Gameday Graphic for Game on 10/10/2010

Lovely day to hang around the house. Which is exactly what the Redskins did.

The Green Bay Packers, with plenty of chances to pack one way, instead got sent packing. The Redskins hung in, hung on and hung around and eventually hung a 16-13 overtime defeat on the Green Bay Packers.

LaRon Landry's interception in the extra period positioned the Redskins for a short drive and Graham Gano's 33-yard field goal with 8:06 gone in overtime allowed the Redskins to hang on to the top spot in the NFC East with their third victory of the season.

"I just made a great read on the ball and broke on it," Landry said, actually not sounding boastful but a little bit proud. "It was either going to be a big hit on the receiver or an interception."

The latter, please. On a platter.

Seen this before? The win over the Dallas Cowboys came down to the last play. So did last week's against the Philadelphia Eagles. So did the loss in overtime to the Houston Texans. Shakespeare wished he had this many dramatic endings.

Beating the Packers (3-2) seemed improbable early and even impossible as the first half unfolded. The Redskins trailed 10-0 midway through the second quarter and could not stop Green Bay's offense or its pass rush. The Redskins punted the first five times they had the ball before kicking a field goal just before halftime and looked dreadful in every aspect.

Coach Mike Shanahan acknowledged the lopsided direction in which the game seemed headed as the first quarter ended.

"I looked up the scoreboard and they had 200 yards and we had 20," he said. The actual numbers: 209-24. The Packers gained 218 more in three-plus quarters.

"The first half was really tough for the defense," Landry said. "We made a lot of adjustments at halftime."

The defense tightened and so would the Packers. After scoring their final points on their first series of the third quarter, they endured a pair of missed field goals that were sandwiched around three consecutive punts. Mason Crosby, who made a pair of field goals, missed from 48 and hit the upright from 53 with one second remaining in regulation.

In overtime, the Redskins stopped the Packers twice. Brian Orakpo's second sack forced a punt but the Redskins couldn't sustain anything and punted it back. Then Landry made the signature play, with a diving interception.

Aided by two penalties on their final drive, the Redskins wiggled into position for Gano to win it and he did.

"I'm glad I had the chance to redeem myself, glad to get another opportunity," he said, recollecting an earlier miss from 51 yards.

Redemption was everywhere. Donovan McNabb, generally erratic throughout, hit Anthony Armstrong for a 48-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut Green Bay's lead to 13-10. That, he said, opened up other receiving options and enabled the club to get Gano in position for the tying 45-yard field goal with 1:07 left.

All this last-second stuff?

"Hopefully we won't have to do it too much anymore," McNabb said after leading his 24th career game-winning drive.

He absorbed five sacks while completing 26 of 49 passes for 357 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Three of the sacks were in the first half.

The Packers contributed to their own downfall. They elected to go for a touchdown on fourth and one from the Redskins 1-yard in the second quarter. They gambled on doubling a 7-0 lead when the safe play would have been a field goal and a 10-0 advantage over a team that had run only 11 plays on three possessions, all of them ending with punts. Lorenzo Alexander broke up the pass attempt in the end zone and the Redskins could at least exhale.

Through four games this season, the Redskins had not scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter. All they had to show for a game's worth of fourth quarters was a field goal. In this one, they scored twice.

Armstrong's leaping grab in the end zone narrowed the gap and Gano's 45-yard field goal eliminated it.

"Unless you have a lot of character on your team, you don't win football games like that," Shanahan said.

Character works. Playmakers work, too.

Even after losing the toss in overtime, the Redskins survived two Green Bay possessions and won. Then Landry stepped up with his takeaway and the Redskins not only stole but were safe at home.

Landry had already begun thinking about next Sunday's prime-time game against the Indianapolis Colts. No slow starts, no rallies, no drama. That's the Landry list for the next one.

"Peyton Manning is a phenomenal quarterback," he said. "We've got to take it from the jump. Halftime might be too late."

Sometimes it gets late early. Sometimes, the Redskins just hang around and make things happen in the cool of the evening.

PRE-GAME COVERAGE

The Redskins return to FedExField for an NFC clash with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET.

FedExField is a natural grass surface. The stadium seats 91,704. Sunday's game will be the Redskins' 353rd consecutive home sellout, including playoff games.

The Redskins' game against the Packers is the first of four against the NFC North this season.

