The Washington Redskins stumbled and bumbled their way out of the NFC East race yesterday, and were left hoping for help elsewhere to keep their flickering playoff aspirations alive. They failed to help themselves by squandering one opportunity after another and losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-6, in front of 84,936 at FedEx Field.
The Eagles avenged a loss to the Redskins three weeks ago in Philadelphia and increased their lead in the NFC East to three games. Philadelphia can clinch the title with one more win or a loss by the New York Giants .
Only a loss by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday -- and the hope that the New Orleans Saints will lose tonight -- kept the Redskins from giving up in the hunt for the final wild-card playoff berth. They trail the Saints by 1 1/2 games and will play the NFC Central leading Chicago Bears at home next Sunday.
"All we can do is try to win out and roll the dice," linebacker Robert Jones said in the Redskins' somber postgame locker room.
The Redskins had a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter that could have been bigger, but were undone by mistakes. Brett Conway missed a pair of field goal attempts, the first of which struck an upright. Punt returner Eric Metcalf had a first-half fumble that led to an Eagles field goal.
By Coach Marty Schottenheimer's count, the Redskins dropped eight passes, and quarterback Tony Banks needed plenty of support. He threw a pair of costly interceptions to safety Brian Dawkins, one at the Philadelphia 4-yard line and one in the end zone.
"We didn't finish things off," Schottenheimer said. "When you play a good football team like the Eagles, you have to take advantage of your opportunities. And we didn't do that. . . . When you don't get it finished offensively, it's very frustrating. It's disappointing not to be able to finish off those opportunities."
Said veteran cornerback Darrell Green: "We gave too much. We were too generous."
The Redskins got 111 rushing yards by tailback Stephen Davis, and their defense limited the Eagles to 63 rushing yards and forced four turnovers. Defensive end Bruce Smith pressured quarterback Donovan McNabb into an interception and stripped the ball from tailback Duce Staley. Linebacker LaVar Arrington and Green added interceptions.
The Redskins couldn't cash in, and McNabb led the Eagles to their sixth road triumph in six tries. McNabb had touchdown passes of four yards to rookie wide receiver Freddie Mitchell in the second quarter and 62 yards to wideout Todd Pinkston in the third quarter.
"He showed poise as a quarterback," Staley said. "Things didn't start off like we wanted them to, but he hung in there. He is a leader on the field, and we saw that out there. He took some hits. He was banged up a little bit. But he came back to the huddle and fired us up."
The early signs were ominous for the Redskins. Eddie Mason committed a holding penalty as the Redskins returned the opening kickoff, and wide receiver Michael Westbrook dropped a screen pass on the game's first offensive play. Fullback Bryan Johnson had a swing pass from Banks slip off his fingertips on third down as the Redskins went three plays and out on their opening possession.
But the Philadelphia offense also went three plays and out as McNabb made a pair of low throws, and the game settled into a tight, tense struggle. The Redskins had the first scoring chance when the Eagles' second drive ended with McNabb being hit from behind by Smith as he tried to pass, with the ball wobbling into the hands of defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson for an interception.
The Redskins took over at the Eagles 26. But rookie wideout Rod Gardner was called for offensive pass interference on the first play, and Banks could get only 11 yards on his third-and-16 scramble. Enter Conway, who clanked two kicks off the left upright eight days ago at Arizona before connecting on his final two field goal attempts. This time, his 39-yard try hit the right upright and fell away.
The Eagles again failed to move on offense, and Metcalf scampered up the sideline for a 30-yard punt return. Davis's 16-yard run gave the Redskins a first down at the Philadelphia 27. He plowed for seven more yards on first down, and got a yard on a second-down run. But reserve wide receiver Derrius Thompson shoved cornerback Troy Vincent near the pileup after the play and was called for a 15-yard personal foul. The Redskins couldn't recover but Conway connected from 47 yards to put them in front, 3-0.
The Redskins had another chance early in the second quarter when Philadelphia cornerback Bobby Taylor missed a tackle on a slant pattern by Gardner, who made the catch and ran 57 yards before being dragged down by Dawkins at the Eagles 7. But the Redskins couldn't get into the end zone. Davis was stopped for no gain, Banks threw incomplete for tight end Walter Rasby and Banks overthrew Gardner on a fade route in the end zone. Conway's 25-yard field goal made it 6-0.
Philadelphia responded immediately with an 11-play, 66-yard touchdown march. McNabb gained two yards on a fourth-and-inches sneak, and found tight end Chad Lewis open in the middle of the field for a 25-yard reception. McNabb's two-yard run on a quarterback draw gave the Eagles a first down at the Redskins 4. He threw two incompletions to Pinkston, working against rookie cornerback Fred Smoot. On third down, Mitchell got just a sliver of working room against Green and made a tumbling catch of McNabb's low throw for his first NFL touchdown catch.
The Redskins couldn't move after being backed up by Champ Bailey's illegal block on their kickoff return, and Bryan Barker shanked a 26-yard punt out of bounds. The Eagles started at the Redskins 36, but McNabb immediately had a pass tipped high into the air by defensive end Marco Coleman. Arrington grabbed the ball on the carom for the interception.
The Redskins were set to have good field position late in the first half, but Philadelphia's Rashard Cook knocked the ball away from Metcalf and Correll Buckhalter made the recovery for the Eagles at the Washington 44. Place kicker David Akers's 40-yard field goal increased the Eagles' advantage to 10-6 at the break.
The frustrations continued to mount in the third quarter for the Redskins. Davis turned a screen pass into a 23-yard gain and a first down at the Philadelphia 37. But Westbrook and Davis dropped passes, and Conway's 48-yard field goal attempt was wide right and perhaps a bit short.
On the next play, the Eagles faked a screen pass and a reverse, and fooled Smoot. Pinkston grabbed McNabb's well-placed lob between Smoot and safety David Terrell, and outmaneuvered them to the end zone to complete the 62-yard catch and run.
"I bit down on the reverse, and they got it in there," Smoot said.
Rasby, fellow tight end Zeron Flemister and wideout Kevin Lockett dropped passes the next time the Redskins had the ball. Rasby made an acrobatic catch one possession later to give the Redskins a scoring chance, but Banks's throw toward Westbrook was off target and intercepted by Dawkins.
"I didn't play well enough for us to beat this team," said Banks, who completed 17 of 36 passes for 213 yards. "We had penalties that took us out of scoring position. We had interceptions that took us out of scoring position. I just have to do better."
Akers's 49-yard field goal lifted Philadelphia's lead to 20-6 just over 2 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter, but the Redskins still had a few opportunities to squander. Green stepped in front of Eagles wide receiver Na Brown for an interception, but that produced only Banks's incompletion on a fourth-and-11 throw toward Gardner from the Eagles 21. Smith ripped the ball from Staley's hands, and Banks connected with Westbrook for a 27-yard gain to the Eagles 1. But Banks's throw toward Flemister in the back of the end zone was wild, and Dawkins made a leaping interception.
"Philly played outstanding, but we missed a lot of opportunities," Redskins left tackle Chris Samuels said. "We made a lot of crucial mistakes, and they killed us."