Plagued by injuries, the New Orleans Saints let a 24-15 lead in the fourth quarter turn into a 29-24 loss against the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Reggie Bush's bolt for 55 yards on a punt return for a touchdown put the Saints ahead late in the third quarter.  However, the momentum of the exciting play didn't last long.  The Saints could only muster 44 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter.  

Meanwhile, the Redskins played their best ball of the year in the fourth quarter.  They produced two late touchdowns and forced the Saints' third turnover of the day.  

Redskins running back Clinton Portis led the way on the ground with 21 rushes for 96 yards and two scores.  With Saints linebacker Scott Fujita out for the game with a knee injury, Portis enjoyed big holes and long runs as he displayed his physical prowess against a defense that was not up for the challenge.

While Portis capped off drives with touchdowns, the Saints lost the game because of their inability to slow down the Redskins air attack.  Three starters in the secondary - Mike McKenzie, Randall Gay, and Roman Harper - were out for the game and Jason Campbell made sure he capitalized against the depleted defense.

Rookie cornerback Tracy Porter was the biggest victim.  Redskins' receivers Antwaan Randle El and Santana Moss took turns burning the Saints secondary when Washington drove 82 yards in 8 plays to pull within two points early in the fourth quarter.  

Porter's respect for the speed of Randle El and Moss resulted in wide-open slants and curls.  Campbell had no trouble getting the ball to his playmakers and the Redskins scored without breaking a sweat.

After the Saints went three-and-out, the Redskins wasted no time taking the lead.  The Saints defense decided to take a different approach this drive.  Instead of giving the receivers such a big cushion, they rolled the corners up and tried to press at the line.  

The defensive adjustment didn't work at all.  Moss flew by the coverage and scored easily on a 67-yard bomb from Campbell on the first play of the drive.

The long pass put the Redskins ahead 29-24 and an interception by safety Chris Horton, his second of the day, on the ensuing possession locked up the win.

The Saints did not look like the same team that won a physical game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.  The offense never established a running game and turned the ball over three times.

Defensively, the 'Skins bailed out the Saints by failing to finish drives.  Washington's offense stalled in the red zone twice and missed two field goals.  

Bottom line: it should have been a lot worse.  

The only bright spot of the defense was an outstanding individual performance by Jonathan Vilma, who had a game high 16 tackles.  It looks like he is the playmaker on defense that the Saints have been missing.  

I'm sure Vilma would love to have some of his injured defensive comrades back in the starting lineup to face Jay Cutler and a very dangerous Denver offense next week.

As far as the offense goes, it was good to see former Tennessee Volunteer Robert Meachem get in the mix.  Other than Bush's scamper, Meachem's 19-yard touchdown grab was the only Saints play worthy of making the highlight reel at the end of the year.

Meachem should emerge as a star in the weeks to come as standout Marques Colston continues to sit out with a thumb injury.

Maybe the Saints aren't as good as they led us to believe in Week 1.  Or maybe they were just too beat up to outlast a competitive team on the road.  

Either way, they have to make adjustments. It's a long year.  Players get hurt.  Other players have to step up.

Next week's game in Denver will be a huge challenge.  If the Saints have a repeat of last Sunday's performance in mind, then it might be a good idea to keep a paper bag near by.