What happened?
The Eagles put up 27 points in the first half, then coasted the rest of the way for a win on Monday Night Football over the Washington Redskins.
The Good:
Donovan McNabb was solid, going 15/25 for 156 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown pass in the second quarter was the 200th of his career.
DeSean Jackson was awesome, taking a handoff on the fourth play of the game and running 67 yards for a touchdown and catching a 57 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
The newest Eagle, Will Witherspoon, was outstanding in his debut. He returned an interception for a touchdown, sacked Jason Campbell and forced a fumble. Not a bad start, new guy.
The defense as a unit played well. They pressured Jason Campbell all night, sacking him six times, and they also forced four turnovers.
The Bad:
The offense went to sleep in the second half, picking up just 58 yards in the last two quarters of the game.
LeSean McCoy didn't have the best game, as he ran the ball 14 times for 37 yards.
Though the Eagles had 122 rushing yards, over half of them came on DeSean Jackson's 67 yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the game.
The Ugly:
Brian Westbrook was knocked out on a play and had to leave the game. He suffered a concussion, and it's not sure when he's going to be back. He had just three carries for 13 yards while he was in there.
The Breakdown:
Just like I said about the Washington Nationals in baseball, there isn't much playing the Washington Redskins in football won't fix. A week after being embarrassed against the Oakland Raiders (who lost 38-0 against the Jets on Sunday), the Eagles came out in the first half and looked like a different team. The offense, though it wasn't always sharp, was much better than a week ago, and the defense played well, too. It wasn't the prettiest win in the world, especially with the way the offense played in the second half, but it's a win, and with the Giants coming into Philly on Sunday, I'll take it.
The game couldn't have started out any better. On the fourth play of the game, DeSean Jackson took an end-around from Donovan McNabb and was off to the races. Sixty-seven yards later, Jackson was in for the touchdown, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the first half. McNabb threw his 200th career touchdown pass in the second quarter on a 57 yard pass to Jackson, and after that, the offense didn't do a whole lot. It wasn't the best game for McNabb, as he threw a few passes into the ground that would have gone as completions, but again, it was a win, so just look at it like that.
There are very few ways to make yourself known to a new group of fans better than what Will Witherspoon did last night. Late in the first quarter, with the Redskins pinned inside their own ten yard line, Witherspoon grabbed a tipped Jason Campbell pass and took it into the end zone for a touchdown. Later in the first half, Witherspoon brought Campbell down for a sack, and stripped the ball. The newest Eagle finished the game with six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception return for a touchdown. All in all, it was a very good day for him and the rest of the defense, who put pressure on Campbell the entire game. Last week, the defense couldn't get to JaMarcus Russell in time to bring him down. This week, they sacked Jason Campbell six times. Trent Cole brought Campbell down twice, giving him 6.5 sacks on the season, and Jason Babin made the most of his playing time, recording three tackles and a sack.
Of course, last night wasn't a perfect game by any stretch, and the injury to Brian Westbrook highlighted that. Midway through the first quarter, Westbrook took an inadvertent knee from London Fletcher and was knocked out cold for a few minutes. Though he left the field under his own power, he got a concussion on the play and did not return to the game. Luckily, the Eagles didn't need him, but their running game never really got on track after he left. While Westbrook was in the game, he carried the ball three times for 13 yards. It's a small sample size, but he was having success against the Washington run defense. LeSean McCoy couldn't find that same success, picking up 37 yards on 14 carries, which equals 2.6 yards per carry. That's not going to get it done against any defense, especially the New York Giants, who are coming into town to play next Sunday. The offense also went into a holding pattern in the second half, but they did have a 17 point lead and the defense was playing well, so I'll look past that this time.
It wasn't the best win in the world, but they still count the same in the NFL. The offense got back on track, and the defense was able to get to Jason Campbell and force some mistakes on his part. Yes, the Redskins are a bad team, but they swept the Eagles last year, and always play them tough. It's good to see the Eagles go down to Washington and pick up the victory.
Things don't get any easier after this. Next Sunday might be the biggest New York vs. Philadelphia sports day ever. The Eagles play the Giants at one, and then Game Four of the World Series will take place Sunday night. This is going to be fun next week.
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