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PONTIAC, Michigan (Ticker) -- The Detroit Lions ended the longest current losing streak against another team with the help of a couple of former Washington Redskins -- Gus Frerotte and newly acquired Desmond Howard. Frerotte passed for 285 yards and Howard had a 68-yard punt return as the Lions ended a 16-game regular-season losing streak against the Redskins dating to 1965 with a 33-17 victory. Frerotte, who spent five years with the Redskins before getting being after playing just three games last year, completed 21-of-32 passes, including a 23-yard touchdown to Herman Moore that tied the game, 10-10, with 3:23 left in the second quarter. He has made four straight starts -- winning two -- but may be back on the bench next week as Charlie Batch is expected to return from a thumb injury. "Anybody who's alive and kicking would want to play in this same situation," Frerotte said. "When I found out Friday, I was pretty excited. Personally, it's one of the big wins (in my career). "I wanted to show the (Washington) fans that I can still play the game even though I was cut by their team. It's not revenge, but you wonder why you got cut. You wonder if you can play in the league again. I've answered all those questions for myself and I'm ready to move on." Howard, signed by the Packers on Saturday after cornerback-punt returner Terry Fair broke his hand in a domestic accident, gave Detroit (8-4) a 17-10 lead with a 68-yard return 1:34 before halftime. The Lions got back the ball with 42 seconds left in the first half and three completions by Frerotte allowed Jason Hanson to kick a 45-yard field goal 10 seconds before the break. "He's electric, you feel like you have a chance every time he touches the ball," Detroit coach Bobby Ross said of Howard. "That's a definite weapon that you need. If Terry Fair had not been hurt we were still going to look at Howard, but not as soon. Sometimes you have to be lucky." "I never lost confidence in myself," said Howard. "This was a unique situation (that) I've never been involved in before. I was happy to be with a contender. I didn't want to sign with anybody just for another month. I wanted to play in January. Detroit's at the top of its division." The Lions are one half-game ahead of Minnesota and Tampa Bay for the lead in the NFC Central. Those teams meet in Tampa on Monday night. Howard won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Michigan in 1991 and spent his first three NFL seasons with Washington. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXI with the Green Bay Packers and spent two seasons with Oakland before returning to Green Bay this season. The Packers waived him earlier in the week. "If Desmond Howard is your problem, then you should have made the playoffs after he was gone," said Howard, directing his anger at Washington, which left him unprotected in the 1995 expansion draft. "I don't have any animosity. I like all the players. It was just a front office decision. I've had a lot of good things happen to me since I left Washington." Hanson had four field goals for the Lions, who have won five straight at home. Washington's Brad Johnson, under heavy pressure all game, was 26-of-43 for 249 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Johnson was sacked five times for 32 yards in losses. "This was the most physical game I've ever been involed with," Johnson said. "We fought but we didn't make enough plays. We had chances to take shots at them then we had some three-and-outs, some penalties or turnovers and we'd take ourselves out of it. Their front four is the best we've faced so far. They kept us on our heels all day. They were able to come in on us and cause a lot of turnovers." The Redskins (7-5) had the third-longest longest streak over an opponent in league history behind Miami's 20 straight over Buffalo from 1970-79 and San Francisco's 17 straight over the Rams from 1990-98. Washington turned the ball over four times and fell to 2-34-1 under Norv Turner when losing the ball more than its opponent. The Redskins are one half-game ahead of Dallas for the lead in the NFC East. "I thought our guys competed their (butts) off, but if you're going to turn the ball over like we did you're going to have a tough time winning," Turner said. "I thought the first possession of the game we handled their rush better. Then they did a good job of getting to Brad." Detroit recovered two of Washington's six fumbles, turning one into a score. Defensive tackle James Jones knocked the ball out of Johnson's hands and linemate Luther Elliss caught it out of the air and trotted 11 yards for a 33-17 lead 6:51 into the fourth quarter. "A lot of it was bacause of our secondary," Elliss said. "They didn't give Brad any time to throw. They had everybody covered, so we were eventually able to get the pressure on him. I was thinking J.J. was going to get it; the ball just bounced up into my hands. It's the first time I've ever had a ball like that without any fast guys around me." Washington was within 20-17 after Johnson tossed a 39-yard TD pass to Westbrook 2:39 into the third quarter. The Redskins had an apparent touchdown overturned by a replay challenge with just over five minutes left in the fourth period when officials ruled that Westbrook did not get both feet in bounds on what would have been a 30-yard reception. Hanson missed a 46-yard field goal with 5:54 left in the third period but kicked a 37-yarder on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Detroit a 23-17 advantage. Linebacker Chris Claiborne recovered a fumble by Westbrook on the Redskins 37 and three plays later, Hanson kicked a 52-yard field goal for a 26-17 lead with 8:23 to go. Brett Conway, who kicked a game-winning 27-yard field goal in overtime last week, booted a 42-yarder to give Washington a 3-0 lead 6:22 into the game. The Lions tied the score just over six minutes into the second quarter when Hanson kicked a 50-yarder. Washington immediately regained the lead when James Thrash returned Hanson's kickoff 95 yards for a TD. Frerotte threw a 30-yard pass to Germane Crowell and on the next play found Herman Moore for a TD.
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