The Washington Redskins were without three defensive starters and one offensive starter in Wednesday’s practice, according to the team’s injury report.

Starting strong safety LaRon Landry (groin), linebacker London Fletcher (ankle), defensive end Stephen Bowen (left knee) and fullback Darrel Young (concussion) all sat out practice, according to the report.

Landry suffered the groin injury during Sunday’s game and played off and on down the stretch of the victory over Seattle. Initially it was believed that Landry would be fine, but Coach Mike Shanahan said the injury was too painful for Landry to practice Wednesday. Landry previously has been hampered by a strained left Achilles’ tendon. 

Young and Bowen both suffered their injuries in Sunday’s game. Fletcher has played the last five weeks despite the ankle injury. 

Limited in practice were linebacker Brian Orakpo (ankle), lineman Jammal Brown (hip) and receiver Niles Paul (toe). 

Full practice participants despite injuries were offensive lineman Maurice Hurt (knee), receiver Donte Stallworth (foot), safety DeJon Gomes (knee) and quarterback Rex Grossman (sore shoulder).

Grossman mildly injured his shoulder on a play in which a Seattle defender drove him into the ground after he had already thrown a pass. But no penalty was called. 

Shanahan said none of the players has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Jets.

Sitting out practice for the Jets was offensive lineman Mike DeVito (knee). Lineman Vlad Ducasse (knee) was limited.

Practicing despite ailments were defensive lineman Marcus Dixon (shoulder), running backs Shonn Green (rib) and LaDanian Tomlinson (knee), offensive linemen Nick Mangold (ankle) and Matt Slauson (knee), receiver Jeremy Kerley (knee) and defensive back Brodney Pool (knee).

Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said he was surprised to hear that he had won NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday.

Hall learned of the award on Wednesday, three days after he recorded five tackles, six pass break-ups and an interception in the Redskins’ 23-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall (23) can’t hold an interception against Seattle Sunday. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post) Hall’s interception came with 44 seconds left in the game as the Seahawks attempted to mount a last-minute game-winning drive.

Hall was pleased to come up with his second pick of the season, but more prominent in his mind was dropping at least one other would-be interception arlier in the game.

“A lot of dropped picks. Definitely dropped a couple gifts,” Hall said before admitting surprise that he won the award. “Definitely. I didn’t realize I had seven pass breakups. I definitely remembered dropping a couple picks, but didn’t expect this at all.”

Hall’s performance came a week after he said he deserved to be cut by the team for giving up an overtime catch to Dez Bryant that set up the Dallas Cowboys for a game-winning field goal.

In the days following the game, however, Hall said he remained confident in his skills, however, and that he hoped to get the chance to redeem himself. He got it Sunday.

“It feels good to respond the way you’re supposed to,” Hall said before crediting his teammates with some of his success. “Guys came out and hit them in the mouth. We gave up some plays, but we definitely made more than we gave up. Any time you hold a team like that to 252 yards of offense, and our offense came out and put points on the board, you’ve got a chance to win the game.”

Up next is a stiff challenge from the New York Jets and receivers Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes.

“We on the corners will be challenged. We’ll be challenged by Santonio and Plaxico and their tight end. We’ve got to man up and stop their passing game,” Hall said.

The cornerback believes that if Washington can shut down New York’s running game, he and Josh Wilson will get the opportunity to make more plays because of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez’s inconsistency under pressure.

“He doesn’t take as many chances as much as he just gets confused sometimes,” Hall said of Sanchez, who has 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions “A lot of times he just comes out and stares a receiver down, tries to throw him the ball. He puts it on those guys to make plays. They haven’t made as many plays this year as they have in previous years. But they’re definitely a capable offense and can put points on the board.”

ASHBURN, Va.- The Washington Redskins announced Wednesday that they have signed cornerback Brandyn Thompson to the team’s 53-man roster. The team also waived cornerback Domonique Johnson.

Thompson (5-10, 177) spent the first four weeks of the season and Weeks 8-9 on the Redskins’ active roster, appearing in two games. Thompson saw action at cornerback in the Redskins’ Week 2 win against Arizona, and he appeared on special teams in Washington’s Week 3 game against Dallas.

Thompson was selected by the Redskins in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft last April after having appeared in 49 games at Boise State. For his college career, he amassed 146 tackles (95 solo), seven tackles for loss, 13 interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

With the addition of Thompson to the active roster, the Redskins currently have nine of their 12 draft choices from the 2011 NFL Draft on their active roster. Rookie wide receiver Aldrick Robinson is currently on the team’s practice squad.

