Joe Gibbs said Monday that the 4-8 Redskins have plenty to play for in the final four games of the season, from building on Sunday's 31-7 win over the New York Giants to establishing an edge at FedExField.
"I think the best way to build for the future and build for our team is to try and win every single one of our games," Gibbs said. "We want to play great for our fans here at home. I want to say to our fans that I really appreciate them sticking with us. I think they gave our guys a lift, which is a big deal."
The Redskins won for the first time at FedExField since Week 1 when they opened the season with a 16-10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Washington hosts the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday night in an 8:30 p.m. ET prime-time matchup on ESPN. After the Eagles, the Redskins will play one more home game: the Jan. 2, 2005, season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.
Gibbs said he hopes the team and fans can rally in the last two home games and develop a distinct home-field advantage at FedExField. The Redskins are 2-4 this season and 2-7 in their last nine games at FedExField.
"We'd like to develop here at home that feeling where we're hard to beat," Gibbs said. "Between our fans and our team, we'd like to have that. We haven't played that well at home here since the beginning of the year."
Gibbs also praised the tenacity of several injured players who suited up on Sunday and contributed in the win over the Giants.
Right guard Randy Thomas, wide receiver James Thrash and cornerback Walt Harris all were listed on the team's injury report with hamstring injuries, but they were able to play in Sunday's game.
Thomas played a key role in blocking for Clinton Portis, Thrash logged two catches for 27 yards and Harris blocked a punt that led to a Redskins touchdown.
"At this point in the season, there are so many guys who could say that they don't want to come back and play, but guys like Randy Thomas fight through it to come back and play," Gibbs said.
"Walt Harris and James Thrash were two of the guys we had to work out before the game on Sunday morning to see if they were going to play. James wound up making a number of plays and playing extremely well for us. He refuses to come out. I really questioned whether he was going to be able to play or not but we worked him out hard and he told me, 'I am going to play.'
"Walt Harris did the same thing. He works out for us and says, 'I'm going to play' and ends up getting a block on the punt."
Gibbs emphasized that those types of efforts will be remembered in the offseason as the team evaluates the personnel for next year.
"Our guys have kept fighting and we have a lot of stories in here which I know are going to stick with me in the offseason when we start making decisions for our core group of guys," Gibbs said. "I feel like we have those guys who we are going to be able to build around."
