ASHBURN, Va. -- Twice in the last five seasons, Norv Turner has come so very close to making the playoffs. This season, with his job on the line, he realizes how close he came to missing them.

	Washington's Larry Centers, right, brought home the NFC East title with his TD catch at San Francisco.

The Washington Redskins got help in every way imaginable over the last two weekends to allow them to back into the playoffs. Then, they clinched the NFC East on Sunday night by beating San Francisco in overtime after forcing a fumble just when the 49ers seemed ready to kick the winning field goal in regulation.

"There are a lot of guys in that locker room who in '96 had to go in that locker room in Week 15 after Arizona kicked a field goal to beat us, or we would've been a playoff team," Turner said Monday. "(Or in 1997), after the close losses where the ball didn't bounce our way, or the guy didn't fumble at the end of the game, or we didn't make the third-and-5 that allowed us to keep the ball. I think it was especially meaningful for those guys."

But it was also meaningful for Turner, who finally will taste the postseason after a long rebuilding program that sputtered more often than not. The team rewarded him with a game ball during Sunday's postgame celebrations.

"You don't need a ball," Turner said. "You don't need anything to signify these things because they never leave you."

The Redskins (9-6) rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the 49ers. The effort was symbolic of the difference between Turner's first 4½ years in Washington and the last 1½ years -- his teams finally learned how to come from behind and win close games.

The difference? Turner said it all has to do with the quarterbacks. In the second half of last season, it was Trent Green. This year, it has been Brad Johnson, who threw for 318 yards after halftime and finished with a league-high 471 yards in a 32-for-47 performance Sunday.

"Everyone contributes. Everyone has their role," said Turner, who helped groom Troy Aikman to greatness in Dallas. "But the quarterback has to step up. Brad has done it all year, but I've not been around a performance like that (Sunday) in terms of just carrying the team. His numbers were unbelievable, but I don't think even speak to the type of performance he had."

Turner also showed he could win under pressure from the big corner office. Dan Snyder, who bought the team in July from the estate of late owner Jack Kent Cooke, made it clear from the outset that Turner would be fired if the Redskins failed to make the playoffs this season. Now that Turner has delivered, Snyder appears ready to retain his coach.

Snyder spent Sunday night in San Francisco and was not scheduled to meet with Turner on Monday, so the owner did not make any public statement regarding the matter. However, a source close to Snyder, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press: "He wants Norv to stay, and Norv is expected to stay."

Turner, who last week denied reports he might quit even if Snyder asked him to stay, also shied away from the subject.

"Those are issues that Mr. Snyder and I will discuss privately," he said. "And that's obviously his decision and his timetable."

Very few coaches stick around as long as Turner did without making the playoffs. He took over an awful Washington team in 1994 and steadily improved it, going from 3-13 to 6-10 to a 7-1 start in 1996.

But the 7-1 collapsed to 9-7. A less dramatic collapse the following year produced an 8-7-1 record. Then there was an 0-7 start and 6-3 finish last year, producing a 6-10 record that included the first wins in which a Turner-coached team rallied from behind in the fourth quarter.

Turner's record has improved to 4-5-1 in overtime games and 6-16-1 in games decided by three points or fewer. Sunday's victory came on Larry Centers' 33-yard reception two minutes into the extra period, but the big play was the fumble forced by Shawn Barber late in the fourth quarter.

"That allowed us to have a chance to win the game," Turner said. "One play like that, and you go from being a guy who hasn't coached in the playoffs to being a guy who's coached in the playoffs. So I think we all know the fine line."

The Redskins' success also brought an end to a political jinx more than a half-century old. For the first time since 1945, Washington made the playoffs with a Democrat in the White House.