The Redskins are 2-1 against the NFC so far this season, with both wins coming against NFC East foes Dallas and Philadelphia.

Green Bay is 1-0 against the NFC East with a 27-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.

The Redskins are coming off a 17-12 victory over the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Packers fended off a late rally against the Detroit Lions and won 28-26.

The Redskins-Packers game will be televised on FOX. Joe Buck calls the play-by-play with Troy Aikman offering color commentary. Pam Oliver serves as sideline reporter.

On radio, the game will be broadcast locally on ESPN 980 and the Redskins Radio Network. Larry Michael calls the play-by-play with former Redskins and Hall of Famers Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff adding color commentary. Former Redskin Rick 'Doc' Walker reports from the sidelines.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS

SERIES HISTORY

The Redskins have played the Packers 32 times in the regular season and postseason combined. The Packers lead the regular season series 17-12-1, while the playoff series is tied at 1-1.

The Redskins-Packers series with Green Bay dates back to 1932 when the Redskins were the Boston Braves. Ironically, the two clubs opened the series in one of the more historic stadiums in baseball history: Boston's Fenway Park was the scene of the Braves' 21-0 loss to the Packers on Nov. 13, 1932.

Four years later, on Dec. 13, 1936, the Packers won their first of nine NFL championships, defeating the Boston Redskins 21-6 in the title game. That game was the franchise's final contest in Boston.

Thirty-six years after their first postseason encounter, Green Bay and Washington reunited in the first-ever playoff game at RFK Stadium on Christmas Eve of 1972.

The Redskins used a five-man defensive line to shut down the Packers' 1,000-yard running back John Brockington. The ploy worked, as Brockington rushed for just nine yards on the day. Billy Kilmer hit Roy Jefferson on a 32-yard TD pass, and Curt Knight kicked three field goals.

The Oct. 17, 1983 game between the Redskins and Packers at Lambeau Field was a classic. The two teams combined for 95 points, the most in the history of Monday Night Football, as Green Bay prevailed 48-47.

Furthermore, the two teams combined for 771 passing yards and 254 rushing yards. Joe Theismann threw for 398 yards and two touchdowns, while Packers QB Lynn Dickey responded with 387 yards and three touchdowns.

The game featured five lead changes and ended when Packers kicker Jan Stenerud nailed a 20-yard field goal with 54 seconds left in regulation. Mark Moseley had connected on four field goals in the game, but he missed a 39-yarder that would have put the Redskins ahead in the final seconds.

The Packers have won the three most recent games at Lambeau Field. In 2001, the two clubs played on Monday Night Football two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Packers won 37-0. The following year, the Redskins showed little more punch, losing 30-9 at Lambeau.

In 2007, the Packers came from behind to beat the Redskins 17-14 at Lambeau Field, with cornerback Charles Woodson's 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown the deciding score.

The only time the Redskins and Packers have played at FedExField was on Oct. 31, 2004 at FedExField. The Redskins played catch-up to Brett Favre and the Packers all game and trailed 20-14 late in the fourth quarter.

Clinton Portis appeared to have scored a touchdown on a 43-yard pass from Mark Brunell, tying the game at 20-20 with the PAT coming up. But James Thrash was called for an illegal motion in the backfield, nullifying the score.

On the Redskins' next offensive play, Brunell was picked off by cornerback Al Harris. Green Bay went on to win the game 28-14.

TALE OF THE TAPE

FAMILIAR FACES ON THE PACKERS

President and chief executive officer Mark Murphy played safety for the Redskins from 1977-84. He served as co-captain from 1980-84, including the Redskins' Super Bowl championship team of 1982. He earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 1983

Vice president of football administration and player finance Russ Ball served as director of football administration for the Redskins in 2001. His duties included managing the salary cap as well as team operations and player development.

Assistant strength and conditioning coach Dave Redding served as a strength and conditioning coach for the Redskins in 2001.

Defensive line coach Mike Trgovac served in the same role with the Redskins from 2000-01.

Special teams assistant Chad Morton was a running back and kick returner for the Redskins from 2003-04.

REDSKINS-PACKERS NEWS & NOTES

'High Five' All Around

Donovan McNabb is 4-2 all-time against the Green Bay Packers, all as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Two of his best football memories came in games against the Packers.

