Skins' Hall has career day at Cutler's expense

Rarely has someone from the nation's capital been more generous.

But Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall was in the “giveth” mood following an unprecedented performance by the seven-year veteran in the Redskins' 17-14 victory at Soldier Field on Sunday.

Hall “taketh away” all afternoon.

Hall had a ball. Four, actually.

And Hall had a lot of souvenir footballs to deliver after he tied an NFL single-game record with 4 interceptions, all of which came in the second half. Of the 18 players before Hall who had 4 picks in a game, the most recent being Deltha O'Neal of Denver in 2001, none had pulled off the feat in just one half.

“Hall made some big-time plays when he had to make them,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said.

Among those sitting in Soldier Field seats were Hall's mother, aunt and two cousins. “The first ball went to my mom. The second ball went to my aunt,” Hall said. “The next thing you know, everybody had a ball.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett included.

“Coach Shanahan gave me the ball at the end of the game,” Hall said. “I had to give it to Coach Has. Has called a great game. He tried to give (the ball) back. I'm like, ‘I've got enough balls, Coach Has. This one's for you. Just keep it up. Keep calling the defenses the way we know you can do it and we'll go out there and keep executing.'”

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Hall entered the game with 1 interception this season and 27 in his career, which started with Atlanta in 2004. He also has played for Oakland.

He called his accomplishment Sunday “mind-blowing.”

“It was just an awesome performance by him,” Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth said. “I've never seen a guy that ball hungry.”

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was responsible for 5 of his team's 6 turnovers, as he also lost a fumble when he tried to sneak in from the 1.

“We knew from watching (film of) Jay Cutler all week that we were going to get some opportunities,” Hall said. “We didn't think they were going to come in bunches like that, but we'll take them.”

Hall's first interception came with six minutes gone in the second half on a pass intended for Devin Hester, who was running a curl. Hall made a diving catch at the Washington 39.

“I was hoping they didn't challenge (the ruling),” Hall said. “(The ball) felt like it was kind of moving a little bit as I hit the ground. I kind of contained myself until we ran a play on offense.”

Hall's second pick was the difference in the game. On third-and-7 from the Washington 13, Cutler attempted to hit Johnny Knox on the right sideline. Hall picked off the ball and raced the other way with fellow cornerback Carlos Rogers escorting him.

When Hall finally chugged into the end zone “I was out of gas,” he said to complete a 92-yard return, the Redskins had the lead, at 17-14, with 1:36 left in the third.

Neither team scored again.

“We had an all-out blitz call,” Hall said. “I guess the ball got tipped and hung up a little bit in the air and I was able to break on it.”

Hall credited his day to the Redskins' ability to effectively put pressure on Cutler. Outside linebacker Brian Orakpo had 2 of the Redskins' 4 sacks, and Haynesworth was a force inside.

“The front was out there getting after guys,” Hall said. “It started with Albert. Orakpo came out there to play football. Everybody was out there playing football.”