Eagles big plays dump Redskins, 27-17

October 27, 11:37 AMWashington Redskins ExaminerMark Newgent

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There was brief glimmer of hope in the stands at FedEx field Monday night. Trailing the Eagles 17-0 midway through the second quarter, Jason Campbell found Devin Thomas in the back of the end zone for a two-yard touchdown pass. On the Eagles ensuing possession the Redskins defense pushed the Eagles backwards four yards and forced a punt. The crowd, sensing a momentum change, began to stir.

However, Antwaan Randle El muffed the punt the Eagles recovered, and extended the lead to 20-7 on a 44-yard David Akers field goal. All the excitement seeped out of the crowd like the like air out of punctured balloon. A little over two minutes later the defense had once again forced the Eagles into a third and long—this time 3rd and 23—but DeSean Jackson beat Carlos Rogers and Chris Horton hauling in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb. With the Eagles leading 27-7, the game was effectively over at that point, as the Redskins lacked the offense to keep up and fell 27-17. The Redskins are now 2-5 with the meat of the schedule ahead of them.

The game was not the only thing the Redskins lost. Tight End Chris Cooley broke his ankle on the first play of the second quarter, and is out for the season. Cooley is now the third key starter on the offense to be lost for the season.

As bad as the Redskins were, the Eagles were not much better. The defense held Philadelphia’s offense to 268 total yards and 11 first downs. However, the Eagles made the big plays. DeSean Jackson opened the scoring on a 67-yard reverse, and had the 57-yard touchdown reception. The Eagles defense also got in on the act forcing four turnovers including a 9-yard interception return for a touchdown by newly acquired middle-linebacker Will Witherspoon.

The logistical concerns with new play caller Sherman Lewis did not surface. However the same old concerns about the offensive line did as the Eagles sacked Campbell six times and pressured him all game and the running game was stagnant. Clinton Portis carried the ball 14 times for only 43 yards and the team mustered a only 62 yards total on the ground. Fred Davis filled in nicely for Cooley with 8 catches for 78-yards and a touchdown. His fellow draft classmate Devin Thomas caught 3 passes for 45 yards and a score.

Speaking of play calling, turns out Jim Zorn wasn’t completely out of the loop on the play calling. Zorn told reporters after the game, “I stuck my nose in there a couple of times a got a few plays called myself.” Elaborating further Zorn said, “Here’s how it happened Sherm Lewis called the passing game most of the game…Sherman Smith really called the run game and he pretty much did that verbatim and did a nice job with it.” Zorn said he called the touchdown pass to Fred Davis late in the fourth quarter and the drive that set up a field goal before half time, “those were things that I had a feel for so I just called them. Zorn also stated that it was not predetermined that he would make those calls in those situations. “That’s why I said I just stuck my nose in there.”

Once again this is an organizational loss, highlighting organizational failures. I’ll kick the dead horse here again, but the failure to address the offensive line was on full display once again. DeSean Jackson’s two big plays last night also underscores Vinny Cerrato’s poor decision made in the 2008 draft. Cerrato took Fred Davis at 48, and the Eagles took Jackson with the next pick. The Redskins had found their tall receiver earlier in the round with Devin Thomas, and while Davis had a good game last night, he is a non factor most of the time. Meanwhile DeSean Jackson is primary weapon in Philadelphia’s offense.

Up Next: The bye week. As the jokes going around say, the bye is favored by 10 points.