In the 2003 postseason, McNabb completed a 4th-and-26 pass to Freddie Mitchell for a 27-yard gain to help lead the Eagles to a come-from-behind win. A year later, McNabb completed 32-of-43 passes for 464 yards, five touchdowns and a QB rating of 147.8.

For his career, McNabb has a winning percentage of .647 (94-51-1), a figure that ranks third among active quarterbacks with at least 100 starts. He trails only Tom Brady (.762) and Peyton Manning (.679).

It has not taken long for McNabb to make an impact in Washington. In just his second game in the burgundy and gold, McNabb threw for 426 yards, the fourth-highest single-game passing total in franchise history and the third-highest total in McNabb's career.

Already this season, McNabb has moved past Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Steve Young on the NFL's all-time passing yardage list with 33,831 career passing yards. With 2,871 completions, he also surpassed Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas on the all-time completions list.

A major factor in the success of McNabb's teams has been his ability to take care of the football. McNabb is the NFL's all-time leader in terms of interception percentage (2.10 percent) and ranks third in NFL history in TD/INT ratio (2.15).

McNabb also holds the NFL record with 24 consecutive completions (first 14 vs. Green Bay on Dec. 5, 2004 combined with 10 to end a game vs. New York Giants on Nov. 28, 2004).

-- A New And Improved FedExField

The Redskins have announced new improvements to FedExField for the 2010 season.

Among the improvements to the facility include the installation of new HD video boards, a complete replacement of the stadium's video control room, a new text message traffic alert system, installation of the locker of the late Sean Taylor for viewing on the club level, and club level party decks.

"Everything we are doing is focused on continuing to improve the gameday experience for fans at FedExField," Redskins chief 0perating officer David P. Donovan said. "We believe fans will really feel the impact of these improvements."

The HD video boards are accompanied by eight new digital ribbon boards to provide fans with out-of-town scores, statistics and more, all monitored and operated from a state-of-the-art control room located on the Owner's Club Level.

The improvements allow for simultaneous multi-angle game highlights and replays, game graphics and other high definition content.

"When the stadium was first built, high definition didn't exist at the time in this capacity," Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder said. "So we said, 'Hey, this is a real opportunity,' so we upgraded it...It's important that we keep up with the quality of entertainment. This is really state of the art."

-- Traffic Alerts Via Text Messaging

For the 2010 season, the Redskins are providing traffic alerts via text message, giving fans access to regular updates on the best routes to use to get to FedExField on gameday.

The service provides information on gameday bottlenecks to avoid up until kickoff, as well as announcements on any post-game traffic issues that arise to help fans get to and from the stadium for every home game.

Redskins staff monitor traffic on the Beltway, Landover Road, Arena Drive and Central Avenue to provide up-to-the-minute updates. Fans can opt-in to these alerts by completing the signup form at www.redskins.com/trafficalerts.

The Redskins also have updated route guidance to the stadium to give fans alternatives to Beltway exits 15, 16 and 17, including turn-by-turn guidance so fans from Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia can enter the stadium grounds from the west on either Landover Road or Central Avenue. This information and more can be found online at www.redskins.com/parking.

-- Rabach And the Packers

Center Casey Rabach rooted for the Green Bay Packers growing up in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (Sturgeon Bay is about a 40-minute drive from Green Bay.)

Rabach counts among his most cherished fan memories the Packers' 1996 season when they won Super Bowl XXXI.

"I was definitely a diehard fan," Rabach said. "When you're there, you can kind of get a feel for how much that team means to that community. You go to church on Sundays and half the people in there are wearing their Green Bay Packers gear because they're going to the game or going home to watch the game on TV."

Rabach has moved beyond boyhood rooting interests, though.

"I try not to get caught up in who we're playing," he said. "I just know we're playing a really good football team in the NFC and we just want to get a win."

-- How the Redskins' 53-Man Roster Was Built

The Redskins have 16 players on the roster that the team drafted, including 2010 first-round pick Trent Williams and 2009 supplemental draft pick Jeremy Jarmon.

Mike Sellers is the longest-tenured Redskins. He had a stint with the Redskins in 1998-2000 and rejoined the team in 2004.

Washington has used unrestricted free agency to acquire 27 players, including Casey Rabach in 2005, Andre Carter in 2006, London Fletcher in 2007, DeAngelo Hall in 2008, Albert Haynesworth in 2009 and Ma'ake Kemoeatu in 2010.

