The Eagles showed speed, and showed toughness, and showed their fans something they hadn’t seen for a while.
For the Eagles, beating the Redskins 24-16 was a doubly sweet win.
Not only did they take sole possession of first place in the NFC East with a 6-5 record (the 5-5 Cowboys are on their bye), but they won at home for the first time since last season.
The win was the first at Lincoln Financial Field since Sept. 30, 2012, and they had lost 10 straight in their own building since then.
The Eagles racked up 424 total yards, with LeSean McCoy coming back from a hamstring injury to combine for 150 yards from scrimmage. Quarterback Nick Foles continued to show signs he could be the guy, throwing for 298 yards and adding a touchdown run of his own.
But they needed to withstand a late Redskins rally, with cornerback Brandon Boykin’s interception in the end zone sealing the win.
For the Redskins, their second straight loss drops them to 3-7, and makes it seem much more unlikely they’re going to go on a run like last year, when they went from 3-6 to the playoffs.
Their defense was sieve-like all day, and their passing game was equally bad. A pair of deep touchdown passes (to fullback Darrel Young and wide receiver Aldrick Robinson) in the fourth quarter made the stats look better than they were.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III struggled to find time to throw, and struggled to hit open targets when he did. He finished 17-of-35 passing for 264 yards, but missed consistently through the day and ruined the comeback with an ill-advised pass on the interception.
The Redskins were short-handed in terms of targets, with tight end Jordan Reed leaving early with a concussion, and wide receiver Leonard Hankerson with a knee injury.