Eagles Sink Skins, 33-25
The Germans have a lot of long words that encompass very difficult concepts. Words like "schadenfreude," "Hubschrauberlandeplatz," and "Verantwortungszuständigkeiten." I don't know if they have word for the frustration you feel when you've thought that your team had already managed to overcome the mistake you thought was going to cost them the game -- like a fourth-quarter Ladell Betts fumble -- only to discover that the relief-shattering error that was going to lead to a horrible loss was laying in wait a few minutes later, but whatever I was yelling at the teevee would be a great place to start, etymologically speaking.
Two things that playoff caliber teams do is win their home games and win their division games. Something else playoff caliber teams do? Score from the goal line. And for the second straight home division game, the failure was the same, an inability to get a touchdown once they got down to within sniffing distance. The Skins had seven chances inside the seven yard line to score a game-icing touchdown and came up with only a Scott Suisham field goal for their trouble. That left the door open for a Philadelphia comeback, which the Eagles accomplished on their very next drive, when Bryan Brian Westbrook went on a 57-yard screen pass scamper for the go-ahead score.
It was a terrible, and all too abrupt, way for the game to conclude, especially since the action before provided ample evidence that the Redskins were well on the way to solving many of their problems. A second-straight 100-yard rushing game from Clinton Portis seemed to provide the team with some identity. Jason Campbell played with poise and passed with accuracy, getting the ball to the wide receivers and passing for three touchdowns. The defense played some stifling football, frequently exposing Donovan McNabb as not being the accurate passer he once was.
None of it ended up mattering, and aside from a good day from the Savior, the Redskins' inability to score ended up wasting a fantastic day from James Thrash, who scored two touches and made great plays with and without the ball. In fact, based upon the ill-prepared defense Philadelphia was deploying on third-and-goal from the two-yard line, Thrash looked like he was about to run free into the near side of the end zone. But for Chris Cooley's false start flinch, Thrash might have ended up delighting the seven or so fantasy football owners that started him on Sunday.
Ultimately, Washington's inability to punch in some touchdowns at home against divisional foes are going to loom large. To be 7-2 or 6-3 at this juncture in the NFC, would place you in position for a playoff berth. At 5-4, Washington finds themselves in the murky middle of the conference, only a game ahead of the conference's mediocre teams. Fortunately for us, the Giants and Lions, who remain a game ahead of us in the wild-card race, both lost today. They'll have a tough task ahead of them, however, as they travel to Irving, Texas to take on the division leading Cowboys. Better brush up your German.