DeSean Jackson’s contract status will be one of the biggest issues for the Eagles to deal with this offseason and he left the team one last reminder of what he can do on the football field in Sunday’s 34-10 win over the Redskins.
Jackson got loose for a 62-yard bomb from Michael Vick in the fourth quarter, giving the Eagles a look at the kind of combination that they expected to see a lot more of during this season. Instead, they got very few positives from Jackson -- Sunday’s score was one of the few big plays he hit all season -- and a lot of headaches. One play shouldn’t have that much impact on a big contract decision, but it certainly was a flash of Jackson’s best to chew on as the offseason gets underway.
The second half as a whole was a reminder of what could have been for the Eagles this season. While their defense had much more to do with how badly things went for the Eagles this year, they didn’t get to see much of their offense at its best for a variety of reasons. But Sunday saw Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Brett Celek put up big numbers as Vick wound up with 355 yards and three touchdowns against a Redskins defense that didn’t really show up for the final half of the season.
Sunday’s win allows the Eagles to finish the year at .500 while the Redskins stumbled to 5-11. There will certainly be questions about Mike Shanahan’s future as a result and it is hard to feel particularly optimistic on that front unless and until the ‘Skins get better quarterback play.