And Brian Orakpo positioned himself in different spots, forcing Dallas to guess if he was coming. He lined up at his usual right side, came through the middle a few times and finished the game off on the left.

Think these changes worked? Landry finished with 17 tackles; Orakpo drew three holding penalties on right tackle Alex Barron, two of which were enforced. The big one, of course, took away a touchdown on the final play of the game in Washington’s 13-7 victory over the Cowboys.

For both players, they’re being used the way they like. And their versatility is crucial to Washington’s defense.

For Orakpo, the change is subtle as he was an outside linebacker last year. However, he’s lining up closer to the line of scrimmage, giving him a better chance to explode into blockers.

Landry is playing more strong safety and doing just about everything he enjoys: blitzing, playing close to the line and getting a chance to make plays.

“Man, I loved it,” Landry said. “This defense enables me to fly around and read my keys and I can play ball instead of sitting back in the middle of the field trying to get action. This defense enables me to where I can really go get it and not mess up. That’s what I love about it.”

Landry came through with several big tackles, partly because he was used all over. He blitzed from the slot and from a linebacker position. He raced across the field in coverage to make a crucial stop in the third quarter when he rotated from the deep half to stop receiver Dez Bryant short of a first down in the flat.

Meanwhile, Orakpo moved around as well. And when the Redskins saw a mismatch against Barron, they pounced. On the final play, Barron wasn’t confused; he knew Orakpo was lined up across from him. But he had just been beaten inside and on the last play, he engaged Orakpo quicker than normal. Orakpo fought through, drawing the penalty, which negated a 13-yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams.

“The guy’s rushing the passer in an all-out effort on the last play,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. “And we get a holding penalty … Show me guys who are willing to play for 60 minutes and it gives you a chance to win.”

But it also helped that Washington isn’t afraid to move him around.

“They showed us some looks we had never seen before,” Dallas quarterback Tony Romo said.

Orakpo said, “It’s very important [to come from different spots]. It keeps offenses on their toes. They don’t know where the blitzes are coming from or where I’m coming from. I could be on the line. I could drop at the same time. It’s keeping them elusive. It’s a very deceiving defense. It keeps offensive schemes on their toes.”

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