"We're going to surprise some people,"DeAngelo Hall said in the days leading up to Washington's 17-14 upset over the Seahawks. "Just watch what we've come up with."
The veteran cornerback spoke truth, as the team's defense on Sunday kept Russell Wilson and the Seahawks scoreless on their first 10 drives before Seattle got frisky down the stretch.
The real estate allowed -- 437 yards in total -- is deceiving. This was a defensive effort headlined by a pair of game-altering picks and the phenomenal play of linebacker Zach Brown, who used his speed to chase down Wilson and friends snap after snap.
"They kept us in the game," said quarterback Kirk Cousins, who did his part by authoring a clutch touchdown drive that put Washington up for good with 0:59 left on the clock.
"He just kept fighting," said cornerback Josh Norman of Cousins. "Man, he got some guts and he got some grit."
It required composure from Cousins to rise to his feet after every hit from a fast-flowing Seahawks defense that held Washington at bay for the entire game until that final drive -- a 39-second march that featured a 31-yard strike to Brian Quick and a beautiful 38-yard catch by evolving wideout Josh Doctson that put Washington at the 1-yard line for Rob Kelley's go-ahead touchdown burst.
"That's just big time," coach Jay Gruden said of Cousins' late-game heroics. "We needed him to step up into some throws at the very end. He did it and made two big-time clutch throws."
Big enough to lift Washington to a 4-4 record and new life in the NFC playoff picture after one of the biggest stunners of the year.