Eagles win war of attrition vs. Redskins, 34-24

Let me start off by saying the Washington Redskins are a very good football team…we haven’t seen the last of them yet. They gave the Birds every bit of a fight and then some. They are a well-coached team with a smart quarterback, a defense that defies the running game, and playmakers on both sides of the ball.

The difference in this one was Eagles QB Carson Wentz— he audibled and scrambled his way to victory. With Wentz in command of his no-huddle offense when the game seemed poised to crash down around him, he delivered in a big way. He personally took charge of the game when it was up for grabs.

This win comes with heavy casualty costs, however. The Eagles have possibly lost MLB Jordan Hicks and LT Jason Peters for the season. That is what you call a “Pyrrhic victory”… the historical sentiment among generals being “another victory like that and we are done for…”

Here’s to the personnel depth and resiliency of the Eagles roster going forward… and I’m sure GM Howie Roseman is on the phone to other teams around the league as well as to agents of players on the street as we speak.

This game started out with the dreaded “deer in the headlights” look of the Eagles which I had warned myself about. It seemed to be going south in a hurry when Hicks went down with an ankle. Jay Gruden and Kirk Cousins immediately went after our backup linebackers (Mychal Kendricks was out, too, with a hammy). We were getting beat in the trenches, too. But give credit to coach Schwartz who made some defensive adjustments on the fly. Then Wentz stepped up to redirect the pressure against the Redskins defense.

Wentz threw for 268 yards and ran for a career-best 63 after a shaky start to lead the NFL-best Eagles (6-1) to their fifth straight win.

Kirk Cousins had 303 yards passing and three TDs for the Redskins (3-3). Cousins was good, but the Eagles dialed up pressure just enough to get him out of his rhythm with the game on the line.

The Eagles went three-and-out three times in their first four drives and had only 57 total yards before Wentz hit Mack Hollins in stride with a perfect 64-yard TD pass to tie it at 10.

That got the offense rolling.

Wentz connected with Zach Ertz for 46 yards on the next series and found him again for a 4-yard TD pass to make it 17-10.

After getting the second-half kickoff, the Eagles drove 86 yards for another touchdown. Peters was injured during the series, and fans chanted his name while teammates surrounded the cart.

Wentz finished the drive off with a play that Peters would appreciate.

While being hit by two defenders and falling forward, Wentz lofted a 9-yard TD pass to Corey Clement.

Wentz fired a 10-yard TD pass to Nelson Agholor to expand the lead to 31-17. Wentz kept that drive alive by escaping a sack and running 17 yards on third-and-8.

Cousins tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chris Thompson to give the Redskins a 10-3 lead. He connected with Jordan Reed on a 5-yard TD to cut the deficit to 24-17 and threw a 12-yard pass to Reed to cap the scoring.

The final outcome was difficult to visualize at the time when the Eagles were penalized on four straight plays to start their first possession before Wentz was intercepted by Quinton Dunbar on a deep pass to Torrey Smith on second-and-31.

Philadelphia swept Washington for the first time since 2013 and has a commanding lead in the NFC East. The Cowboys and Redskins are tied for second place.

INJURIES: Redskins: LT Trent Williams (knee), CB Fabian Moreau (hamstring), RG Brandon Scherff (knee) and LB Preston Smith (groin) were hurt. None of that helped the Redskins in a valiant effort.

Eagles: LB Jordan Hicks (ankle) got hurt on the first series. Peters (knee) was replaced by Halapoulivaati Vaitai. “Big V” committed a bad offsides penalty with the Eagles driving in the red zone, but Wentz and coach Doug called a bunch of rolling pocket plays and run plays to the right side to minimize Vaitai’s responsibility on the left side of the line.

Eagles first-round pick DE Derek Barnett had his first two-sack game…it could not have come at a better time with the game consistently on the line—no pun intended. Another DE, Vinny Curry, had a bunch of game-altering moments with timely pass-rushes on Cousins and some key run-stops.

Final:

Scoring Summary:

FIRST QUARTER		WSH	PHI
	FG 11:18 Nick Rose 27 Yd Field Goal 8 plays, 66 yards, 3:42	3	0
SECOND QUARTER		WSH	PHI
	FG 13:15 Jake Elliott 50 Yd Field Goal 9 plays, 63 yards, 4:04	3	3
	TD 9:14 Chris Thompson 7 Yd pass from Kirk Cousins (Nick Rose Kick) 7 plays, 81 yards, 4:01	10	3
	TD 3:19 Mack Hollins 64 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Jake Elliott Kick) 7 plays, 80 yards, 3:01	10	10
	TD 0:22 Zach Ertz 4 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Jake Elliott Kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, 1:30	10	17
THIRD QUARTER		WSH	PHI
	TD 9:43 Corey Clement 9 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Jake Elliott Kick) 10 plays, 81 yards, 5:17	10	24
	TD 0:44 Jordan Reed 5 Yd pass from Kirk Cousins (Nick Rose Kick) 8 plays, 52 yards, 4:04	17	24
FOURTH QUARTER		WSH	PHI
	TD 11:10 Nelson Agholor 10 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Jake Elliott Kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:34	17	31
	FG 6:19 Jake Elliott 42 Yd Field Goal 4 plays, 2 yards, 2:20	17	34
	TD 3:17 Jordan Reed 12 Yd pass from Kirk Cousins (Nick Rose Kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:02	24	34

Matchup
1st Downs	19	23
Passing 1st downs	16	11
Rushing 1st downs	2	8
1st downs from penalties	1	4
3rd down efficiency	4-12	6-12
4th down efficiency	0-1	0-0
Total Plays	62	61
Total Yards	344	371
Total Drives	12	12
Yards per Play	5.5	6.1

Philadelphia Passing

Philadelphia Rushing

Philadelphia Receiving

Philadelphia Defense

Philadelphia Interceptions

Philadelphia Kicking

Washington Passing

Washington Rushing

Washington Receiving

Carson Wentz was the decisive difference—he virtually willed his team to victory while under extreme opposition pressure. This kid is something special. He was reading the defense and calling audibles! He was deeking safeties with his eyes and head motions! The doggie (er, Dougie?) leash is off this guy! I can’t imagine this team’s crawling out of the momentum hole the Redskins had us in early without Wentz’ individualism and overall preparation for that moment.

I also can’t believe the Cleveland Browns passed on drafting this guy! Oh wait, now that you mention the Browns’ ownership and management group?… yes—yes, I can.