Cousins leads Redskins over Eagles 27-22

But after an ugly first half, the Washington Redskins managed a crucial 27-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles after a spirited halftime address from coach Jay Gruden “sparked” them up.

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 14 of 21 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yarder to former Eagles player DeSean Jackson, good for a passer rating of 116.0. The victory keeps the Redskins (7-5-1) in the hunt for an NFC wild-card playoff spot while the Eagles fell to 5-8 overall and 0-4 against NFC East rivals. “We still have the names on the back of our jerseys and we still have a story to tell about this team for the season”.

They didn’t get it done and nobody was making excuses. He later left the game with a wrist injury. That wound up being Washington. There has already been speculation about Jackson possibly being wooed again by the Eagles in three months.

Philadelphia Eagles’ Carson Wentz, right, and Darren Sproles celebrate after Sproles’ touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, in Philadelphia. “From time to time, I think about one day going back, maybe go steal some bases”.

DeSean Jackson worked the opposing sideline before the game, exchanging hugs, handshakes and smiles with stadium personnel and others he knew from his six seasons playing for the Eagles.

Fletcher Cox got his first sack since October 9 and Philadelphia’s first in three games when he brought down Cousins for a 1-yard loss in the second quarter. For whatever reason, Washington is abysmal at this. That’s the mark of a good team.

It seems nearly impossible for that to be the case, especially considering Washington had a winning record. He drove them right down the field on the final drive, but Matt Tobin — who was replacing Allen Barbre, who was replacing Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who was replacing Lane Johnson – gave up pressure to Ryan Kerrigan and Wentz never stood a chance on the Eagles’ final play. “The good teams find a way to win games like this”. But in D.C., Cousins seems to be held to a different standard.

First of all, think about it situationally.

That play gave the Redskins a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter.

As for Sunday, it’s kind of stunning that Gruden, whose kicker has missed the most field goals in the National Football League this season and pushed a chip-shot game-winner in London that led to a tie that could be the difference between a playoff berth and not, would have so much confidence in said kicker with the season on the line. What does Washington do? Wentz throws the ball off his back foot and makes an inaccurate throw that is picked off. That 61-yard drive came without three of their top four running backs, without three of their regular receivers and without three of their Week 1 offensive linemen. In the ideal scenario, do you want to throw that many passes at the end of the year? No. Now, with two full seasons as the starting quarterback, Cousins has earned a new contract from the Skins. “But it’s something we’ve got to get to the bottom of and help him as an athlete”. However, either way, the end of the season sets up well for Washington. The Redskins host the Carolina Panthers next Monday night. Then, they travel to face the Bears, who are now 3-10.

Except, of course, when they’re on the same field as Dallas, as the Giants have now swept the season series against the Cowboys. “We had a chance to finish the game and win it on offense and we didn’t do that”. Twice on Sunday he put his offense on the field, didn’t like what he saw and pulled them off and kicked a field goal. Two out of three is dicey, but could be enough. All day. I am not sure how defensive coordinator Joe Barry survives the offseason.