EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In his first game since being named the Jets’ No. 1 quarterback, Kellen Clemens did pretty much everything except play defensive line in his second NFL start yesterday. Considering the way Washington running back Clinton Portis shredded the unit for nearly 200 rushing yards, maybe that would have been a better solution than what Gang Green attempted.

Portis finished with 196 yards on 36 carries, setting up the last of Shaun Suisham’s five field goals after the place-kicker sailed a 46-yard attempt that barely cleared the cross-bar, propelling the Redskins to a 23-20 overtime victory at the Meadowlands.

As the ball fell to the turf behind the west end zone, the remaining fans from the original 76,663-strong crowd didn’t boo so much as groan in resignation of another disappointment in a lost season. Even a strong performance from Clemens couldn’t lighten the mood in the dressing room, as the Jets dropped its sixth straight game and enter the bye week with a 1-7 ledger.

“It’s just so frustrating to battle so hard for four quarters and an overtime period and then just come up short,” Clemens said. “There have not been a lot of blowouts, we are in every game. We just continue to come up short. I don’t question the heart, the desire, or the work ethic of this team.”

Clemens did his best to ignite a stagnating offense that produced just three points the previous week against Buffalo. He entered to cheers on his first possession and again whipped up the crowd again when he engineered a 16-play, 64-yard drive that contained four third-down conversions, culminating with Mike Nugent’s game-tying 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining.

But despite Clemens putting up good numbers, his receivers let him down twice. Jerricho Cotchery, who was one of Chad Pennington’s favorite targets when he was the starter, dropped a key third-down pass on the Jets’ only overtime possession, forcing them to punt despite moving the ball into Redskins’ territory.

Washington capitalized on the reprieve, continued to exploit the Jets faltering run defense. Redskins guard Pete Kendall extracted revenge on his old team, creating holes for Portis and Ladell Betts, who combined for 260 rushing yards as part of the team’s 296 total yards on the ground. Kendall stonewalled Kenyon Coleman most of the game, helping to wear down a defense that needed rookie David Harris to make 20 tackles.

“It’s frustrating because we had some good idea where it was going to hit,” coach Eric Mangini said. “We had eight men in the box for the most part. We had some good shots of us playing it effectively and being in the right gaps and effectively stopping where they were going with it.”

With Coleman, Bryan Thomas, Dewayne Robertson and Shuan Ellis failing to get much penetration, Portis continued to dominate. On his team’s game-winning drive, the veteran back broke through for runs of 10 and 17 yards to get the ball into field goal range.

“It was a difficult week for me to prepare,” said Kendall, who was traded inside the Beltway before the season after a long-term disagreement with the Jets about his contract. “I meant what I said about how I feel about a lot of those guys in that locker room. A lot of the guys that I think that much of are on defense, as much as they are on offense. It’s a good group. I’m glad that it’s over. I really am. We needed to win a game today and I’m glad that we were able to get that done.”

Clemens, who Mangini named the starter over the incumbent Pennington last Monday, finished 23-42, 226-yards and a touchdown despite leading receiver Laveranues Coles sitting out with a concussion. While he missed some receivers high and looked off on some routes, the former second-round draft pick did not throw a pick and even ran for 48 yards.

One problem was that feature back Thomas Jones rushed for just one more yard than his quarterback, getting just 13 carries. Mangini said he was aware of trying to get Jones more touches, though he insisted the situation dictated more pass attempts.

“It’s just the way the game went,” Mangini said. “Some of the things they were doing, in terms of pressure, we thought running into that wouldn’t have been very effective, so it ended up being more of a passing game.”

The Jets raced out to a 17-12 lead and were threatening to add to it early in the fourth quarter. Eric Barton intercepted Jason Campbell’s pass after a rare pressure, ending a Washington drive while setting up Clemens for another scoring chance. He advanced the ball to the Redskins’ 25, connecting on a third-down pass.

Cotchery just couldn’t maintain possession after safety Pierson Prioleau knocked the football free with a jarring hit. LaRon Landry scooped the fumble, and six plays later Portis added a one-yard touchdown run and Campbell converted the two-point conversion to build a 20-17 lead.

“This team can win,” safety Kerry Rhodes said. “It’s pretty much the same team as last year. This year has been a tough ride. We haven’t been getting enough breaks. We’re in a situation where we can win, we’ve been leading mostly every game, but we just can’t get it done. “

Clemens received some support from the first play. Before getting a chance to step on the field, he watched Leon Washington return the opening kickoff 86 yards for his third touchdown return this season, opening up a lead just 13 seconds into the contest.

Washington’s return made him just the 11th player in NFL history to return three kicks for score in a single season. His cut-back against five Washington defenders prompted a brief smile from coach Eric Mangini—a grin that was absent in the locker room.

“Once again this year special teams did their job executing,” Washington said. “We had a kickoff return and like all year we had an opportunity to make a play. That’s a good way to start a game.”

The Redskins atoned for that coverage mistake by creating a big special teams play. Following a field goal that cut the Jets lead to 17-6 late in the first half, Suisham placed an on-side kick that caromed off Abram Elam’s hands before Rock Cartwright recovered it, leading to another field goal.

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