LANDOVER, Md. -- A few thoughts and observations after the Redskins' 27-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles:
What it means: The Redskins haven’t given up on the season and improved their win total by one over 2013. It’s a significant win for a team that’s been horrible for most of the second half. They avoided the negative plays that killed them in previous games, such as penalties, and they overcame two turnovers. Of course, two missed field goals by Philadelphia helped. But it was the Eagles who played a more undisciplined game, with three roughing the quarterback penalties and 13 flags overall. The Redskins absolutely needed this sort of game, at home and against a division opponent, after all that has transpired in recent weeks. Also, they might have delivered a death blow to Philadelphia’s playoff hopes. It's not as if the Redskins' defense was great, but holding the Eagles to 24 points was impressive.
Griffin’s day: Robert Griffin III showed enough to whet your appetite and enough to cause you to wonder if he’s just a guy who will be up and down for his career. But he did a good job, for the most part, of hanging in the pocket and delivering the ball as he did on his one completion en route to the game-winning points. Yes, he could have hit some other passes and maybe better throws would have resulted in touchdown passes to DeSean Jackson. But Griffin helped deliver a big win -- whether it was because of a stripped-down game plan or just (mostly) avoiding the big mistake. Another key was that he did not rely on his arm, attempting only 23 passes.
Stock report: Going up: The Redskins’ run game. It wasn’t always a pretty attack, but they could have stuck with it more. But the run game offered enough to keep the Eagles’ defense off-balance at times. The Redskins only gained 100 yards rushing, but Alfred Morris finished with 83 yards on 21 carries. The commitment led to some play-action passes that worked well.
Game balls: Jackson reminded the Eagles of what they once had, with a couple of 50-yard catches. It took a while for the Eagles to realize they should provide safety help against him. Jackson bailed the Redskins out of bad spots, too. His routes gave Griffin room to work on the outside, and Jackson made some nice catches.
What’s next: A 1 p.m. season finale at home against Dallas on Dec. 28 -- and then a lot of work ahead in the offseason.
