (17 tackles, sack) led the way with six tackles last week and is searching for his fourth straight game against the Rams with at least a half-sack. The Redskins played without linebacker Marcus Washington (13 tackles) on Sunday due to a hamstring injury, and he was replaced in the starting lineup by youngster H.B. Blades (15 tackles), who may get another start this week. First-year Redskin and veteran defensive end Jason Taylor (7 tackles, sack) missed the game with a calf injury suffered in Week 3 versus Arizona and did not practice early in the week. Demetric Evans (6 tackles) replaced Taylor in the lineup versus Philadelphia. Defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin (10 tackles, sack) sustained a shoulder injury in last week's win, but was able to return to action.

WHEN THE REDSKINS HAVE THE BALL

Campbell (1,054 passing yards, 6 TD, 0 INT) set a team record in Philadelphia after he threw his 162nd consecutive pass without an interception. The NFCs fifth-ranked passer with a 96.7 rating surpassed the mark of 161 straight passes without a pick set by Joe Theismann in 1983. By the end of Sunday's win, Campbell pushed the mark to 175 passes. He and the Redskins' offense have yet to commit a turnover in five games this season. The Redskins' only one this season came on special teams, when wide receiver Antwaan Randle El (21 receptions, 1 TD) fumbled a punt in the Week 2 game against New Orleans. It only gets better now that the Redskins are back at FedEx Field, where Campbell has completed 46 of his 66 attempts for 514 yards and three touchdowns for a sizzling 107.8 quarterback rating this year. Washington is averaging 204.6 passing yards a game, good enough for 17th in the NFL. Randle El helped the Redskins last week with some trickery, throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Cooley (25 receptions, 1 TD), who scorched the Eagles for 109 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions and has 28 scores since 2004, the most in the NFC among tight ends. Top receiver Santana Moss (27 receptions, 421 yards, 3 TD) is tops among NFC wideouts in receptions and yards, but did not have a catch in Philly. Moss has reached the end zone in three of five games this season.

The Rams are allowing 245.8 passing yards a game, while opposing teams own a 114.3 passer rating against them. Haslett, who served as defensive coordinator before being named head coach, has seen his unit allow eight touchdown passes and an average of 14.3 yards per pass play so far. St. Louis will have trouble defending Moss and Cooley, with cornerback Tye Hill (20 tackles) out for some time with a knee injury. Hill went down against the Bills. Haslett has reportedly noted that he is interested in re-signing cornerback Fakhir Brown (8 tackles), who was released by Linehan in late September. Jason Craft (5 tackles) has been working with the first-team defense as Hill's replacement. Defensive end Leonard Little (4 tackles, 2 sacks) returned to action after leaving a Week 1 loss to Philadelphia with a hamstring injury and posted a pair of sacks in the Buffalo game. Rookie end Chris Long (16 tackles, 2 sacks) had three stops, including a sack, against the Bills. Little and Long will work against Washington's veteran tackle duo of Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen.

Another big key to Washington's success this season has been the play of standout running back Clinton Portis. Portis (514 rushing yards, 4 TDs) is second in the NFL in rushing and has hit the century mark in each of his last two games, including a season-high 145 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries against the Eagles. He had a lot of success this past weekend running on the left side of the line which is anchored by the All-Pro Samuels. Portis' teams are 30-9 when he rushes for 100 or more yards during his career. Ladell Betts (124 rushing yards) will also see action against a St. Louis defense rated 28th against the run. In other news on the Washington offensive line, Stephon Heyer was sidelined for Sundays game at Philadelphia and was replaced by veteran Jansen at right tackle for the second straight week. Guards Pete Kendall and Randy Thomas are dealing with sore knees, but both should be ready for Sunday. The Redskins are fifth in the NFL in rushing (146.6 ypg).

The Rams are going to have trouble stopping Portis on Sunday. They are allowing 166 rushing yards a game and 4.7 yards per run, and opponents have rushed for seven touchdowns against them. Defensive tackles Adam Carriker (8 tackles) and Clifton Ryan (6 tackles) have not been very good this season, and it will only get worse against Washington's tough interior line. Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon (23 tackles, 1 sack) was limited in practice earlier in the week because of a shoulder injury sustained in the Buffalo game. Witherspoon and fellow linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa (20 tackles) must keep an eye on Cooley across the middle and Portis coming out of the backfield.

FANTASY FOCUS

Campbell has been playing efficient football this season, but hasn't lit up the scoreboard with an astronomical passing performance. Under the West Coast offense, quarterbacks rarely go downfield and substitute runs with short passes and screens. Campbell has been doing that very well so far in 2008 and has two fantasy-worthy targets in Moss and Cooley. Moss was held in check last week in Philadelphia, but should get back on track this week against an overmatched St. Louis team. Cooley finally reached the end zone last Sunday and always plays a big role on offense, whether it's blocking, running or catching. One of the biggest fantasy stars this season has been Portis, who will most likely hit the century mark again in rushing, especially in front of his home crowd. An 0-4 team like the Rams rarely has any fantasy players worth mentioning, but Jackson is the best way to go. He is a workhorse and has thrived under new coordinator Saunders' scheme. Holt is starting to diminish in value, while Bulger has been very streaky. Bulger is worth starting this week, however, because it seems he has something to prove to Linehan and his teammates.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Zorn's team has temporarily taken the NFC East by storm and will continue do so this week to keep pace with division powerhouses Dallas and New York. Many thought at the beginning of the season that Campbell would have trouble picking up the offense, being that he has gone through so many systems in just a short period time at the NFL level. Campbell, though, has performed wonderfully so far with his efficient passing, timely scrambles and ability to thread the ball in traffic. He has only Zorn to thank for resurrecting his career with the new scheme. It also doesn't hurt to have a running back of Portis' caliber behind him to take the pressure off. Portis ran for a season- high 145 yards against a stingy Philadelphia defense last Sunday, so this week should be even better with the winless Rams in town searching for their first win of the season. Washington's defense has been somewhat banged up the past few weeks, but it won't play a huge factor in the game. Jackson will get his fair share of stats against the Redskins, but it won't be enough to give Haslett his first win as head coach.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Redskins 27, Rams 16