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.

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