[mooby]

I can't answer all your questions, but:

No idea on best place to stay, I live locally.

Your options for going to the game are Metro or driving. If you wanna tailgate, you're gonna need a car and a parking pass (although there are non-stadium parking you can tailgate at, me and my friends go to a lot on the outer perimeter that charges like 20 bucks for parking. You can ride Metro unless you hate walking, in which case don't ride Metro (1+ mile walk to closest station). Metro reliability always leaves something to be desired too, but I've never had problems as long as you leave early enough to account for weekend delays.

Metro will also take you into DC and northern VA if you stay down here. Driving in DC sucks too and parking is a bitch (I've gotten more $100 parking tickets than I care to admit). If you fly into Reagan you can hop on the Metro, if you fly into BWI (MARC or bus) or Dulles (shuttle bus) there are options to get to the Metro/DC. Oh yeah and if you ride the Metro always remember walk left, stand right.