WASHINGTON — Apparently, Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell is capable of playing effectively in the preseason.

Campbell expressed surprise at the negative reaction among some members of the media and fans about his performance and statistics, and he hoped to have a solid outing last night against the New England Patriots in an effort to allay concerns with the regular season beginning in a little more than two weeks.

At the very least, Campbell and the first-team offense displayed progress as they had their best showing of the preseason in front of 69,384 at FedEx Field. The Redskins' starters kept pace with the Patriots' formidable offense led by quarterback Tom Brady — who suffered a shoulder injury on his final pass of the game — but fell short as place-kicker Stephen Gostkowski connected on a 30-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining for a 27-24 Patriots victory.

Despite another loss for the Redskins (1-2) and 117 yards in penalties, there was more positive than negative for Campbell and the first-team offense, and that's a welcome change for them.

"We came out and had some fun," said Campbell, who led three first-half scoring drives and played into the third quarter. "We tried to execute a lot of different areas on the field. It was exciting to get out here and play for almost three full quarters, get our feet wet and get our feel for almost a full game. We're excited about some of the things that we did, but we can still do better."

In his longest outing of the preseason by far, Campbell completed 13 of 22 passes for 209 yards and had a short touchdown run. He started fast and finished strong in the first half as the Redskins rallied to pull even with the Patriots (2-1) at the break after trailing by 10 points, and played one series in the third quarter.

Coach Jim Zorn was pleased with the Redskins' No. 1 quarterback and the offensive line, which has made strides since struggling badly in training camp.

"Very pleased," he said. "(Campbell) was very much into the game. He was competing hard and doing the things that you want. We missed on a couple of long ones, but he came right back and was running the show."

Second-year Redskins quarterback Colt Brennan, from the University of Hawai'i, continued to struggle. Brennan, competing with rookie Chase Daniel for the No. 3 job, relieved Campbell in the third quarter and was intercepted by cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, who returned the pass 99 yards for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, Brennan, who was 6 of 12 for 81 yards, threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Marko Mitchell.

PACKERS 44, CARDINALS 37

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had a preseason performance of near perfection in the first half last night against the defending NFC champions.

Rodgers threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns to open a 28-point halftime lead, then the Green Bay reserves barely held off a Matt Leinart-led rally.

The Packers' No. 1 offense had four touchdowns and a field goal in their six first-half possessions as Green Bay (3-0) rolled up 357 yards to take a 38-10 lead at the break. That gives the Packers' first-team offense nine TDs and a field goal in 12 possessions. The starters have not been forced to punt.

"That's about as good as we can play on offense," Rodgers said of the first half. "Talk about exciting. We've got a defense like that that can stop them and we get the ball back at the end. So many weapons, great play-calling, and it's just us on offense executing."

Leinart threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns in the second half for the Cardinals (0-3).

BRONCOS

TEAM SUSPENDS MARSHALL

Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall, openly unhappy with the Denver Broncos, was suspended by the team for the rest of the preseason for what coach Josh McDaniels called "detrimental" conduct.

Marshall, who has brooded since demanding a trade, was informed of the suspension by McDaniels yesterday. The banishment runs through Sept. 5.

"We tried to handle this situation with Brandon as privately and professionally as we could throughout the entire process with he and his agent, Kennard McGuire," McDaniels said at a news conference. "This morning, we made the decision as an organization to go ahead and suspend Brandon. We'll look forward to having him back on Sept. 6th as we begin our preparations for Cincinnati" in a Sept. 13 opener.

McGuire didn't immediately return a phone call yesterday. He is out of the country until Monday.

McDaniels did not single out a specific episode but said the suspension resulted from a series of incidents, though some boorish antics during the team's practice Wednesday — after he had been warned about such conduct that very morning — seemed to be the final straw for the coach.

"His actions didn't really change after that warning. That leads us to today," McDaniels said.

COWBOYS

VIDEO BOARDS WILL STAY

Jerry Jones can keep his video boards hanging right where they are, at least for this season.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday clarified rules on punts that ricochet off the high-definition monitors hanging over most of the field at the new Cowboys Stadium. Perhaps the key piece of his ruling is that the guidelines cover only this season, an indication the league may force Jones to raise the boards before the 2010 season, which ends with the Super Bowl in his building.

The video boards are the signature item of the $1.15 billion stadium because of their clarity and size: 60 yards long, stretching from 20-yard line to 20-yard line. The problem is they are 90 feet above the field.

While that is 5 feet above the league's standard, the ease Tennessee punters had kicking balls into the boards before — and once during — last Saturday night's debut game indicates that standard might need revision.

The new rules — which apply to all stadiums even though it's only an issue at this one — address those concerns.

Downs will still be replayed "if a ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object," but now the game clock will be reset to the time when the first play was snapped. Any penalties during the wiped-out play won't count, except for personal fouls.

The Cowboys said yesterday that receiver Roy Williams has only a bruised shoulder from a hard collision with a teammate, yet still may not play against the San Francisco 49ers tonight.

BEARS

DT DVORACEK OUT FOR YEAR

Chicago Bears defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek is going on injured reserve with a torn ACL in his right knee.

Dvoracek underwent arthroscopic surgery yesterday after initial tests were inconclusive about damage to his right knee from Saturday's preseason game with the New York Giants.

JETS

CLAIM PUNTER OFF WAIVERS

New York claimed punter Glenn Pakulak off waivers from New Orleans, and waived punter Ken Parrish and linebacker Josh Mauga.

Pakulak averaged 47.7 yards per punt in the last eight games of the season for the Saints before being waived on Aug. 17.