Gameday Graphic for Game on 10/31/2010

The Redskins travel to the Midwest for the second week in a row, this time to Detroit to take on the Lions on Sunday, Oct. 31 at Ford Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET.

Ford Field is an indoors facility. The stadium has an artificial surface called FieldTurf and seats 65,000.

It is the second of two games the Redskins will play indoors in the regular season. They lost to the St. Louis Rams 30-16 at the Edward Jones Dome in Week 3 earlier this season.

The Redskins are 7-5 in indoor facilities in the last seven years, including 2004 and 2008 wins over the Lions at Ford Field. They have lost their last three games in indoors stadiums, however.

The Redskins are 2-1 in road games this year. They lost to the St. Louis Rams 30-16 in Week 3 and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17-12 in Week 4 and the Chicago Bears 17-14 last week.

The Redskins' game against the Lions is the third of four against the NFC North this season. In addition to the win over the Bears, the Redskins defeated the Green Bay Packers 16-13 in Week 5.

Detroit is coming off its bye week.

The Lions are 0-2 against the NFC East this season, with a 35-32 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 and a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants in Week 6.

The last time the Redskins played on Halloween was in 2004 in a 28-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The game will be televised on FOX to a regional audience. Sam Rosen handles the play-by-play with Tim Ryan providing color commentary.

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-Lions series dates all the way back to when the teams were known as the Boston Redskins and the Portsmouth Spartans in the early 1930s.

The two franchises have met a total of 41 times, including three times in the playoffs, with the Redskins holding the series lead with a record of 27-11 in the regular season and 3-0 in the postseason.

From 1968 until 1997, Washington won 16 consecutive regular season games and two postseason games in the series.

In 1982, the Redskins handled the Lions 31-7 in the NFC divisional playoffs at RFK Stadium. It was the Redskins' first of four postseason wins en route to winning their first Super Bowl title.

The Redskins and Lions also played in the 1991 NFC Championship game at RFK Stadium, with the Redskins dominating 41-10 to advance to the Super Bowl.

In 1999, the Redskins and Lions played in the only playoff game ever played at FedExField. The Redskins won that game 27-13.

The two teams last played at Ford Field last year, with the Lions winning 19-14 to end a 19-game losing streak.

The Redskins' defense struggled tremendously on third downs in the game. In the first half, the Lions converted 9-of-12 third-down plays and overall they were 10-of-18 on third-down conversions.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 21-of-36 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked twice, once by Albert Haynesworth and once by Brian Orakpo.

The Redskins' defense yielded 154 rushing yards, including 101 by running back Kevin Smith.

For the Redskins, Jason Campbell finished the game with 27-of-41 pass completions for 341 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Santana Moss was his top target, grabbing a game-high 10 passes for 178 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown grab early in the third quarter.

TALE OF THE TAPE

FAMILIAR FACES ON THE LIONS

General manager Martin Mayhew played for the Redskins from 1989-92. He was a member of the Redskins' Super Bowl XXVI championship team.

Coordinator of athletic medicine Dean Kleinschmidt served as head athletic trainer for the Redskins under Steve Spurrier from 2002-03.

Head athletic trainer Al Bellamy served as an assistant athletic trainer with the Redskins from 1988-2000.

Coordinator of physical development Jason Arapoff served as a conditioning director for the Redskins from 1988-2000.

Regional scout Cary Conklin played for the Redskins from 1990-94. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the team in 1990. In 1993, he completed 46-of-87 passes for four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman played defensive back for the Redskins in 1990.

Fullback Jake Nordin spent 2007 training camp with the Redskins but was released by the team at the end of preseason. Nordin is on injured reserve.

REDSKINS-LIONS NEWS & NOTES

-- London Calling

London Fletcher plays in his 200th consecutive game on Sunday in Detroit.

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

His 199 consecutive games streak is tied for second in the NFL among active players behind Minnesota's Brett Favre (293).

Heading into the Lions game, London Fletcher has posted 158 consecutive starts, a figure which ranks fourth among active players. (Brett Favre is at 291, Peyton Manning is at 198 and Ronde Barber is at 173.)

Since joining the Redskins in 2007, Fletcher has led the defense in tackles each of his three seasons with the club. Through seven games this season, he leads the defense with 92 tackles.

Fletcher earned his first Pro Bowl selection following the 2009 season.

-- Local Connections for Lions' Schwartz

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz is a Baltimore native who attended Georgetown University in his formative years.

At Georgetown, Schwartz was a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker. He earned his degree in economics and received Distinguished Economics Graduate honors.

Schwartz began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland, tutoring the Terrapins' linebackers from 1989-90.

Prior to joining the Lions last offseason, Schwartz was a defensive assistant for 10 years with the Tennessee Titans. He spent two years learning under former Redskins defensive coach Gregg Williams. He also coached alongside former Redskins assistant coaches Sherman Smith from 1999-2007 and Jerry Gray from 1999-2000.

As Tennessee's defensive coordinator from 2001-08, Schwartz guided the Titans to one of the top defenses in the league. He had current Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth on his side. Haynesworth played for the Titans from 2002-08.

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

The Redskins have 15 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.

Five 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.

-- Moss Is the Man

Santana Moss has played against Detroit twice in his career, and both times he turned in great performances.

On Oct. 26, 2008 at Ford Field, Moss caught a season-high nine passes for 140 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown.

He also returned one punt 80 yards for a touchdown, a score that would prove to be the game-winning points in a 25-17 victory.

Last year, on Sept. 27 at Ford Field, Moss caught a season-high 10 passes for 178 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown.

Combined, Moss has grabbed 19 passes for 318 yards (a 16.7 yards-per-catch average) and two touchdowns as a receiver against the Lions.

-- First-Year Redskins Head Coaches

Entering Sunday's game vs. Detroit, Mike Shanahan is 4-3 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 Marty Schottenheimer in 2001 and Jim Zorn in 2008.

-- 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.

-- Shanahan's Moving Up

With the Redskins' Week 6 win over the Chicago Bears, Mike Shanahan recorded his 158th career win (regular season and postseason) as a head coach.

Shanahan's career record is 158-105. That win total is 16th best among all-time NFL head coaches.

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

-- What's Next?

The Redskins get their bye in Week 9, right in the middle of the regular season.

After the break, they return to FedExField for their third prime time matchup, this time against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.

In Week 4, the Redskins defeated the Eagles 17-12 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.