Looks like the Eagles found their winning ways again with a 27-3 win over the pathetic looking Washington Redskins. If you’d watched the entire game from start to finish, you would have possibly thought that the score was closer than it showed. Time of possession was even, but only in the end. Same with the rushing yards. The Eagles did hold a game advantage in total yards: 365-278. But even that stat is misleading as the stats were basically even through the first three quarters. So what happened? The Philadelphia Eagles beat up on a bad Redskins team, who lost their best threat in Clinton Portis in the first half. Portis only managed 25 rushing yards on 6 carries before he left the game with an injury. Portis broke his hand and is probably finished for the season. Brian Westbrook was a factor on the other side of the field running the ball. He tied a career high with 22 carries, gaining 113 yards. It was his third time this season with over 100 yards rushing. He also added 37 yards receiving on 3 receptions. The Eagles QB Donovan McNabb was not his usual self, completing only 46% of his passes (12-26) for 222 yards. Again it was a game of big plays for the Birds that ultimately gave Philadelphia the win, which moved them to 5-4.

With the win, the Eagles are still in prime shape for the wild card and only one game back of the New York Giants. The Eagles won this game with their defense, of all things. They held the Redskins to a measly 3 points. They put a lot of pressure on Mark Brunnell, even though he was sacked only once. But they succeeded in forcing Brunnell into many hurried throws that went for incompletions and one very costly interception. It happened late in the third quarter with the Redskins driving into Eagles territory. The Redskins had already wasted and squandered away points on other drives during the first half. With 6:10 left in the third quarter, Shawn Barber blitzed Brunnell forcing him to throw a very errant pass right to Sheldon Brown. Brown had nothing but the end zone and 70 yards in front of him on his way to paydirt and a 27-3 Eagles lead. After that play, Washington really didn’t muster much offense and the Eagles team took over the fourth quarter. On the day, Mark Brunnell completed 16 of 31 passes for only 132 yards with a QB rating of 49.4.

The Philadelphia Eagles began the game with a 10-play, 58-yard drive, which ended with a 37-yd FG by David Akers. It was the team’s first opening possession scoring drive since the Dallas game back in early October. Their second possession lasted all but 12 seconds (1 play). With first down on their own 16-yard line, McNabb unfurled a long heave straight down the middle to Donté Stallworth, who never lost stride on his way to an 84-yard touchdown. That gave the Eagles a 10-0 lead. Washington then put together a drive of their own, which eventually stalled at the Eagles 35-yard line. The Redskins Novak missed a 48-yard FG. Then the most bizarre play in recent memory happened when McNabb completed a key 20-yd pass to Reggie Brown on 3rd-and-15. Brown somehow fumbled ball straight into the waiting arms of Correll Buckhalter, who ran it the rest of 37 yards on what they are calling a fumble return. The Eagles now led 17-10. Novak later was successful on a 32-yd FG with just 3:16 left in the half, but the Eagles led 17-3 at halftime. Reggie Brown on the play, later said, “I went to see a gypsy Thursday, and she told me the lateral was in my future. We tried it and it worked” Andy Reid later refuted his comments. Brown then said, “I’m sticking by my story”. Well anyway, the fumble TD and the INT by the other Brown really broke the Redskins backs and helped cement the Eagles to victory in this game.