Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan has studied all of the games his team has played this season. He went back and looked at last year's as well.
There was no doubt in his mind that defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth reached his peak in Sunday's 17-14 win over the Chicago Bears.
"Albert played exceptionally well. That's the best that he's played obviously this season but looking at film of last year, I think it's the best game he's played since he's been here," Shanahan said Monday. "He played hard every play he was in. I liked what he did with the pass rush. And that's what we expected, that kind of effort out of him."
Haynesworth had begun to show more feel for the Redskins' new 3-4 scheme in the win against the Philadelphia Eagles but missed the next two games after the death of his brother. In his return, he notched his first sack of the season, had two tackles for loss and threw Bears quarterback Jay Cutler backwards on a goal-line stand, with Cutler then losing a fumble to London Fletcher's strip.
Haynesworth played 33 plays and "I was pleased with his effort," Shanahan said.
"The first thing I look for in anybody is playing 100 percent. Next thing you have to do is know your assignments. I was pleased with his effort, his adjustments in the running game and the passing game. That's what you're looking for," Shanahan said.
With Haynesworth playing in several different spots, the Redskins kept the Bears off balance and allowed only one offensive touchdown.
"Albert was very disruptive from the beginning of the game to the end," Fletcher said. "He made some plays in the backfield and he had the huge play at the goal line."
Shanahan also said that cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who had four interceptions and a 92-yard touchdown on one of them, simply took the work he had done at Redskins Park all week and turned it into a major show at Soldier Field.
"DeAngelo had one of his best weeks of practice and he took it to the field," Shanahan said.
The four interceptions tied an NFL record.
The Redskins (4-3), who have won three of their last four games, play the Detroit Lions (1-5) on Sunday and then get a week off for their bye.
-- INJURY UPDATE
Mike Shanahan said running back Clinton Portis (groin) would miss Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions but could be back after the bye week for the Nov. 15 meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Fullback Mike Sellers left Chicago with a boot on his injured foot but Shanahan said the injury was not an ankle sprain but more to "the lower foot. "He's doing good. He's a little sore right now."
Offensive tackle Stephon Heyer suffered an ankle sprain on his first play, which skewed a plan to have him rotate series with Jammal Brown on the right side. Brown missed all of last season with the New Orleans Saints with a hip injury.
"I think it's bothering him," Shanahan said. "I think he's playing through it. You see him get better each week but there's still a range of motion that's not there yet."
Similarly, the Redskins gave Reed Doughty the start at free safety to ease Kareem Moore's workload. He had surgery on his knee late in preseason and the knee continues to swell.
"We were afraid if we played him too much, we'd slow him down for an extended period of time," Shanahan said.
Reserve running back Clint Simpson tweaked a hamstring in practice Friday and that left the club with only two active backs on Sunday but Shanahan said he hoped Simpson would return to practice Wednesday.
