Washington’s third win in a row secured them a playoff spot and the top of the NFC Easy division after they outclassed Philadelphia with a margin 38:24 on Saturday night.
It was to be or not to be game for the Eagles; a win would give them a chance to secure the playoffs in the last week in a duel versus Giants while Washington could even afford to lose and still would be in the contention. However, the Redskins took the matter into own hands and dominated the game since the last five minutes of the first quarter.
Philadelphia started very well and took a lead with Ryan Matthews’ touchdown early in the match, and that was the only time the Eagles were in front. Kirk Cousins stepped in and connected with his tight end Jordan Reed for a pair of TD’s to conclude the first period. Redskins scored 14 unanswered points in only five minutes. The home team’s quarterback Sam Bradford moved the ball nicely and usually combined with Sproles, Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz, but failed to score a touchdown, so Caleb Sturgis kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 3 points.
The Redskins’ kicker Dustin Hopkins concluded the first half with his field goal score to give his team a six-point lead at the halftime. A kicker failed to convert an extra point earlier in the game, and that was the first miss of the season for Hopkins. Cousins mad a strange decision to take a knee a few seconds before the break instead of spiking the ball and set another kick for Hopkins before time expired. It was pretty confusing for both players and fans, but the home fans enjoyed this inexplicable decision from the visiting QB.
The second half was totally under Washington’s control the running back Chris Thompson connected with his quarterback for a TD and 23:10 lead. However, the Eagles managed to fight back, and a forgotten DeMarco Murray rushed for a score and brought the game to a one possession result. Philadelphia’s defence stood up and immediately won the ball back, giving their QB a chance to tie the game, but Murray fumbled the football and DeAngelo Hall recovered it and ran for a touchdown. That was a heartbreaking moment for a home crowd, and it was obvious that Eagles would find it very hard to overcome the deficit.
The Redskins controlled the ball and managed time very well in the last quarter. Pierre Thomas’ combination of running and receiving sliced the Eagles defence, but another Pierre found the end zone for a TD. Garcon caught a dart from Kirk Cousins to secure a win and the playoffs, and that was a fourth TD thrown by red-hot Cousins. The QB threw for 365 yards and converted 2 points without an interception. He is simply faultless recently and will be an enormous challenge for any defence in the playoffs. Philadelphia managed to score a TD in garbage time; Jordan Matthews capitalized another 100+ yards performance, but it was already late for the Eagles.
Another losing season for the franchise that has invested so much money in becoming a playoff team, but Chip Kelly’s system with three running backs proved to be the wrong one. DeMarco Murray, last season leader in rushing yards, failed to strive under Kelly and it is a big question whether both of them will be in Philadelphia next year. Washington deservedly goes to the playoffs, and Redskins fans have every right to be excited.
