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Last season, Washington Redskins outside linebacker Rob Jackson capped off his best season in the National Football League with an interception of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

He started his 2013 highlight reel with the exact same play.

After serving a four-game NFL suspension, Jackson was eligible to return in Week 5. But with the bye week, his season debut was pushed back to last night against the Cowboys.

Unsure of how much he was going to play, Jackson made the most of his opportunities spelling Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan.

In the second quarter of a game that was 7-3 at the time, Jackson intercepted a pass that was deflected by cornerback Josh Wilson at the line, who was bringing pressure on Romo.

“I came into the game not knowing how many snaps I was going to get,” Jackson told CSN Washington after the game. “I knew I had to take advantage of the snaps that they gave me. I knew I had to be productive with my rushes, my drops [and] anything.”

Scrutinized through the first three weeks of the season, the defense has regained its composure and limited big plays and long drives over the last two games.

Fresh off a 522-yard, 48-point effort vs. Denver, the Redskins held the Cowboys to only 213 yards of total offense, the team’s lowest total since 2010, a span of 45 games.

“I was very pleased with our defense. I thought it was their best game of the year by far,” head coach Mike Shanahan told the media. “Any time you have that type of run defense and you go against a quarterback that’s had a lot of success and you play at that level, you feel very good.

“The defense gave us many opportunities to win that football game, but we didn’t take advantage of it offensively or [on] special teams. In order to win those games, you’ve got to play good in all phases, especially on the road.”

Romo threw for a season-low 170 yards, top receiver Dez Bryant had his worst outing since Week 1 and the running game was completely overwhelmed by the Redskins’ front seven.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” Jackson said. “I think we're going to continue to build. Like you said, we did contain a high-powered offense, from my perspective, especially with what they did the week before against Denver.”

Moving forward, the Redskins play the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos in the next two weeks. Both teams rank top-12 in total offense with the Broncos possessing the league’s most potent attack.

With a record of 1-4, the team comes to a crossroads early in this young season. The fork in the road allows them to call it quits, play safe and look forward to next season, or they can take the same mentality that led them on an improbable run the last month and-a-half last season.

Admitting defeat through the first five games of the season isn’t even a consideration in this Redskins locker room.

“We're staying positive,” Jackson said. “You know we’ve got to take it week by week. We can't get down just yet. It can get worse.

“All we can do is try to and go up from here and win games. That's the most important thing.”

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