"With 3:51 remaining in the third quarter, the Texans trailed the Redskins by 17 points.

Washington quarterback Donovan McNabb had just thrown a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Cooley. The crowd of 88,240 was singing Hail to the Redskins, and Fed­Ex Field was shaking.

Then something happened, and the Redskins didn't score again, allowing the Texans to escape with a 30-27 overtime victory Sunday.

"I'll tell you what happened: Mario happened," middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. "Mario really got after them. He turned this around. I mean, they couldn't stop him. I think he (McNabb) really started worrying about Mario."

Who could have blamed McNabb, who threw for 426 yards and a touchdown? He burned the defensive backs time and again. Fortunately for them, Williams helped them overcome the avalanche of yards.

On the Redskins' last drive of regulation, they had the ball at their 35. Williams sacked McNabb for a 14-yard loss. Rookie left tackle Trent Williams was injured on the play. Stephon Heyer, his replacement, was called for holding Antonio Smith on the next play.

"Mario was exceptional," coach Gary Kubiak said, "and he was exceptional when it mattered the most."

On the Redskins' only series in OT, Williams sacked McNabb for the third time.

"We were crunked," Williams said. "He's a mobile quarterback, and we knew we had to get him down because he was making too many big plays."

Williams has four sacks and eight hurries in two games."