Down 20-16 with 6:05 left in the game, the Redskins' offense drove 90 yards against the Eagles and capitalized on a 4-yard touchdown to get the win.*
As Pierre Garçon celebrated with his teammates in the end zone, an outcry of jubilation – and a sense of relief – poured over the FedExField faithful on Sunday afternoon.
With 31 seconds remaining in the game, the Redskins capped off a 15-play, 90-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins to the veteran receiver, who returned from a painful knee injury just in time to make three huge catches down the stretch and help his team get the win.
But perhaps it was the first play of that drive, some 5 ½ minutes earlier, that let the Redskins' offense know that this afternoon – that this outcome – was going to be different than those of recent years.
That 16-yard run by Alfred Morris showed the Philadelphia Eagles' defense that the Redskins had no intentions of being one-dimensional as they tried to claw to a hard-fought victory over a divisional rival.
No – this time it's different.
"Coach Gruden challenged us last night to be resilient, and as we all know all these games come down, it's seems to be the last couple of minutes," Cousins said. "And you're going to have setbacks along the way – and we certainly had our fair share – but we kept challenging each other to respond and be resilient."
Check out these top photos from the Washington Redskins 2015 Week 4 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles Oct. 4, 2015, at FedExField.
Those aforementioned setbacks seemed to come in waves on Sunday for the Redskins, who committed 10 penalties for 110 yards, had trouble cashing in from the red zone, lost a fumble and couldn't take advantage of a 13-0 halftime lead.
Still, some timely defense – to the tone of five sacks – and a mix of quality play calls on offense kept Washington in the game and gave them hope of getting their record to an even 2-2.
"No question – we gave up a lead, had a lot of adversity in that game," Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said. "We can't control the penalties. We can't control what happens in the football game. We can control our effort and how long we sustain our effort."
For the Redskins, their effort on Sunday lasted a full 60 minutes. After notching the go-ahead score with 31 seconds remaining, the defense stepped up as the Eagles tried for a miracle, highlighted by sacks by Trent Murphy and Ryan Kerrigan, as well a heads-up play by Murphy to pluck the ball out of the air on Philadelphia's final attempt of the day.
"Fortunately the coaches had the foresight to prepare for that all week in practice," said Murphy, who was a menace in the backfield throughout Sunday's game. "You know, last play of the game, they don't have enough arm to throw a Hail Mary. They got to do some Hook and Ladder. Saw the wall being built up to my side. I knew the ball was coming back, so, just stayed home."
For the Redskins, the win was their first fourth-quarter comeback victory since Week 7 of last season, when the team marched down the field to earn a game-winning field goal at home against the Tennessee Titans.
But something about this win feels different – perhaps more satisfying for a team that came into the season having won seven combined games in its previous two seasons.
"It's definitely a big motivation to keep going," said Garçon, who finished his day with seven catches for 55 yards and that all-important final touchdown. "We're happy. We came through at the end and come from behind and … make the plays that we need to go 2-2. It's definitely a better look to be 2-2 instead of 1-3, especially in the division, too."
The Redskins don't have long to celebrate Sunday's victory, however. Staring them in the face is a matchup on the road against the Atlanta Falcons, who demolished the Houston Texans 48-21 on Sunday to move to 4-0 on the year.
With one of the more lethal offensive attacks in the league – led by quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones – the Redskins hope they're able to carry the momentum of a hard-fought win into Atlanta and open some eyes next week.
"We just want to win the game – that's all," said defensive lineman Chris Baker, who had a career-best two sacks against the Eagles. "Atlanta is rolling right now, so we're going to face a tough team that's on a four-game winning streak. We have to go out there and play winning football for four quarters and keep responding."
Keep responding. Keep fighting. That was the theme of a Redskins' win on Sunday.
"They're going to make some big plays," Baker said. "But we have to be able to line back up on the next play and make a bigger play for our defense or offense."
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