NFL Old School Game of the Week: Redskins Clinch Playoff Berth With Win over Eagles

 

Redskins running back Clinton Portis would run for 112 yards and score two touchdowns on 27 carries in Washington's win over the Eagles.

When the Washington Redskins lost in overtime to the San Diego Chargers in Week 11 of the 2005 NFL season, some experts believed that was the end of the Redskins' playoff hopes as they stood with a 5-6 record.

However, six weeks later, the Redskins would be playing in a game against their NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, where a win would send them to the playoffs.

The Redskins were led by head coach Joe Gibbs, who had returned to the sidelines the previous year after a 12-year absence.

Redskins fans were hoping Gibbs would bring back their beloved team to their glory days when he lead the Redskins to three Super Bowls during his initial 12-year run as Washington's head coach.

But his second run had been a struggle as he went 6-10 in 2004 and was staring at another losing season after the Redskins dropped six of their previous eight games following a 3-0 start to the season.

However, the Redskins would turn around with a four-game winning streak as running back Clinton Portis put together four consecutive 100-yard rushing games to lead Washington to wins over the Rams, Cardinals, Cowboys, and Giants.

All the Redskins needed to do was defeat the Eagles in the final week of the regular season and Washington would be in the playoffs for the first time in six years.

While the Redskins were ascending, the Eagles were descending as they entered the final game of the regular season with a 6-9 record having lost seven of their previous nine games.

It had been a nightmare season for the Eagles one year after reaching the Super Bowl as wide receiver Terrell Owens created havoc by criticizing quarterback Donovan McNabb in the offseason for thier loss in the Super Bowl.

That began a media circus involving Owens which would eventually end in his release from the team midseason.

But the Eagles' problems did not stop there as McNabb was lost for the season with a sports hernia in a Week 10 loss to the Cowboys, followed by a season-ending foot injury to running back Brian Westbrook three weeks later.

With the injuries and the jettison of Owens, head coach Andy Reid was left with Mike McMahon at quarterback, Bruce Perry and Ryan Moats at running back, and Reggie Brown at wide receiver.

With the offense depleted, the Eagles would fail to win the NFC East for the first time since 2000 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

However, the Eagles could end their season on a high note by knocking off their division rivals in their regular season finale which was played in Philadelphia.

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Eagles got the ball at their 48-yard-line and ran the ball three straight times, gaining 21 yards to set up a 49-yard field goal by David Akers to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead with 10:16 left in the first quarter.

It appeared the Eagles were set to get the ball back as they forced a three-and-out on the Redskins' ensuing possession forcing them to punt, only to have Dexter Wynn muff it as Washington tight end Mike Sellers recover the loose ball at the Philadelphia 37-yard-line.

Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell would hand the ball off two straight times to Portis, who gained 14 yards on his two runs, which was followed by a three-yard pass from Brunell to tight end Chris Cooley, then a 14-yarder to Moss on 3rd & 4 to set up 1st & goal at the Eagles' four-yard-line.

That is when Sellers was rewarded for his fumble recovery with a touchdown as he caught a four-yard pass from Brunell to give the Redskins a 7-3 lead with 6:41 to go in the first quarter.

Eagles quarterback Mike McMahon would complete 16 of 31 passes for 254 yards and throw two touchdowns, but would also have three turnovers.

Following an exchange of punts, the Eagles got the ball at their 38-yard-line but were after two plays picked up just two yards where faced with a 3rd & 8 when McMahon connected with Brown for 10 yards and a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.

Two plays later, McMahon and the Eagles would convert on another 3rd & 8 when McMahon found Billy McMullen for 15 yards and another 1st down at the Washington 33-yard-line.

On the next play, McMahon would connect with Brown again, this time for a 33-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the opening period.

The score was still 10-7 when the Eagles got the ball at their 29-yard-line with just under 11 minutes left in the second quarter when they put together an eight play, 71-yard touchdown drive.

After taking three plays to pick up one 1st down, McMahon would hit tight end L.J. Smith for a 48-yard gain to give the Eagles a 1st down at the Redskins' 11-yard-line.

Disaster nearly struck as McMahon fumbled the football at the end of a four-yard run, only to have guard Adrian Clarke recover the fumble at the Washington seven-yard-line.

Then the Eagles started going backwards as illegal shift penalty on Moats nullified a seven-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Brown, which was followed by a quarterback sack by Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington that dropped McMahon for a 10-yard loss to set up 3rd & 21 from the 22-yard-line.

That is when the Eagles caught a break as Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs was called for pass interference on a McMahon pass intended for Smith, giving the Eagles an automatic 1st down back at the Washington 11-yard-line.

After a three-yard run by Perry, McMahon found Brown in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown to increase the Philadelphia lead to 17-7 with 6:05 to go before halftime.

Having punted on their five of their first six possessions, the Redskins' offense needed to get moving if they were to get back in the game.

They would do just that on their ensuing possession which began at their 24-yard-line as Portis would carry the ball four times for 17 yards while Brunell hit Santana Moss for an eight-yard pass which lead to the Redskins' biggest offensive play of the game as Brunell connected with James Thrash for a 41-yard completion to give Washington a 1st down at the Eagles' 15-yard-line.

