The Gibbs works in mysterious ways. Trust in the Gibbs, and salvation is at hand. That’s my story, and despite what the rest of the world has to say about the Redskins loss to Pittsburgh, I’m sticking to it.

There’s nothing to be ashamed of in losing a tight 16-7 game against a Pittsburgh team that boasts the league’s top defense (having finally wrested that distinction from Washington last week), one of history’s greatest rushers in Jerome Bettis, and that is on a historic winning streak as they head to a certain playoff berth. But there was a quiet yet distinct rumbling among the touts yesterday as they speculated on Joe Gibbs’ future and the mysterious absence of tailback Clinton Portis, who rushed for a paltry 17 yards on six carries.

So wherefore did Gibbs choose to keep Clinton’s rushes to a minimum, when he’s been the only reliable source of offense? And is the coach simply at sea in the twenty-first century NFL? These are hard enough questions to ask of those who witnessed the game against Pittsburgh, let alone a blogger who spent the bulk of Sunday mired in eight-hours of gaper’s block agony on the New Jersey Turnpike. But in the first place, some perspective is needed. Washington’s 9-point loss is the closest anyone has played the Steelers at home since their week one three-point win over Oakland, and this is the fewest points they’ve been held to since Roethlisberger took over the offense, excepting the game they played in a hurricane. Considering the Redskins are coming off a 28-6 loss against Pennsylvania’s other playoff bound team, the Redskins are actually, as a team, starting to improve.