Clinton Portis arrived for his weekly media session as...Clinton Portis. No sign of his latest alter ego, "Choo Choo" the dance instructor.
"I'm looking for Choo Choo," Portis told reporters jokingly. "He kept me out of the end zone last Sunday. I'm going to choke Choo Choo out when I see him."
Not getting into the end zone was the only thing Portis didn't do last Sunday. He is coming off a strong performance last Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Portis rushed for 137 yards on 30 carries, a solid 4.6 yards-per-carry average. He also had four catches for 20 yards.
It was the first time that Portis had rushed for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games since the end of the 2005 season. Portis rushed for 100-plus yards in five consecutive games to close out the regular season that year.
For the season, Portis has carried the ball 181 times, which leads the NFL and trails only Pittsburgh's Willie Parker in the NFL. He is second in the NFC and third in the NFL with 766 rushing yards.
Portis's six rushing touchdowns ties him with Dallas's Marion Barber for second in the NFC and fourth-most in the NFL.
Portis continues to welcome the opportunity to "carry the team" through the stretch run.
But winning remains paramount.
"Being the third leading rusher in the NFL does me no good," Portis said. "As a team sitting at 5-4, I said that when I wasn't getting the ball as much and we were winning, that was fine.
"Now, I have the opportunity to get some rushing yards and we're at 5-4, you can't enjoy that. I would rather have the wins than the yards any day. We just have to find a way to get both of them going."
Portis is currently on pace for 1,362 rushing yards, which would be the fourth most in Redskins franchise history. Portis holds the team mark of 1,516 rushing yards set in 2005.
He now has 7,219 rushing yards in his career, with 4,120 of those yards coming in a Redskins uniform. In franchise history, he is fourth in career rushing yardage, trailing only John Riggins, Larry Brown and Stephen Davis.
-- MOSS 'FEELING BETTER'
Santana Moss sat out Thursday's practice and his status for Sunday's game against Dallas remains uncertain.
Moss said his heel injury was feeling better and that he expected to "do a little bit" at Friday's practice.
Asked if he was optimistic of playing against Dallas, Moss replied: "I don't have any optimism. I don't use that word. I used the words I just gave you. I feel better and I'm going to do something [Friday]."
If Moss can't play, then it's likely that Antwaan Randle El and Keenan McCardell would draw starting assignments. Reche Caldwell and newly signed Jimmy Farris could also see action.
