Carson Wentz drove the Philadelphia Eagles all the way down to the 14-yard line in the game’s dying moments, before Ryan Kerrigan’s eleventh sack of the season, and arguably the most timely, ended their drive, and gave the Washington Redskins a 27-22 victory. Washington ended their two game losing streak, and kept pace with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card playoff hunt. Check all the NFL odds and scores.
Kirk Cousins had a rather pedestrian day with just 234 passing yards, but he threw two touchdown passes, including an 80-yard bomb to former Eagle DeSean Jackson. That gave Washington a 14-13 lead in the third quarter. He then hooked up with Pierre Garcon for another touchdown, and a 21-13 lead.
The joy was short lived though, as Cousins would then throw an interception to Leodis McKelvin, and he would return it 29 yards to the Redskins end zone for an Eagles score, and gave them some momentum. But at 21-19, the Eagles went for two and failed to convert when a pass to Jordan Matthews was batted down.
However, with just under five minutes to play, the Eagles took a 22-21 lead when Caleb Sturgis hit a field goal from 41 yards.
The Redskins stormed right back though, and Cousins led the Redskins into Eagle territory. They snatched away the lead with under two minutes to go, when Chris Thompson ripped off an electrifying 25-yard run to give them a 27-22 advantage that would ultimately be the final score.
Even though the touchdown came with just 1:56 to go, the Redskins still had a lot to do. After all, the Redskins defense had come up short at the end of games against Dallas, Detroit and Arizona. And it looked like it might happen again, as the Eagles rolled right into the Redskins Red Zone and appeared to have all the momentum going in their favor.
Fortunately, Kerrigan had other ideas. He forced the fumble with just 21 seconds to go, and did what playmakers do… made a big play. He ended the drive, the game, and the Eagles hopes of stopping the Redskins for beating them for the fifth time in a row.
With the loss, the Eagles fell to 5-8. After winning their first three games, they have come apart at the seams and dropped four in a row, and eight of their last ten.
The Redskins on the other hand, moved to 7-5-1 and are still on the hunt for the playoffs, albeit on the outside looking in. They will need help to get in and get over the Buccaneers, but it didn’t come this weekend. The Bucs beat the Saints 16-11 in a yawner, for their fifth straight win.
As for Redskins fans, they have the unenviable task of actually having to hope that the Cowboys win this week. After all, they face the Bucs. If the Cowboys can stop Tampa from winning their sixth game in a row, it will really help the Redskins’ playoff hopes. The Bucs face the Saints and the Carolina Panthers in their last two games and have an excellent shot of winning both.
Up next for the Redskins is those Panthers. At 5-8 the Panthers have struggled this season, but they handily beat the Chargers 28-16 on Sunday, and Cam Newton is never an easy assignment.
It is obviously a must-win for Washington.
Hail.