Redskins vs Eagles Recap, Injuries, and What to expect going forward
By: Drew Willingham
Headline Photo Credit: Darrell Owens-LMS Network
Philadelphia, PA – Monday Night Football, Usually the must see game of the week and in this case another battle among the NFC East. In this Week 13 contest, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field in a game that saw multiple turns for the worse throughout. Second string Quarterback Colt McCoy led Washington in to this game after Alex Smith suffered a season-ending injury two weeks prior. The Eagles came in to this game, looking to get one step closer towards a possible playoff berth after a dismal start to the season and mostly by mediocre play from their defense.
The game started with Philadelphia receiving the ball and a touchback would start them at the 25-yard line. The Eagles looked poised and stuck to their game plan out of the gate to earn 7-First Downs and score on a 6-yard pass from Carson Wentz to Golden Tate to give them a 7-0 lead over the visiting Redskins. Washington would start out struggling as a holding penalty on OT Trent Williams would set the team back another 10-yards and force the offense to punt after just two minutes of possession. Philadelphia would go three-and-out on their next possession to give Washington the ball on the 29-yard line.
QB Colt McCoy trotted on to the field and looked to bounce back after the teams recent struggles from their first drive. On the first play of the Redskins second drive, McCoy would find WR Josh Doctson for a 32-yard passing play that would have them at the Eagles 39-yard line. The gears continued to spin as Washington would earn two more first downs to place the offense 26-yards away from the endzone as time expired in the first quarter. One of those first downs accrued as a result of a false start on the defense.
The second quarter would start with Washington still grinding away on their second drive of the game. Another penalty on OT Trent Williams would set the team back another 10-yards and place the Redskins on the 36-yard line. Colt McCoy appeared to be injured on a sack from Safety Malcolm Jenkins that was the final play of the first quarter. Despite that, McCoy was still out on the field, giving it his all for his team. On Third and Thirty at the Philadelphia 36, the Offense would line up in Shotgun formation. McCoy would sling a 10-yard pass to WR Jamison Crowder that would set their team up in field goal position. Washington Kicker Dustin Hopkins field goal attempt would be a success and cut the deficit down to 7-3 Philadelphia. McCoy would not return to the game as he suffered a broken leg on that sack, but for him to stay out there and finish the drive showed the world how much he loves the game of football as well as his teammates. This meant that Washington backup for all of 13 days at that point, Mark Sanchez would get playing time and a chance to prove to the world he is better than the legend of the “Butt Fumble”.
Philadelphia would regain possession and start out at 25-yard line after another touchback. The offense would move the ball down the field, but would end up punting to set Washington up at their 10-yard line. QB Mark Sanchez makes his way to the field for his Redskins debut, this was his first game action since January 1st 2017, when he was a member of the Dallas Cowboys. On the first play of the drive, RB Adrian Peterson would take it up the middle and score a touchdown on a 90-yard run that would give the Redskins a 10-7 lead. The run by Peterson would be historic for him and the Redskins franchise as it was his longest run from scrimmage of his career, the longest run by any player in Redskins history, and he became the oldest player in NFL history to record a run of that magnitude.
The next two drives by both teams were uneventful, except for Philadelphia going for it on fourth and one, to only be stopped LB Zac Brown of the Washington defense. The Eagles would prevail on their final possession of the quarter, when RB Darren Sproles would score a touchdown on a 14-yard run to give his team a 14-10 lead with 1:54 left in the quarter. Mark Sanchez would actually play well in the two minute drill and tally 53 passing yards on 5 plays to get his team in to field goal position. Dustin Hopkins 47-yard attempt would be a success and the deficit would only be 14-13 entering halftime.
The third quarter would begin with Washington receiving the ball and a touchback would place them at the 25-yard line. The quarter would be a trend of punts for both teams and the only highlight would be an interception by CB Josh Norman for a 40-yard return. The loss of Washington’s second string quarterback was affecting the team tremendously as Mark Sanchez would struggle to get the offense going to start the second half. Philadelphia would set themselves up on the Washington 17-yard line to end the quarter and hope to add to their lead in order to get one step closer towards victory.
Set up for success down near the red zone, Philadelphia would score within two plays to start the fourth quarter. Carson Wentz would find WR Jordan Matthews on a 4-yard touchdown pass, a two-point conversion would increase their lead to 22-13, and the game began to appear out of reach with 14:15 left in the contest. On the ensuing drive Mark Sanchez would be intercepted by LB Nathan Gerry for a 8-yard gain. The interception would set the Eagles up for a 46-yard field goal by K Jake Elliott to increase their lead to 25-13. The Redskins would punt on their next two drives, the Eagles would connect on another field goal by Elliot for 44-yards, and the game would end with a Philadelphia 28-13 victory.
Three weeks ago, Washington was leading the NFC East on the leadership of their starting veteran quarterback and surmounting the pressure from a banged up squad. Three weeks later, the injuries have become a consistent trend, including the loss of their first and second string quarterbacks, along with compiling the largest depth of injured reserve players for the entirety of the league. The team got lucky when it came to the signing of Adrian Peterson, they won’t find a quarterback on the street to lead this team with four games left in the season, not even Napoleon Dynamites Uncle Rico. They are done for 2018 and with the future uncertain for both quarterbacks, who knows what’s next? The division is now in the hands of the Dallas Cowboys and the reigning Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. If one things for sure, the NFC East Division Title chase will carry on until Week 17 and it is not the way anybody imagined it to be just a month prior.
