The Washington Redskins won a thriller, 27-22 against another northern NFC East rival, the Philadelphia Eagles to keep their slim playoff hopes alive at Lincoln Financial Field.
Trailing by a touchdown, the Eagles drove to the Redskins 14-yard line. With 21 seconds left in the game their quarterback Carson Wentz took the snap and rolled to his left looking for a target while Redskin’s linebacker Ryan Kerrigan gave hot pursuit.
Kerrigan got to Wentz before he could fire a pass and his strip sack, recovered by Trent Murphy sealed the stunning victory for the (7-5-1) Redskins.
They are now the third wheel in line for the two Wild Card playoff spots currently held by the (9-4) New York Giants and the (8-5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers with three must-win games remaining in the regular season.
Redskin’s quarterback Kirk Cousins was 14 of 21 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one pick-six that made the score 21-19 after the Eagles missed the two-point try with 13:11 to go in the game.
Philadelphia would later take the lead at 22-21 on a 41-yard field goal but Cousins responded with an eight play, 77-yard game-winning drive that was completed by a 25-yard scoring dash by running back Chris Thompson making the score 27-22 after they missed their two-point conversion with just under two minutes to go in the contest.
The game was a real war between two NFC East division opponents and the Eagles answered with a 10-play 48-yard drive that came to a crashing halt at the Washington 14-yard line thanks to Kerrigan’s heroic and season-saving play.
Washington’s leading receivers were DeSean Jackson, who torched his former team with an 80-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown grab the highlight of a three catch 102 yard day. Reliable Pierre Garcon had five catches for 59 yards and one touchdown.
The Washington ground attack was led by rookie Robert Kelley who gained 63 yards on 16 carries including a 22-yard touchdown scamper that gave his team a 7-6 second quarter lead.
The Eagles were led by rookie quarterback Carson Wentz who was 32 of 46 for 314 yards and one touchdown. He also had a costly interception at the Redskins goal line which ended a scoring drive.
Their leading receivers were Zach Ertz who had 10 catches for 112 yards and Jordan Matthews who caught eight passes for 79 yards. The rushing attack was led by Ryan Matthews who gained 60 yards on 15 carries.
Most of the important stats were about even although the Eagles dominated the time of possession 36:38 to 23:22 for the Redskins.
Philadelphia scored first and had a 13-7 lead at halftime.
Washington countered with two third quarter touchdown passes to take a 21-13 lead while shutting out the Eagles and setting up the exciting fourth quarter finish.
