National Football League

Hall's 4 INTs tie mark as Redskins top Bears 17-14

Published Oct. 25, 2010 5:25 a.m. ET

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DeAngelo Hall saw the pass near the sideline and went up with one hand for an interception that immediately seemed destined for the highlight reel.

Even better was what happened next.

Hall ran it back 92 yards for a touchdown, his biggest play on a day when he entered the NFL's record book.

Hall tied the league mark with his four interceptions, and the Washington Redskins sacked Jay Cutler four times while forcing six turnovers in a 17-14 victory over Chicago on Sunday.

''We've been taught to be ball hawks, to try to get the ball,'' Hall said. ''It's not necessarily big for me, but it's big for this defense. If you go out and look at the stats, we don't look too good on paper, but you watch us live, we're out there flying around.''

Hall shares the record with 18 others and is the first to pick off four passes since Deltha O'Neal did it with Denver in 2001. The four interceptions give him five on the season, one shy of his career high, and easily eclipsed his previous best of two in a game.

''It's kind of mind blowing,'' he said. ''I had my mom, my aunt, and my two cousins in the stands. The first ball went to my mom, the second ball went to my aunt and the next thing you knew everybody had a ball.''

Hall's interception and TD return late in the third quarter put the Redskins ahead for good, sending Chicago (4-3) to its third loss in four games.

Washington (4-3), meanwhile, equaled its win total from last season and joined a growing line of teams that have pounded Cutler. He has been sacked 19 times in his last three games, and when he wasn't on his back, he kept finding Hall.

The TD return after his second interception was particularly impressive and stopped a Bears drive at the 13.

The Redskins were trailing 14-10 when Hall made that one-handed grab. Cutler, throwing off his back foot, was trying to hit Johnny Knox along the right sideline. Instead, Hall ran it back 92 yards to give Washington a 17-14 lead with 1:36 left in the third.

''That was the sickest interception I've ever seen,'' linebacker London Fletcher said.

Hall also picked off Cutler early in the fourth, and had one more in him late in the game, yet the idea of avoiding Hall apparently never crept into Cutler's mind.

''No,'' he said. ''Not at all. I've played against him before. There's no reason to shy away from him. I mean, that's hard for me to say throwing four picks to the guy, but I still think if we had to play him tomorrow, I'd go after him every time.''

Cutler was 26 of 40 with 281 yards and the Bears wound up with 322 yards against a defense that came in allowing a league-high 420 per game. They got going after running seven plays for minus-5 yards in the first quarter, but it was simply another rough afternoon for a team that is struggling going into its bye.

Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs left in the first quarter after aggravating an ankle injury that kept him out of the previous game.

Washington's Donovan McNabb threw for 200 yards with a touchdown and interception in his hometown. Ryan Torain had another big game, gaining 125 yards on 21 carries.

Brian Orakpo had two sacks, and Albert Haynesworth had a sack after missing two games because of the death of his half brother in a motorcycle accident. He also was in on a big play on the first drive of the second half, when he jumped over the pile and knocked down Cutler as he tried to score on first down at the 1, resulting in a fumble that Washington recovered.

''Right before we started warming up, I started thinking about him,'' Haynesworth said of his half brother. ''It was kind of hard. I cried a little bit and I heard my younger brother say, `You're crying over me?' I had to dry it up and be a big brother and play ball.''