John Matthews
WMAL.com
PHILADELPHIA — (WMAL) It’s still too soon to determine whether the 2016 Washington Redskins will be a playoff team, but on Sunday, they showed they have the mettle to keep themselves relevant, making big plays on offense – and finally on defense – to hold off the Eagles, 27 – 22 Sunday and get a win to stay alive in the run for the playoffs.
As has often been the case this year, Washington had the opportunity to break the game open after taking a second-half lead, but somehow managed to keep things close thanks to a costly mistake. In Philly, the unlikely culprit was Kirk Cousins.
Cousins had been enjoying a stellar day, driving the team to a 21-13 lead in the third quarter with his second touchdown pass of the day, a corner fade in the end zone to Pierre Garcon. After the Redskins defense pulled off a rarity – a three-and-out Eagles possession, the Redskins took over with a chance to widen their lead.
And that’s when 2016 Kirk was replaced by 2014 Kirk. Eagles defensive back Leodis McKelvin read Cousins’ eyes, and promptly stepped in front of a sideline pass to DeSean Jackson and sprinted 29 yards for a touchdown. Instead of seizing the chance to make it a two-score game, the Redskins were now clinging to a two-point lead at 21-19.
“I would love to win 80 to nothing every game,” Cousins said. “That’s not how the NFL works. We understand pick-sixes are going to happen. The key is playing through it,” he added.
One drive later, the Eagles added a field goal with 4:59 left in the game to take a 22-21 lead, forcing the Redskins to drive to keep the season alive.
And that’s just what they did.
Cousins drove the team up the field, hitting Jamison Crowder for 33 yards on a catch that was initially ruled incomplete, then scrambling for six yards to keep the clock moving. After failing to make a first down, the Redskins faced fourth and one at the Philly 35.
It was gut check time for coach Jay Gruden. The Redskins could have tried for a field goal, but kicker Dustin Hopkins had earlier missed a 38-yard attempt, and even if he hit a 53-yarder at that point, the Eagles would have had three minutes left to drive the ball on a Redskins defense that had not stopped Philly all day.
So the Redskins went for it. Cousins fired a bullet into Pierre Garcon’s chest, and kept the drive moving. Two plays later, Cousins flipped the ball to Chris Thompson, who scampered 25 yards for a touchdown and the 27-22 lead.
“These games are never going to be perfect,” Cousins said. “You’re going to have adversity and the ability to keep at them was a good sign from our team.”
The Eagles took over for a final drive with one time out and 1:53 left on the clock.
The Redskins’ offense had delivered. There was no reason to think the defense could do its share, and for most of the way down the field, skepticism was winning easily. Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz moved the ball with ease, hitting on five passes to get Philly to the Redskins 14-yard-line with 26 seconds left.
It was do or die time. On this day, do was the winner.
Ryan Kerrigan slipped around right tackle, and smashed head-on into Wentz, forcing a fumble and ending the game as Kerrigan’s bookend partner, Trent Murphy scooped up the ball.
“I’ve been close a lot of times,” Kerrigan said. “It was just fortunate for us to get off the field there. They had a lot of momentum on that drive and for us to get that turnover and stop to close out the game, that was cool.”
The win moves the Redskins to 7-5-1 for the season, one spot out of the NFC playoff picture for the moment, a half-game behind current sixth-seed Tampa Bay, and a half-game ahead of Minnesota and Green Bay with three games left. The Giants’ win over Dallas strengthens New York’s grip on one of the wild card slots, leaving four teams to fight for the other, and leaving the Redskins with no room for error.
After three games on the road, Washington returns to Fed Ex Field a week from tonight to host the Carolina Panthers.
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: AP/Matt Rourke)
