I wanna scream “We Did It!” but the fact is “we” includes the Chicago Bears. The AP headlines read:
“Nick Foles‘ magic stretched all the way back to Minnesota.
Foles did it again, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 24-0 victory over the Redskins and the defending Super Bowl champions earned the NFC’s final wild-card berth when Chicago beat the Vikings on Sunday.”
That’s how I’ll always remember this day as they come to take me away.
The Eagles (9-7) will play at the Bears (12-4) next weekend.
Foles tied Philip Rivers‘ NFL record by completing 25 straight passes and threw two touchdown passes before a chest injury forced him out of the game. Nate Sudfeld fired a 22-yard TD on his only pass.
See, I feel bad about this because I was dogging on Foles the entire time he was in the game about his missing high and wide and s-l-o-w on so many routine throws. Then I remembered—that Clowney hit he took against Houston last week (clean but technically illegal on a very subtle rules interpretation) probably had some collateral damage still playing out. Foles was still feeling the effects of that hit on Sunday. As I recall from having suffered a similar hit in my very brief football career, it was way more than just getting the wind knocked out of me.
The Eagles clock-dominated the Redskins, controlling the ball for 43:19. Philadelphia’s defense held Washington to only 89 yards total offense. This game plan went exactly as EYE drew it up in the previous blurb. I begged for long low-risk sustained drives. One nearly-12-minute drive by Philadelphia was the longest in the NFL since the Browns had a field-goal drive that lasted 12:01 against the Chiefs in 2015. The 19 plays were the most in a drive against Washington since 1999.
Foles finished 28 of 33 for 221 yards, two TDs and one interception.
He tossed a 2-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery to cap a 19-play, 87-yard drive that took 11:49 in the second quarter, giving Philadelphia a 10-0 lead. Foles was 10 of 10 on the drive and the Eagles converted three times on third downs and once on fourth-and-1.
Foles connected with Nelson Agholor on a 6-yard pass to make it 17-0 late in the third quarter. On the previous play, Foles had a chance to break the completion record but misfired on a pass to Agholor.
Sudfeld hit Agholor on a catch-and-run TD to extend the lead to 24-0 in the fourth.
Josh Johnson, making his third start for the Redskins after Alex Smith and Colt McCoy sustained season-ending injuries and Mark Sanchez was ineffective, was 12 of 27 for 91 yards and one pick.
Rasul Douglas intercepted Johnson on the first play from scrimmage.
INJURIES: Redskins: RG Tony Bergstrom left with a knee injury.
Eagles: Foles left in the fourth quarter with a chest injury. That’s code for sore ribs, which until we get MRI results back could mean anything. Assuming the worst, do you bring Carson Wentz back despite a still-healing vertebra? Do you roll with Nate Sudfeld? Do you dare seek permission to pick up Mark Sanchez?
I’m still shell-shocked from how the stars aligned to make such questions even possibly relevant. Oh, I’ve got to go pick out my wardrobe for the PLAYOFF game in Chicago next weekend. I guess it will be chilly, maybe even..FOGGY?
| Matchup |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 25 | 8 |
| Passing 1st downs | 15 | 6 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 10 | 1 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 0 | 1 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 8-14 | 0-9 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-1 | 2-4 |
| Total Plays | 71 | 44 |
| Total Yards | 360 | 89 |
| Total Drives | 9 | 9 |
| Yards per Play | 5.1 | 2.0 |
| Passing | 231 | 68 |
| Comp-Att | 29-34 | 13-28 |
| Yards per pass | 6.2 | 2.1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 3-12 | 4-30 |
| Rushing | 129 | 21 |
| Rushing Attempts | 34 | 12 |
| Yards per rush | 3.8 | 1.8 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| Penalties | 5-25 | 2-15 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 43:19 | 16:41 |
Game Leaders
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