There was palpable relief in the air at FedEx Field last night when the clock wound down on the Redskins’ first win in five tries. You could’ve hardly imagined a more difficult or unique losing streak either, marked by unspeakable tragedy off the field and bad luck and poor execution on it.

Last night, when things really seemed like they couldn’t get much worse for the Skins – two missed field goals kept the score at 0-0 – starting quarterback (and unofficially anointed Savior) Jason Campbell went down with a dislocated patella. Which, of course, sounds mighty painful. They carted him off, and on came Todd Collins.

You may remember Collins as one of the most expensive third-stringers in the history of the NFL. He’s the guy Danny Boy Snyder flew home from vacation (on his private jet) to negotiate with three years ago. He’s the guy who hadn’t played in a game since 2002, and who hadn’t thrown a touchdown since 1997. Whatever the case, apparently it’s still preferable to Mark Brunell, one of only two quarterbacks to lead the Skins to a playoff victory in the past 15 years.

Collins pretty much obliterated all expectations, playing a startling crisp game (15-20, 224 yards, and 2 touchdowns) and leading the Redskins to one of their better performances of a tough season. With a stagnant running game (31 yards on the night), the Skins offense looked more dynamic than it’s been in a while, spreading the field a little bit and making use of a variety of receivers.