With Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills officially a thing of the past, the Washington Redskins set their focus on a pivotal NFC East showdown.*
With today's matchup against the Buffalo Bills in the rear-view mirror, the Washington Redskins turn their focus to a critical matchup within the division – and on short rest.
The Redskins on Saturday travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:25 p.m.
The game has major implications within the NFC East, as the Redskins, Eagles and New York Giants all entered today's action tied atop the division.
Washington is hoping to complete the season sweep of Philadelphia on Saturday, as the Redskins in Week 4 used a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Eagles 23-20 at FedExField.
In that matchup, Kirk Cousins and the Redskins' offense drove the ball 90 yards on their final drive, culminating in a four-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon with 26 seconds left. Washington had squandered a 13-0 halftime lead, and saw Philadelphia quarterback Sam Bradford throw three second-half touchdown passes, but took advantage of a missed extra point and field goal attempt by Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis to spark its comeback.
In that game, Cousins completed 31-of-46 passes for 290 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 91.8. He also had a rushing touchdown. The Redskins had 127 rushing yards on the afternoon, led by 62 from Alfred Morris and 53 from Chris Thompson.
Defensively, Will Compton led the way with seven tackles for the Redskins, while Chris Baker had two sacks. Dustin Hopkins made all three field goal and two extra point attempts on the afternoon.
For the Eagles, Bradford completed 15-of-28 passes for 270 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Redskins limited them to just 87 yards on the ground, led by DeMarco Murray's eight carries for 36 yards. Malcolm Jenkins and Bennie Logan had a game-best nine tackles on the day, while Darren Sproles had a 45-yard punt return.
Since that Week 4 matchup, the Eagles have battled some inconsistencies. The loss to the Redskins sparked a two-game win streak against the New Orleans Saints and Giants, but then the team lost 27-16 to the undefeated Carolina Panthers before defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 33-27.
The next three weeks would result in losses, however, before the team reeled off two straight wins, including a 35-28 victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
The Eagles entered today's home matchup against the Arizona Cardinals ranked 16th in the league in total offense at 351.8 yards per game. Their 115.7 yards rushing per game ranks 12th, while their 236.1 yards passing ranks 21st.
Their defense has been a different story, however, as Philadelphia allows 385.6 yards per game, which ranks 27th in the NFL. The team allows 258.8 yards passing (24th) and 126.8 yards rushing (28th) per game.
Bradford has had an up-and-down season for the Eagles this year, as, entering today, he has completed 251-of-397 passes (63.2 percent) for 2,664 yards with 14 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He has been sacked 20 times.
Murray is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry on the year, with 174 attempts for 603 yards with four touchdowns. Ryan Mathews had 87 rushes for 465 yards and five touchdowns, while Sproles has 69 rushes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Matthews leads the Eagles receivers with 64 receptions for 680 yards and four touchdowns.
Jenkins leads the Philadelphia defense with 87 total tackles, while he also has two interceptions and three forced fumbles on the year. Walter Thurmond III has 69 tackles and a team-best three interceptions, while Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham each have a team-best 6.5 sacks on the year entering today.
Game notes:Here's some additional facts and figures from Saturday's Redskins-Eagles matchup at Lincoln Financial Field, courtesy of Redskins Public Relations:
- Including postseason play, the Redskins are 82-73-5 all-time against the Eagles. The Redskins' 82 wins against the Eagles are their most against any opponent.
- The Redskins are 40-38-2 against the Eagles all-time in Philadelphia including a victory in the NFC Wild Card Round on Jan. 5, 1991.
- The Redskins are 2-2 all-time against the Eagles in Saturday contests, including a 27-24 victory at FedExField on Saturday, Dec. 20 last season. The Redskins are 24-24 all-time in games played against any opponent on Saturday.
- A win would give the Redskins wins in consecutive Saturday games for the first time since the 2004-05 seasons.
- The Redskins passed for 427 yards at Philadelphia in Week 3 last season, the franchise's third highest team passing total in a road game in team history.
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