Rookie wide receiver Leonard Hankerson and rookie defensive end Jarvis Jenkins are on the Reserve/Injured list.

Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall has earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Seahawks Sunday.

Hall recorded five tackles, six pass break-ups and an interception in the Redskins’ 23-17 victory .

This is the second time in Hall’s career that he has earned the award. The last time was in Week 7 of the 2010 season when he recorded four interceptions against the Chicago Bears.

Hall’s award-winning outing came a week after he struggled against the Cowboys, giving up a touchdown and big catch to Dez Bryant to set up the game-winning field goal. Following that game, Hall said that he deserved to be cut. The following day, however, teammates said Hall wasn’t totally to blame for the breakdowns and Coach Mike Shanahan expressed confidence that Hall would rebound with a strong outing.

This is the second time this season a Redskins player has taken home the award. Linebacker Brian Orakpo earned it after Washington’s Week 4 win at St. Louis.

Hall has 69 tackles, 11 pass break-ups, two interceptions and a forced fumble this season..

“Any offense, if you want to have balance and the chance for a big play, you’ve got to have a good, solid running game, and that sets up the play-action pass,” Coach Mike Shanahan said Monday, the day after his personal-worst six-game losing streak had ended. “I thought that’s what we were able to do [Sunday]. Our running game was solid against a very good defensive team [and] kind of gave us some opportunities with some play-action passes to come up with the big plays.”

Start, then, on the ground. Helu, a fourth-round pick from Nebraska, turned his first opportunity to play on all three downs into a career day. He gained 108 yards on 23 carries, including a game-changing 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter on which he memorably leapt over a defender.

That not only earned him a third start in the upcoming game against the New York Jets, according to Shanahan on Monday, but it helped establish the entire flow for the offense. In the Redskins’ four wins, they average 138 yards rushing. In their seven losses, that number plummets to 56.9.

“That’s one of the reasons why I believe in the running game through the years,” Shanahan said. “That usually dictates wins, by [being] able to run the football, come up with the big plays in play-action. Your third downs aren’t as long, you’re controlling the time of possession, keeping the opposition off the field — different things that lead to winning.”

The rare presence of the running game — the Redskins still rank next-to-last in the NFL in yards per game on the ground — also allowed Washington to control the clock, even as they allowed scoring opportunities to slip away. The Redskins held the ball for 33 minutes 20 seconds against Seattle. Coincidence or not, they’re now 4-0 in games in which they win the time of possession battle, 0-7 when the opponent has the ball longer.

“Normally if you win games, you’re controlling the ball in the fourth quarter, and you’re running the football,” Shanahan said. “. . . When you’re behind, you’re throwing the ball every down.”

In order for the Redskins to get in a situation in which they could control the clock, they needed the lead. They grabbed it in a manner they also have not shown much this season, with a pair of quick strikes. Shanahan’s running game is predicated not just on wearing opponents down through repeated attempts, but by then busting out for a long gain. Until Helu broke free with just under 10 minutes remaining to cut the Seahawks’ lead to 17-14, that big play had been completely absent. Helu’s 28-yard run was Washington’s second-longest of the year, trailing only a 39-yard burst by Ryan Torain in Week 4 against St. Louis.

The play on which the Redskins took the lead was their longest of the season, a 50-yard touchdown pass from Grossman to wide receiver Anthony Armstrong. Only three teams entered Sunday without a pass play of at least 50 yards, and the heave showed Grossman’s ability — and willingness — to go downfield.

In eight starts by Grossman this season, the Redskins have averaged 339 yards of offense and gone 4-4. In three starts by John Beck, they averaged 278 yards and went 0-3. So up pops another question. Does Shanahan regret benching Grossman in Week 7?

“That’s part of trying to figure out who your football team is, especially when you have some missing pieces,” Shanahan said. “. . . You’re always trying to come up with that chemistry and what gives you the best chance to win. That’s an ongoing process.”

Establishing consistency on offense is also an ongoing process. But after the Redskins’ first win in nearly two months, there also is another element that has been missing most of that time: Hope.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a lot of games like this in the future, where you’re moving the football,” Shanahan said. “. . . When you do move the ball like we did, you feel a little bit better about everything — your running game, your protection, your play-action game, your dropback game.

“Everybody’s a lot more positive. To move the ball like we did, it’s a big boost to our offensive players, because they know we have those capabilities. We just need to do it on a consistent basis.”