DATE: Monday, November 10, 1997             TAG: 9711100147

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: LANDOVER, MD                      LENGTH:   82 lines

SKINS SHAME LIONS, CLIMB BACK TO 1ST

The Detroit Lions departed Washington Sunday night with an old, familiar feeling and an emotional tank stuck on ``E.''

For ``Embarrassed.''

The Redskins beat the Lions for the 19th straight time here, 30-7. Coupled with the New York Giants loss at Tennessee, the Redskins (6-4) now share first place in the NFC East with the Giants. Washington's next opponent, 5-5 Dallas, is one game behind the co-leaders.

The Redskins led 20-0 in the third quarter before the Lions mounted anything close to a drive. Washington's performance so humbled Lions coach Bobby Ross that he wasn't sure how many of his players even tried to compete.

``I'm going to see how hard we played, because that's one thing that's very important at this

stage,'' Ross fumed. ``I'm very disappointed. I thought we would play better. I expected us to play better, and we did not. . . We are not going to accept performances like that in this program, and I have told the team to be ready for a very long film session (Monday). They're going to see what went wrong on every play.''

Talk about overtime. Where's Ross to start?

The Redskins forced him to go through three quarterbacks. Starter Scott Mitchell went out with a pulled hamstring, though at five completions in 14 attempts, he should have been on a short leash anyway.

Frank Reich came in with Washington ahead just 3-0. He wasn't even close to adequate, completing 10 of 28 passes, but having two intercepted before briefly hurting his hand on a Redskin helmet.

That left former Virginia star Matt Blundin. He was belted by blitzing Ken Harvey on his only pass attempt, which Darryl Pounds intercepted and carried 22 yards for the touchdown that gave Washington the final margin of its sixth victory in 10 tries.

Then there was Barry Sanders. Although he provided the day's single-most exhilarating moment - a 51-yard touchdown run on which he started left, pivoted left into uncharacteristically open space, then outran Jesse Campbell and Stanley Richard to the end zone - Sanders was hardly a factor.

Football's third all-time leading rusher finished with 15 carries for 105 yards. To get those, he had to weave and juke his way through what seemed like wave after wave of Washington defenders.

``Even the eight- to 10-yard runs he got, he cut all the way back across the field without losing speed,'' Redskins defensive tackle Ryan Kuehl said. ``The way we played defense today, if we'd played someone mortal, they'd have gained nothing. He was unbelievable.''

Washington used eight- and nine-man fronts to derail Sanders, while relying on cornerbacks Darrell Green, Cris Dishman and Pounds to shut down Detroit's All-Pro wideout Herman Moore. As they have all season, the Redskins' secondary was more than up to the task.

Moore caught just five passes for 36 yards. His longest gain was nine yards and he was never more than a wisp ahead of any of Washington's corners.

Far more effective than Sanders and Moore were Washington's big guns, Terry Allen and Michael Westbrook.

Allen lost his 100-yard day because of a holding penalty. Nonetheless, he finished with 94 yards and a touchdown, helping Washington keep the ball a whopping 40:03.

Westbrook, who hadn't played since injuring his knee against Dallas on Oct. 13, was a surprisingly potent factor. As the Redskins began preparations for the Lions last Wednesday, Westbrook wasn't a part of coach Norv Turner's game plan. But Westbrook told the coach that he was ready to go and Turner quickly penciled in a couple of patterns.

Westbrook ran them expertly, catching four passes for 93 yards. His best play, a 31-yard catch-and-run, nearly rivaled Sanders' for brilliance. Westbrook caught a short pass, pivoted around cornerback Robert Bailey, then danced around and through corner Corey Raymond and safety Mark Carrier in a career-best display of power and speed.

Earlier, Westbrook forced Raymond into a pass-interference penalty that set up Gus Frerotte's 1-yard touchdown pass to James Jenkins and a 10-0 Redskins lead. Westbrook decided to let his play speak for him, tersely declining to answer media questions.

The edge grew to 13-0 when Scott Blanton kicked a 50-yard field goal on the last play of the half, then by another seven points on Allen's second-effort 1-yard run late in the third quarter.

Detroit had long since surrendered. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Darryl Pounds high-steps into the end zone for the Redskins' final

touchdown after he made his second interception of the day.

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