PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 1, 2006) -- Going back to the basics put Joe Gibbs
and the Washington Redskins back in the
playoffs.
Washington (10-6) clinched the NFL's final playoff spot and its first
postseason berth since 1999 with its fifth straight win. The victory
also eliminated Dallas from contention.
"Looking back to 5-6, we talked at that time that if we lost another
game we'd be out," Gibbs said. "Trying to win five straight is a tough
deal, but our guys seemed to understand what it would take. We went back
to the basics."
The Redskins play Tampa Bay (11-5) in an NFC wild-card game next
Saturday in their first playoff game since losing 14-13 to the
Buccaneers in a second-round matchup six years ago.
Just as it did against the Eagles, Washington relied heavily on its
running game behind Portis and a strong defense to turn things around
after losing three straight to fall to 5-6.
"The basics start with playing smart football, not turning it over and
also running the football and playing solid defense," quarterback Mark Brunell said. "That's how you win. We've been doing those
things. The first part of the year we weren't."
Mike McMahon threw two touchdown passes to Reggie Brown as Philadelphia (6-10) completed its first losing season
since '99 after reaching the Super Bowl last February.
"We'll go back through and look at all of it," coach Andy Reid said.
"We've got to look at ourselves first, if we're putting guys in the
right position to make plays and did they make the plays."
McMahon, who struggled in his six starts for the injured Donovan McNabb, made a crucial mistake in the fourth quarter. His
poorly thrown pass was tipped and intercepted by linebacker Lemar Marshall, putting the ball at the Eagles 22.
On the next play, Portis completely spun around to elude a tackle in the
backfield, cut to the left and sprinted down the sideline into the end
zone to give the Redskins a 24-20 lead.
"That play was designed to lose two yards," Portis said. "I spun around
a guy and it was clear from there."
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Clinton Portis' fourth-quarter TD put the Redskins ahead for good.
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The Eagles drove to the Redskins 38 on the ensuing drive, but McMahon
fumbled and Joe Salave'a fell on it. Koy Detmer replaced McMahon on the next series, but didn't fare any
better.
Sean Taylor sealed the victory by returning a fumble 39 yards
for a score after Phillip Daniels knocked
the ball away from Detmer.
Washington had just one winning season under brash owner Dan Snyder,
whose spending sprees on big names like Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith and
Steve Spurrier proved futile.
But it took just two seasons for Gibbs to get the Redskins back to the
winning ways they enjoyed when he was the coach in the 1980s and early
1990s.
Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles during his first stint
in Washington from 1981-92. His first season back after a 12-year
retirement was a flop, with the Redskins going 6-10 last year. However,
Gibbs made the necessary adjustments after hearing critics say the game
had passed by him.
"I was starting all over," Gibbs said. "It's a tough road up here and
last year, for whatever reason, I probably deserved it (the criticism)."
For the depleted Eagles, it was a fitting end to a miserable season.
With McNabb and several other key starters sidelined by injuries and Terrell Owens banished from the team, Philadelphia was undermanned
and overmatched.
Only 10 players who started in the Eagles' 24-21 loss to New England in
the Super Bowl were on the field against the Redskins. Still, the Eagles
made it difficult for Washington.
"If you give me everybody we had, everybody stays healthy, none of the
stuff goes on, we're talking about a different situation right now,"
safety Brian Dawkins said.
The Redskins tied it at 17 on Portis' 2-yard run on the first drive of
the third quarter. A 54-yard catch by Santana Moss
to the Eagles 6 set up the score.
But the Eagles answered with a 35-yard field goal by David Akers that made it 20-17. The lead held up until McMahon threw
another costly pick, his eighth interception this season.
McMahon threw a 33-yard TD pass to Brown to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead
in the first quarter. The two hooked up on an 8-yard scoring pass to
make it 17-7 in the second quarter. An illegal motion penalty wiped out
a TD catch by Brown and the Eagles faced a third-and-21 after McMahon
tripped for a 10-yard loss. But a pass interference penalty on Shawn Springs gave the Eagles a first down at the Redskins 11,
setting up Brown's second score.
John Hall kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to
17-10 before halftime.
Washington went three-and-out on its first two possessions, but got a
lucky break when Dexter Wynn fumbled a
punt that was recovered by Mike Sellers
at the Eagles 37.
Five plays later, Brunell tossed a 4-yard pass to Sellers, giving the
Redskins a 7-3 lead.
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead when Akers' 49-yard field goal hit the
crossbar and went over.
Portis broke Stephen Davis' franchise
rushing record of 1,432 yards set in 2001, and Moss topped Bobby
Mitchell's 42-year-old receiving mark of 1,436 yards.
Notes: Portis and Moss became the fourth pair of teammates to set
franchise rushing and receiving records in the same season. ... The
Redskins made the playoffs just once after Gibbs retired following the
1992 season. ... Gibbs was 5-0 this December, improving his record to
57-18 after Dec. 1. ... Philadelphia was the fifth straight team to miss
the playoffs one season after losing the Super Bowl.