Kirk Cousins throws 4 TD passes, Redskins beat Eagles 38-24
Washington took a 38-17 lead that made the final quarter more of a formality than anything. It has become a rallying cry for the team and its fans.
The Giants, ultimately, need to win twice and have Washington lose to both the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys in order to win the division title. The Eagles lost this one the way they’ve lost so many other games this season. There were drops, missed tackles, turnovers, penalties and pretty much everything you’ve come to expect from the Birds this season.
Philadelphia is coming off a 40-17 trouncing by the Arizona Cardinals, and have allowed 40 or more points in three of the last five games. “It’s the same thing I said a year ago”.
Cousins has thrown for 275.6 yards per game to go along with 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions while the team has won five of eight.
Their run game has been comparable to that of the Eagles in that they can’t quite figure out which direction they want to go.
EAGLES: QUESTIONABLE: WR Seyi Ajirotutu (ankle), DT Bennie Logan (calf), CB Byron Maxwell (shoulder). The offensive line could not open holes for the running backs. Sam Bradford doesn’t look like the answer at quarterback. Riley Cooper dropped a pass that negated a big gain. He rattled off the names of publications that picked his team last and likely missed a dozen more that did the same. Afterward, Cousins ran toward the locker room, pointed to reporters and now famously screamed: “You like that?!”.
The key for the Eagles is to step it up on defense and do everything to prevent the Redskins’ running backs from dominating the game. It was the fourth TD pass for Cousins and it capped a 13-play, 82-yard drive. Not surprisingly, they are 0-5 in those games. 500 or better for the first time since 2012. It’s the second consecutive season the Eagles failed to playoffs.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons, and they’ve got Kirk Cousins delivering the ball all over the place”, Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis said.
The Redskins have dealt with a multitude of injuries and have persevered as GM Scot McCloughan keeps finding players like Mason Foster and Pierre Thomas to step in and produce. Bradford threw for 270 yards and three scores against the Redskins in the Week 4 meeting.
– TE Zach Ertz had seasons highs with 13 catches for 122 yards. DeSean Jackson tuned up for his former teammates by hauling in six catches for 153 yards and a TD against the Bills; he has torched the Eagles with nine receptions for 243 yards and a score in the past two matchups.
After going three-and-out on their first possession, the Redskins scored touchdowns on the next two. But he was a larger part of the offense at least. On passes of 20 yards or longer to Jackson, Cousins is 9-14. In a 35-25 home win over Buffalo last week, Cousins completed 22 of 28 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns. The Eagles did well to hold Washington to a field goal after it got a first down at the Eagles’ 10.
If the Eagles re-sign Bradford, it will be because they are banking on him to improve, not because of what they saw this season.