Eagles Snap Losing Streak
The Eagles
headed into the bye week with a 20-13 victory over the Washington Redskins and
a 2-4 record. Besides giving Andy Reid and Juan Castillo a little breathing
room, the win will no doubt spark a two-week debate over whether it was a
season saver or merely postponed the inevitability of a failed season.
I was honestly
ready to believe in the former. Reality seems to scream that the latter is
true.
But the
Eagles won a game and there were some very good signs. They actually looked
like they have an NFL caliber defense for the first time all season, and Nnamdi
Asomugha even proved that he can tackle with a great hit early in the first
half.
Eagles safety
Kurt Coleman set the tone early with his first of three interceptions of Rex
Grossman as Washington threatened to score in the first quarter. Despite a
Jason Kelce snap over Mike Vick’s head, the Eagles put together an 87-yard, 5+
minute touchdown drive to get on the board first, 7-0. Brent Celek scored on a
short, well designed pass play from Vick.
Maybe Kelce
will find time to practice shot gun snaps during the bye week instead of crying
about signs that aren’t supportive and looking to fight fans.
The defense
forced a 3-and-out on the next possession, and the Eagles put together another
long drive for a touchdown. LeSean McCoy capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown.
A fumble on
the ensuing kickoff put Washington on their own 5-yard line. But the defense
couldn’t deliver a knockout punch – an Eagles theme for the day – as the
Redskins got out of the shadow of their own goalposts for a punt. Former Eagle
Sav Rocca booted a 50-yarder to put Philadelphia on its own 21.
But again the
Birds drove the field to the Redskins’ 9, and seemed poised to put the game
away. Instead they had to settle for a field goal that made the score 17-0.
On the very
next play Nate Allen intercepted Grossman, and set the Eagles offense up on the
Redskins’ 47. Vick’s play of the day, a 25-yard run, highlighted the next
drive, but the Eagles were stopped in the red zone. A field goal made the score
20-0.
That would be
the end of the Eagles scoring for the day.
Washington
managed a field goal before the end of the half, and opened the third quarter
with another one to make the score 20-6. While the Eagles “D” held, they
continue to come out of the locker room at halftime and give up scoring drives.
The offense
followed that with a quick drive back to the red zone thanks to a long pass
play to Jeremy Maclin. But a bad decision by Vick lead to an interception to
end the drive.
Again, the
Redskins got away from their own goal line, and put the Eagles on their own 9. Disaster
seemed to strike (again) in the third quarter when Vick got up from a run
appearing to be woozy. The run was also brought back due to a penalty.
Vick reportedly
only had dirt in his eye, but backup Vince Young finished the series. This gave
Andy Reid the opportunity to mess up a game that should have been over in the
first half. Young, seeing his first action of the season, threw two passes from
inside his own 10 – a spot in which 99.99% of football coaches would have run
the ball, especially if they had McCoy in the backfield.
Instead,
Young threw an interception on the second pass.
In perhaps
the shocker of the season, the defense bailed out the Birds as Coleman made his
second interception on the Washington possession. There’s no question it was
the defense’s play of the season.
After
the Eagles next drive stalled when they went for a 4th-and-2 on Washington
32 – failing on the previous play to run for 1 yard, they threw incomplete to Maclin
– Coleman sent Grossman to the bench with yet another interception.
Backup
quarterback Jeff Beck moved the Redskins offense well in the fourth quarter,
running for a short touchdown with just under 3 minutes left in the game to
make the score 20-13.
It
took a Vick sneak on a 3rd-and-1 on the Eagles’ own 40 to put the
game away.
Put
the game down as a “W,” and the Eagles are suddenly half a game behind Dallas (2-3)
to get out of the NFC East basement after they lost in New England. I mention Dallas
because Washington looks like a weak 3-2, and the Giants held on to beat
Buffalo after losing to Seattle last week – both at home. Dallas slowed a very
good New England offense, and actually looked like the best team in the
division in defeat despite doing little against a bad Patriots defense.
Are
the Eagles alive? Maybe for a playoff run, but I doubt even that based on this
victory. They certainly didn’t look like a Super Bowl team. In fact, I think
the win said a lot more about Washington not being very good than it said
anything about the Eagles.
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