From Miami to the playoffs: Portis, Moss give 'Skins a lift

"I feel like I went above and beyond my goals of becoming a better teammate, a better guy in the locker room," Portis said. "Hang out with more of my teammates and find out more about my teammates, I feel as if I did that."

Portis also feels fresh because his body wasn't put through the rigors of training camp in August, but he admits that he paid the price by playing rusty in the early weeks of the season.

"I probably missed some reads -- it had its plusses and minuses," said Portis, who didn't have a 100-yard rushing game until November.

Moss isn't as expressive about his own accomplishments, but he's fun to watch when he's on. When he had the leg injuries, he was a 5-foot-10 receiver without much explosiveness -- not a recipe for success in the NFL. Finally healthy and able to practice regularly, he finished the regular season with three 70-plus yard games and touchdowns in each of the final two.

"No matter how tall or short the defender, he can go up a tick earlier than the defender and still come down with the ball," receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "And the defender will be looking like, 'What happened? Where'd he come from?'"

Just talking about a high-performance Moss made Randle El practically giddy -- because it means Randle El is getting less attention from the defense.

"Oh, I love it!" Randle El said. "Like, this week, he's going to get the double coverage. Yes!"

After his eight-catch, 115-yard game against Dallas on Sunday, Moss exhibited a rare bit of Portis-like humor by saying he didn't want his hands touched.

"I want them to stay hot," he said.

Of course, all is not fun and games for either Moss or Portis as they continue to cope with the loss of Taylor, who was shot in Miami on Nov. 26 and died a day later. Moss often pays tribute to Taylor on the field by holding up his index, middle and pinkie fingers -- his way of spelling "21" for Taylor's jersey number.

"I really believe he's playing with us," Moss said. "I go out there and I talk to him when I'm away from the game and I talk to him when it's time to play, because I want him to know that I've got his back and I want him to ride with me until he can't ride no more -- until I can't ride no more. And that's forever."