By Richard Justice
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 3, 1997; Page C1

CHICAGO, Nov. 2 — The Washington Redskins didn't look capable of this kind of crisp, overpowering performance, not after last week's dreadful home loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Not after a week spent patching together a lineup and restoring a quarterback's confidence.

And then again, it's sometimes easy to forget the impact Pro Bowl running back Terry Allen has on the Redskins. Because he does not have the dazzling moves of a Barry Sanders or the Super Bowl resume of an Emmitt Smith, it may be difficult for some to understand why Coach Norv Turner calls him "the motor that runs our football team."

Allen certainly was one of the motors behind the Redskins on this chilly afternoon as they pounded the Chicago Bears, 31-8, in front of 53,032 at Soldier Field.

The victory leaves the Redskins (5-4) alone in second place in the NFC East, thanks to losses by the Dallas Cowboys (4-5) and Philadelphia Eagles (4-5). The New York Giants (6-3) had a bye, but remain atop the division.

"This is the best game we've played," Turner said. "We've just been short of players. It's nice to get our guys back. That's us. When Terry Allen and Bob Dahl and Kenard Lang and people like that are out there, we're a little bit different football team."

After missing two games with a sprained left knee, Allen rushed for 125 yards on 20 carries, leading the Redskins to touchdowns on their first three possessions. In eight previous games this season, they had scored a total of two first-quarter touchdowns.

With a shuffled offensive line blowing open huge holes, Allen gave the Redskins a completely different look on offense and allowed a decimated defense to spend long stretches on the sideline. The Redskins eventually ran up a 31-0 lead before the Bears (1-8) scored with five minutes remaining in the game.

"We played Redskins football," Allen said. "We got out and ran the football, and when we run it, we win. We were able to make plays in the passing game because we were running the ball."

Partly because of Allen, quarterback Gus Frerotte played his best game of the season, completing 14 of 20 passes, including a pair of touchdown tosses. Only three of his completions went to wide receivers, but after a month of struggles, he didn't make mistakes and he did move the Redskins up and down the field.

"I can't tell you why it was like that," Frerotte said. "It was just playing the game, running, hitting the little dink passes. ... Just playing. It was a fun day."

It also was a terrific day for the defense. Those early points changed the complexion of the game, but the defense didn't allow the Bears much of anything for three quarters. With three defenders — end Kelvin Kinney, tackle Ryan Kuehl and linebacker Greg Jones — making their first career starts, the Redskins forced four turnovers and held running back Raymont Harris to a mere 43 yards on 13 carries.

This was exactly the kind of day Turner was hoping for. As his coaching has been criticized and his players second-guessed in recent weeks, he kept emphasizing that the Redskins would be different once they started getting their biggest names on the field.

This afternoon, even as linebacker Ken Harvey and others stood on the sideline with injuries, the Redskins did get back Allen, Dahl, at guard, and Lang, at defensive end.

With Allen, the Redskins are much closer to being the team Turner believes they should be. He broke outside on his first run of the day and gained 30 yards. He gained 79 yards on his first seven carries, and eventually, the Bears had to focus so much attention on him that they couldn't worry about anyone else.

When Frerotte lofted a beauty of a pass to wide receiver Leslie Shepherd for a 39-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, the Bears had jumped toward the line of scrimmage hoping to stop Allen. Frerotte faked a handoff to him, then passed to a wide-open Shepherd for a 31-0 lead.

"Our offensive line did a great job of picking them up, and my job becomes easy in those situations," Frerotte said.

This wasn't what the Redskins would have predicted, especially after watching the previously winless Bears defeat the Miami Dolphins on the road last Monday.

"It was a good old fashioned [butt] whipping," Bears linebacker Bryan Cox said. "They beat us. They were better than us. You don't take a whipping. It's handed to you. They flattened us. That's the first time all year this has happened."

It was that way from the start. Frerotte missed Shepherd on the game's first play, then completed nine passes in a row before being penalized for intentional grounding. He lobbed a perfect throw to tight end Jamie Asher on the game's second play, and the Redskins were off and running.

Allen then had gains of 30 yards and nine yards, and eight plays into the drive, Frerotte lofted a nine-yard touchdown pass to tight end James Jenkins for a 7-0 lead.

This is where the defense made a stand. Harris entered the game leading the NFC in carries and touchdowns, and Chicago's game plan was to pound away at the middle of a soft Redskins defensive line.

On Harris's first carry, Kuehl tripped him after a two-yard gain. Then middle linebacker Marvcus Patton stopped him after a five-yard gain. On third down, cornerback Darrell Green swatted a ball from wide receiver Chris Penn.

The Bears punted, and Brian Mitchell returned it 25 yards to the Washington 45-yard line. The Redskins zipped down the field, driving 55 yards in just six plays to a five-yard touchdown run by fullback Larry Bowie that made it 14-0 with 5:55 left in the first quarter.

The Bears again were forced to punt, and when Allen opened the next drive with a 34-yard run, the rout was on. Frerotte flipped a pass to Bowie for 25 yards, and the Redskins needed just eight plays to drive 80 yards. Frerotte scored on a one-yard sneak to make it 21-0 with 13:34 left in the first half.

On all those drives, the Redskins dominated the line of scrimmage, opening holes for the running backs or protecting Frerotte from an array of blitzing linebackers. After the first quarter, the Redskins had gained 189 yards and allowed 32. They finished with season highs in yards (388), rushing yards (203) and rushing attempts (42). Frerotte's 20 passes were a season low.

"We finally got back to what we do best," guard Joe Patton said. "We've got to do a lot more of that. Anytime you get Terry Allen running, it's going to open up the passing game."

It was 24-0 at halftime, and on the Redskins' third play of the second half, Shepherd got behind the defense and caught Frerotte's 39-yard touchdown pass in stride to make it 31-0. At that point, the home fans were booing and the Redskins were feeling a bit more like the team they believed they'd be this season.

"If you start well, it has an impact on the rest of the game," Turner said. "Your guys are saying, 'Hey, we can control this game.' We felt the last two games we should have scored on our first drive. We did it today, and it builds confidence."