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For the Albert Haynesworth, the best moment of their preseason victory over the Jets came when Albert Haynesworth opened his mouth and did not say anything to stir up trouble.

Haynesworth even cracked a joke after the 16-11 victory Friday night, saying he was heading to Coach Mike Shanahan’s house for dinner and a cigar.

“What I said last week is behind me,” Haynesworth said. “I don’t even remember what I said.”

Haynesworth had used the first two exhibition games to express his displeasure with Shanahan, adding fuel to the tit-for-tat that has shadowed the Redskins for months. It is safe to say that the coach and player are not anywhere close to being best friends, but at least there will be no new fires to put out when practice resumes Sunday.

Instead, the Redskins for the first time have a feel for how Haynesworth will be used in the regular season. After being relegated to backup nose tackle duty in the first two games, he played with the starters much of the time Friday and played quite a bit at defensive end as well as at the nose in a 3-4 alignment that he had been reluctant to embrace.

“I’m just trying to get down the end and the 3-4 defense to where I can be dominant in it,” Haynesworth said. “My body feels great, as far as the wind and the power.”

Haynesworth’s play was one of the few highlights in a game that did not reveal much about the Redskins’ prospects heading into the regular season. The offense did not start its projected starting backfield because quarterback Donovan McNabb was nursing a sprained ankle, fullback Mike Sellers had a sprained knee, and running back Clinton Portis was given limited work so the coaches could see what Willie Parker could do.

One possible concern was that Portis sprained an ankle in the game.

“I don’t think it is serious,” Shanahan said. “I don’t know how bad it is, but that’s just guessing.”

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