Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb celebrates his first win in a Redskins uniform after pulling out a cose victory over Dallas. (Photo: Associated Press)

Redskins 13, Cowboys 7. Thank God for the defense. ... And the Dallas Cowboys penalties.

This would be a "Redskins couldn't capitalize" blog had not the Dallas Cowboys gift-wrapped the season opener for Washington. After committing 12 penalties for 91 yards over the course of the game to keep the Redskins alive over and over, the Cowboys would've had a game-winning touchdown connection from Tony Romo to Roy Williams with no time on the clock. . . but a tackle Alex Barron badly held Brian Orakpo on a blitz. The referee saw and threw the flag. No catch, end of game.

So, the Mike Shanahan Era kicks off with a stroke of luck.

It wasn't pretty by any means, especially if you're discussing the offensive execution. But thanks to an aggressive defense, the Washington Redskins were able to overcome their miscues and open the season with a win.

Donovan McNabb's debut as a Redskin as a whole can't be described as impressive. He was 15-for-32 for 171 yards.

Kyle Shanahan's playbook wasn't proven to be explosive. The Redskins punted six times and mustered two field goals, and a botched snap killed what could've been a scoring drive.

There was little resemblance of the dominant running attack that Mike Shanahan teams are typically known for. Clinton Portis mustered only 63 carries on 18 yards, and as a whole, Washington had only 89 rushing yards.

But the defense kept the Redskins in the game all night. Despite giving up 380 total yards to the Cowboys, the defense limited the visitors to only one touchdown.

DeAngelo Hall returned a fumble for a touchdown with time running out in the second quarter to give Washington a 10-0 halftime lead. And Graham Gano had two field goals to account for the rest of the scoring.