Redskins 27, Eagles 20
PHILADELPHIA -- The Washington Redskins kept pace in the NFC playoff race by beating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field for their seventh consecutive victory.
The Redskins (9-6) overcame an early 7-0 deficit to beat the Eagles (4-11) in what is expected to be the final home game for Eagles coach Andy Reid. The Eagles had the ball on the Redskins 5-yard line in the final seconds, but rookie quarterback Nick Foles was penalized for intentional grounding with 1 second left to play and, by rule, the final second ran off the clock.
Washington took its first lead of the game after an Eagles turnover, their league-leading 35th of the season. Foles was intercepted by linebacker London Fletcher, which gave the Redskins a first down on the Eagles 25. They eventually scored on an 11-yard catch-and-run by receiver Joshua Morgan that made it 13-7 with 3:30 left in the first half.
The Redskins delivered the knockout punch late in the third quarter after they stopped the Eagles on fourth-and-1 from the Washington 47. That set up a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Robert Griffin III to wide receiver Santana Moss, who dragged his feet in the end zone to make it 27-13 and the Redskins held on from there.
The Eagles had nothing to lose in this one and they showed that on their first possession of the game, when they went for it two times on fourth-and-1 and got it both times. That set up Foles' 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who beat cornerback D.J. Johnson to the corner of the end zone to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 10:09 left in the first quarter.
Redskins kicker Kai Forbath made two field goals, from 45 and 42 yards. First, he made it 7-3 with 11:30 left in the second quarter. Forbath then made it 7-6 with 7:37 left in the quarter when he connected from 42.
The Eagles added a 38-yard field goal by Alex Henery with 18 seconds left in the second quarter and the Redskins headed to their locker room at halftime leading 13-10.
Notes: Redskins MLB London Fletcher played in his 239th straight game, the longest current streak in the league. ... When Eagles safety Colt Anderson intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter it was the Eagles' first INT in nine games, a total of 245 pass attempts. Their last one was vs. the Lions on Oct. 14. ... Redskins kicker Kai Forbath made his his first two FG attempts, from 45 and 42 yards, and set an NFL record by making the first 17 FG attempts of his career. ... Eagles rookie Emil Igwenagu, who was signed off the practice squad just last week, started at fullback for injured Stanley Havili (hamstring). ... ... Redskins RB Alfred Morris scored on a 10-yard run in the third quarter for his 10th TD of the season, which tied the team rookie record set by Hall-of-Famer Charley Taylor in 1964.