Four Redskins players were acquired as undrafted rookie free agents. This group includes offensive linemen Stephon Heyer and cornerback Byron Westbrook, both local products.

The team has acquired six players via trade: Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Donovan McNabb, Adam Carriker, Jammal Brown and John Beck.

-- First-Year Redskins Head Coaches

Entering Sunday's game vs. Green Bay, Mike Shanahan is 2-2 in his first season as Redskins head coach.

Looking back at Redskins head coaches in their first season, five have gone on to have winning seasons (excluding Dick Todd, who was 5-4 in taking over three games into the 1951 season.)

Twelve first-year head coaches suffered losing campaigns, including Joe Gibbs's return in 2004. Additionally Herman Ball coached the final seven games in 1949 and finished 1-4, while Terry Robiskie finished 1-2 while coaching the last three games of 2000.

Eight first-year head coaches ended their seasons with a .500 record, including Jim Zorn in 2008.

-- Alexander Is Aces

Lorenzo Alexander, one of the more versatile players on the Redskins' roster, has emerged as one of the team's starting outside linebackers and a special teams standout.

On defense, Alexander started for the first time this season last Sunday vs. Philadelphia. He has posted 12 tackles and one sack.

He leads the Redskins with eight special teams tackles and also has one fumble recovery. He leveled a bone-crushing tackle on Eagles kick returner vs. Jorrick Calvin last week, a hit that several players said set a tone.

"Lorenzo seems to do this each week, regardless of the other team," Mike Shanahan said. "That was one of the best hits I've seen since I've been in the NFL. That was an explosion on the sidelines. That was very, very special."

-- Redskins' Strength of Schedule

The Redskins have the NFL's eighth toughest schedule in 2010, according to the NFL.

The Redskins' opponents this season produced a 134-122 record last year, a .523 winning percentage.

The Houston Texans (.547), Tennessee Titans (.547), Dallas Cowboys (.543), Cincinnati Bengals (.539), Jacksonville Jaguars (.535), New England Patriots (.531) and New York Giants (.527) have tougher schedules.

The Redskins play 11 games against teams who finished .500 or better last year. They play seven games against 2009 playoff opponents.

-- London Calling

Heading into Sunday's game vs. Green Bay, London Fletcher has posted 155 consecutive starts, a figure which ranks fourth among active players. (Brett Favre is at 286, Peyton Manning is at 193 and Ronde Barber is at 168.)

Fletcher has not missed a game since entering the league as an undrafted rookie free agent with the St. Louis Rams in 1998.

His 196 consecutive games streak is tied for second with Manning among active players behind Minnesota's Brett Favre (290).

Since joining the Redskins in 2007, Fletcher has led the team in tackles each of his three seasons with the club. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection following the 2009 season.

-- Gathering Moss

Santana Moss leads the Redskins with 22 catches for 290 yards and one touchdown.

Last week vs. Philadelphia, Moss was shut out in terms of receptions.

For his career, Moss has 522 career catches. He recently passed Al Toon (517) and Hall of Famer and Redskins legend Bobby Mitchell (521) to move into 97th on the NFL's all-time receptions list.

Moss has 7,733 career receiving yards, which ties him for 87th on the NFL's all-time list. In Redskins history, he ranks seventh with 5,317 career receiving yards.

-- Shanahan's Moving Up

With the Redskins' Week 4 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Mike Shanahan recorded his 156th career win (regular season and postseason) as a head coach.

Shanahan's career record is 156-105. That win total is 16th best among all-time NFL head coaches.

He needs six wins to surpass Bill Cowher, who has a 161-99-1 career record.

-- Super Signal-Callers

The Redskins are the only team in the NFL to feature two quarterbacks on their roster that have started in the Super Bowl.

Donovan McNabb led the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004.

His backup Rex Grossman took the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl XLI in 2006.

-- FedExField Attendance

FedExField is the largest stadium in the NFL with 91,704 seats.

It is more than 11,000 seats ahead of the second biggest stadium, the new Cowboys Stadium. (Cowboys Stadium is expandabe to seat up to 100,000.)

The Redskins set a single-game attendance record--90,910--in a Dec. 30, 2007 game against the Cowboys.

-- What's Next?

The Redskins stay at FedExField to host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is 8:20 p.m. ET.

The game is listed as homecoming for the Redskins and many alumni players are scheduled to be on hand.

It's the Colts first visit to FedExField since the 2002 season.