LANDOVER, Md. _ Greg Ward did something Eagles fans haven't seen much this season, and all _ or at least much _ was forgiven as the Eagles escaped FedEx Field with a victory over the now 3-11 Washington Redskins.
Ward outleaped Josh Norman in the left corner of the end zone, catching a 4-yard Carson Wentz touchdown pass at the end of an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Then, on the final play of regulation, Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins fumbled and Nigel Bradham ran 47 yards with the fumble, scoring to set the final score at 37-27.
It really wasn't that easy.
It was another hugely infuriating first half for Eagles fans, their team playing down to the level of the Redskins, and then some.
For the third week in a row, it was bombs away on Jim Schwartz's secondary. Terry McLaurin, the rookie wide receiver Washington drafted a round after the Eagles took J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, caught a 75-yard touchdown pass to give his team a 7-3 lead. It was just like that early TD Darius Slayton scored last week for the Giants, except this time it was Avonte Maddox, not Ronald Darby, who whiffed on the tackle attempt.
Haskins came in with the lowest passer rating of an NFL starter, 61.2. So of course, he completed his first 6 passes and 7 of his first 8, for 130 yards, two touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating, midway through the second quarter. Washington led 14-10 at the half.
In the second half, the Eagles' offense put together a very nice 12-play, 66-yard touchdown drive for a 17-14 lead. The touchdown came on one of the best passes of Wentz's career, a 15-yard bullet on a dead run to Miles Sanders in the corner of the end zone.
The defense responded to this bit of inspiration by giving up a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to the lowest-scoring team in the NFL. The lowlight might have been Haskins' 23-yard run on third and 1 _ unless it was the scoring play, on which Adrian Peterson started to his left, saw nothing but Eagles, turned around and ran around the right end as several Eagles watched, apparently too puzzled to react. Washington was winning again.
Wentz wasn't done. Eight plays, 75 yards, highlighted by Sanders' 56-yard run, which made him the leading rookie rusher in Eagles history. Zach Ertz, sprung on a pick route, was wide open for the 2-yard TD.
The score quickly was tied again, mostly thanks to a 44-yard kickoff return by Steven Sims, Jr. Washington "drove" 20 yards in six plays for a 53-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal, with 8:02 remaining.
Then, disaster. On third and 2 from the Eagles' 33, Wentz scrambled around, looking for a receiver. Linebacker Ryan Anderson stripped the ball and defensive lineman Jonathan Allen recovered. It was Wentz's seventh lost fumble of the season.
This scoring drive was all of 9 yards, Hopkins giving Washington the lead on a 43-yard field goal with 4:52 left.
But the Eagles had this, somehow. Now they host Dallas with dreams of the NFC title still looking attainable.