Two runs by Portis picked up nine yards to set up 3rd & 1 when Brunell could not hit Cooley for the 1st down, forcing the Redskins to settle for a 25-yard field goal by John Hall to cut the Eagles' lead to 17-10 with 61 seconds left in the first half.

The Eagles would get good field position to start their next drive as Perry returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the Philadelphia 38-yard-line.

Perry would run for 11 yards to pick up an Eagles 1st down, only to have McMullen fumble the football at the end of a 11-yard catch when he was stripped of the football by Marcus Washington who recovered the fumble at the Redskins' 38-yard-line.

However, the Redskins would give it right back to the Eagles as Brunell threw a deep pass that was intercepted by Eagles cornerback Roderick Hood at the Philadelphia 20-yard-line.

McMahon would take a knee on the next play to end the first half with the Eagles ahead 17-10 but with the Redskins set to get the ball to start the second half.

Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown would catch seven passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

The Redskins would begin their opening possession of the second half at their 28-yard-line where Portis would carry the ball twice, gaining seven yards, then caught a five-yard pass from Brunell to give Washington a 1st down at its 40-yard-line.

That is when Brunell connected with Moss for a 54-yard completion to set up 1st & goal at the Eagles' six-yard-line.

Portis would run it for four yards on 1st down, then punch it in for the two-yard touchdown that with Hall's extra point tied the game at 17 with 11:46 to go in the third quarter.

However on the ensuing kickoff, Redskins fullback Rock Cartwright would be called for a 15-yard face mask that was added to a 20-yard return by Perry to give the Eagles the ball at their 46-yard-line.

The Eagles would quickly drive down the field as McMahon found Greg Lewis for 20 yards to start the drive, which was followed by a 11-yard run by Perry and a six-yard run by Moats to put Philadelphia in the Washington red zone as they had a 2nd & 4 at the Redskins' 17-yard-line.

But Perry would be stopped for no gain on 2nd down, which was followed by an incomplete pass on 3rd down, forcing the Eagles to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Akers which broke the 17-17 tie and gave Philadelphia a 20-17 lead with 8:52 left in the third quarter.

From there, the game would turn into a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts until the fourth quarter when were faced with a 3rd & 15 at their 20-yard-line when McMahon was intercepted by Redskins linebacker Lemar Marshall, whose four-yard return gave the Redskins the ball at the Eagles 22-yard-line.

On the first play after the fumble, Brunell handed the ball off to Portis, who spun around an Eagles tackler, cut to his left and ran in for a  22-yard touchdown to give the Redskins a 24-20 lead with 12:19 left in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles would get the ball for their next possession at their 40-yard-line after Hall kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds.

A 20-yard pass to Smith on 3rd & 8 gave the Eagles a 1st down at the Redskins' 38-yard-line but one play after a two-yard run by Perry, McMahon fumbled the snap from center Jamaal Jackson, which lead to a recovery by Washington defensive tackle Joe Salave'a at the Redskins' 41-yard-line.

After forcing the Redskins to go three-and-out, the Eagles would get the ball back at their 27-yard-line when Reid replaced McMahon with Koy Detmer.

Detmer would complete two of five passes for 16 yards as the Eagles would punt the ball back to the Redskins who took over at their 16-yard-line with 5:40 left in the game and a chance to milk the clock.

The Redskins would pick up one 1st down when Brunell scrambled for 12 yards on 3rd & 8 from the 18-yard-line, but would be forced to punt the ball back to the Eagles who took over at their 25-yard-line with 3:11 left and no timeouts in their pocket.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Detmer would connect with Smith for five yards, then with McMullen for six yards to pick up a 1st down at the Philadelphia 36-yard-line.

That is when Redskins defensive end Philip Daniels would hit Detmer so hard it knocked the loose, which was scooped up free safety Sean Taylor who ran it for a 39-yard touchdown to extend the Redskins' lead to 31-20 with 2:16 left in the game.

Redskins free saftey Sean Taylor leaps into the end zone as he scores the touchdown that secured the Redskins' first playoff spot since 1999.

The Eagles would get one last chance to pull out a miracle but Detmer would be picked off by Redskins strong safety Ryan Clark, allowing Brunell to take three knees to run out the clock on the 31-20 victory that secured Washington's first trip to the playoffs since 1999.

In the Wild Card Round, the #6 seeded Redskins took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where despite 120 yards of total offense, the Redskins would knock off the Bucs 17-10, thanks in large part to another fumble return for a touchdown by Taylor, this time for 51 yards.

The Redskins' run would come to an end the following week as they fell to the eventual NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks 20-10.

Two years later, the Redskins would go on another late-season winning streak as they won their final four games to finish the season 9-7 and clinch the team's second playoff berth in three seasons, only to fall to the Seahawks 35-14 in the NFC Wild Card Round.

That game would be the final game of Gibbs' second run in Washington as he would retire for good a few days after the loss to the Seahawks with a 31-38 record during his four-year run as the Redskins' head coach.