NFL PLAYOFFS : Redskins, Bills Emerge Superior : NFC: Washington defense batters Kramer, bottles up Sanders in a 41-10 victory over Detroit.

WASHINGTON —  Emotion, the intricacies of the run-and-shoot offense and the talent of Barry Sanders took the Detroit Lions further than almost anyone could have imagined--took them within one victory of the Super Bowl.

But on Sunday, the Washington Redskins took them apart, 41-10, ending the Lions’ longshot dream, setting up a long-predicted Washington-Buffalo Bills Super Bowl Jan. 26 and completing a wire-to-wire domination of the NFC.

Unleashing waves of defenders, who harassed Lion quarterback Erik Kramer into two interceptions and four sacks, and grinding out play after play against an overmatched Lion defense, the Redskins stomped on to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1987 season, winning before a crowd of 55,585 at RFK Stadium.

“Words can’t describe how I feel right now,” said Redskin receiver Gary Clark, whose 45-yard touchdown reception during the third quarter put the game away for Washington. “Getting back to The Show has been long overdue for this team.”

Kramer only a week earlier had slashed up the Dallas Cowboys defense. But on Sunday, the Redskins batted down his first pass, sacked him and caused a lost fumble on the second and generally kept the Lion offense off-rhythm.

Away from domed stadiums, the Lions were only 2-5, and Sunday they could not hold up against a superior defense.

Although the score was close--17-10--at halftime, Washington poured on 17 points in the third quarter, making the fourth nothing more than a question of whether or not Coach Joe Gibbs would get his first Gatorade dousing.

He did, courtesy of Clark and center Jeff Bostic, but that was merely an epilogue to the flood of Redskin defensive linemen and linebackers that doused Kramer all day long.

“I watched that Dallas game, and I saw Kramer was just calm and cool and collected--and how he didn’t look like a first-year quarterback at all,” said Redskin defensive end Charles Mann, who got past Lion tackle Scott Conover for that first sack-fumble. “He’d just sit back there and throw it.

“We knew we had to confuse him by changing our alignment just as he snapped the ball--’window-dressing’ is what we call it--then get in there, knock him around some, make sure he knew we were coming at him and we were going to hit him when he dropped back.

“I think we did that.”

The Redskins did it by sticking mostly to their basic four-linemen, three-linebacker set, as opposed to the one-linebacker or no-linebacker defenses usually used against the Lions’ four-wideout offense.

Washington was able to use its linebackers to hold Sanders to 44 yards on 11 carries. The Redskins also confused Kramer and the offensive line by blitzing often or by dropping linebackers Wilber Marshall and Andre Collins back into coverage, where they ran almost step-for-step with the small Lion receivers.

Kramer’s first fumble gave Washington the ball on the Detroit 10, and two plays later--1 minute 6 seconds into the game--the Redskins led, 7-0.

On its next possession, Detroit got to run five plays before pressure from the outside caused Kramer to throw underneath his intended receiver, straight into the hands of linebacker Kurt Gouveia, who returned it 38 yards down to the Detroit 10.

With slightly more than four minutes gone, Chip Lohmiller punched in 20-yard field goal for a 10-0.

The Lions had run off seven consecutive victories by blending the raw emotion of their feelings for guard Mike Utley, who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down during their victory over the Rams Nov. 17, with an offense built around Sanders’ uncanny ability to avoid tacklers.

Detroit and Kramer did not lie down Sunday when they could have, striking back with two scores in the second quarter to make the Redskins sweat going in at halftime.

“Yeah, we were scared,” Mann said of the team’s feeling at halftime. “With that run-and-shoot offense lined up at you, you never want it to get close.

“But we got together and just told ourselves the first five minutes of the third quarter would tell the tale, and sure enough, our offense comes right out and drives for a field goal and we stop them three plays and a punt after that.

“From there, we were off to the races.”

From there, Redskin quarterback Mark Rypien took over. He completed 12 of 17 passes for 228 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He wasn’t sacked and was forced to throw hurriedly only once.

“Today,” said running back Gerald Riggs, “the offensive line showed why they are one of the best the NFL has ever seen.”

Rypien’s third-quarter, 45-yard touchdown pass to Clark came on a play that did not work once all week in practice.

Rypien took the snap and rolled to his right, waited calmly with no defenders near, then whirled back to his left, looking for Clark about to step free deep down the left sideline.

“My job is just to do anything to get open,” Clark said, describing the brief head fake outside that freed him to break down the field. “Then Rip just threw a perfect ball, like he has all year long.”

Clark caught it in stride, took two steps into the end zone to make the score 27-10.

And the Redskins were in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in Coach Joe Gibbs’ tenure. He has won two.

“It’s been a great ride for me as coach this year,” Gibbs said. “I feel very humble because I can’t take all the credit for this team’s success, and yet I get most of the credit.”

Super Bowl XXVI

Date: Sunday, Jan. 26

Time: 3 p.m. PST

Site: Metrodome, Minneapolis

Teams: Washington Redskins (16-2) vs. Buffalo Bills (15-3)

TV: Channels 2, 8 (Pregame show starts at 12:30 PST)

Radio: KNX (1070)