The Washington Redskins engineered an electrifying fourth quarter rally and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 23-20 before a fired up crowd at FedEx Field.
Down 20-16 with 6:05 to play, Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins kept his poise and drove the team 90 yards in 15 plays. The victory meant beating a division rival and improving to (2-2) and (1-1) in the NFC East.
The game winning drive was initially sparked by veteran running back Alfred Morris who had two big runs of 16 and 13 yards to help move the ball away from his own end zone.
In crunch time it was another veteran, wide out Pierre Garcon, who caught three crucial passes to extend and complete the victory march.
On third and six from the Eagle’s 30-yard line he caught a 14-yard pass that moved the ball to the Eagle’s 16-yard line with 1:18 to go in the game. He also snagged another crucial pass on second down for 12 yards that moved the ball to the Eagle four yard line with 42 seconds to go.
And it was his touchdown catch between two defenders and right at the end zone line with 26 seconds to play that meant a win for Washington. He caught seven passes for 55 yards.
On their final possession, the Redskins mixed the pass and the run to use up as much of the game clock as possible which left the Eagles with just 26 seconds to stage a miracle rally.
The defense also did its part, sacking Eagle’s quarterback Sam Bradford five times, twice on their final possession. They also recovered two fumbles including the Eagles final cross-field lateral to end any come back by Philadelphia. The Washington defense also held the Eagles to four for 12 on third down.
The game started out well for the Redskins as they jumped out to a 13-0 halftime lead. Kicker Dustin Hopkins connected from 20 and 38 yards and after driving the team 68 yards in 10 plays, Cousins fumbled, but scooped and scored from the one yard line with 5:18 to play in the first half.
But the Redskins had a third quarter letdown as the Eagles hit two passes for touchdowns to tie the game at 13-13. Philadelphia’s Riley Cooper caught a 62-yard bomb for a touchdown with 11:54 to go in the third quarter and Brent Celek caught a 10-yard scoring pass with 8:17 to play in the quarter.
Eagle’s kicker Caleb Sturgis helped the Skins by missing the extra point attempt after the Cooper score and missing a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Washington regained the lead with a field goal to make the score 16-13 with 3:49 to go in the third quarter.
The Eagles then took the lead with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin with 14:40 to play in the contest.
Still, the resilient Redskins weathered the storm, took Philly’s best punch and showed some grit in finishing the final drive and earning the win.
Washington easily won the time of possession battle 41:08 to 18:52. They also out gained the Eagles 417 to 320 and were an efficient nine for 17 on third down plays. The Redskins also had 25 first downs compared to only 14 for the high-powered Eagles offense.
Cousins finished the game 31-46 for 290 yards and one touchdown. Morris led the Redskins in rushing with 62 yards on 17 carries. Rookie Jamison Crowder led the team in receiving with seven catches for 65 yards.
Bradford finished the game 15 of 28 for 270 yards and three second half touchdown passes. Ex-Cowboy DeMarco Murray led the team in rushing with 36 yards on eight carries. Cooper led the team in receiving with 72 yards on two completions in a losing effort for the (1-3, 0,2) Eagles.
