Well, it wasn't exactly pretty but I'll take it. A win over a decent Skins team on the road finally gets us our first win in the NFC East. Plus, how great was it to watch an entertaining football game for once? With a winnable game next week at home against Miami, the Eagles finally have a realistic chance at getting back to .500
Now, onto some headlines!
Talk about making plays
The Eagles waited until the last minute, but they made plays when it mattered. There was the goal line stand, there was the amazing Westbrook play, there was the forced fumble on Campbell, plus the defensive stop when the Redskins had the ball with plenty of time to tie. They made plays when it mattered, which they haven't done all year.
McNabb not as good as his stats
I just think McNabb was pretty poor for large parts of the game today. His stat line (20-28, 251 yds 4 TDs) looks fantastic but doesn't really reflect how he really played in this game. He was inaccurate with most balls over 5 or 6 yards, again was holding onto balls too long and taking bad sacks, had another bad fumble... I have to give him credit for moving the team in the 4th quarter, making some plays with his legs, and ultimately winning the game... In the end he got the job done and I know I shouldn't complain but I honestly think they won in spite of him in some ways. Maybe it's just me being negative and I really don't mean to rain in his parade, but he didn't make me feel much better about his play going forward.
We need another corner, badly
Will James is not only not starter material, I'm not sure he's NFL material. He was awful today. He was torched twice by James Thrash. James Thrash had two TDs!!!! That tells me all I need to know. He's killing us. I also have to call out Jim Johnson a bit here. Without Santana Moss, Randle El was Washington's #1 WR. So why is it that every time he caught a ball he seemed to be covered by Joselio Hanson or Will James? Who were Lito and Sheldon covering all day? Lito gave up the one TD on a quick hit to McCardell, but for the most part Campbell had success throwing away from those two all day yet still finding his primary guys.
Clock management, ever heard of it? Anyone?
Was it only obvious to me that the Redskins allowed the Eagles to walk in for the last TD? Brian Baldinger was talking about what a great job the Eagles line did opening up a huge hole for Westbrook. It was clear that Gibbs told them to let the Eagles walk in. That was Washington's only chance to win the game. The Eagles could have killed the clock and ended the game. However, by letting the Eagles score the Skins got back the ball with over 2 minutes left down 8 with a chance to tie. I'm not sure what's more hard to figure out. How none of the announcers realized it or how Andy didn't just tell McNabb to take a knee. In the end, it didn't matter but it certainly could have. The Redskins had plenty of time and had been moving the ball at will.
I'm running out of adjectives for #36
20 rushes for 100 yards. 5 per carry. 5 catches for 85 yards. 3 TDs on the day. Plus his supreme individual effort(and some great down field blocking) got the TD that really allowed us to steal a game we probably had no business winning. Brian Westbrook has absolutely arrived as one of the elite backs in the game.