The Redskins' offense was effective in the win against the Eagles and got wide receiver DeSean Jackson involved early and often against his former team.
The win over the Eagles at FedExField meant a lot to the Redskins. But defeating this division opponent meant just a little bit more to wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
Jackson spent his first six seasons with Philadelphia after being drafted by the team in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. For him, getting to play against the Eagles is a special opportunity to show off against the team that moved on from him in the spring of 2014. Since Jackson joined the Redskins, the team has gone 4-1 against his former squad.
"The past what three, four times we played them we got a win, so it's a little more special when you have you're ex-team that you're playing against," Jackson said. "We were able to get a huge win, divisional win and these type of games right here is what we need going on in the season and moving forward one week at a time. We got the Lions up, we can't over-peak, we can't look ahead. We just got to worry about one game at a time. That's the next game up."
But before heading onto Week 7's matchup with Detroit, let's take a look at Jackson's performance in the game against the Eagles.
Overall, the offense had a successful day, with quarterback Kirk Cousins completing 18 of 34 attempts for 263 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. While it certainly wasn't a perfect day for Cousins, his performance was effective.
"Kirk did a great job today," Jackson said. "Like I said, it's a long season. As long as he's able to continue to play, put the balls in the right people's hands, you can't really ask for too much more, so I'm definitely satisfied with his play."
Jackson was targeted nine times in the game and caught four of the passes, with his longest going for 35 yards. Of the five targets that didn't result in a completion, however, the biggest included a dropped touchdown. With the offense driving down the field at the end of the first half, Cousins threw the ball up to Jackson in the right side of the end zone from the Eagles 32 yard line, but the scoring opportunity ultimately slipped through Jackson's hands.
Check out the top images from the Washington Redskins' offense in their 2016 Week 6 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles Oct. 16, 2016, at FedExField.
Something that Jackson hopes the team can build off of, on the other hand, is how involved he was in the offense so early in the game. Four of his targets came on the first drive alone, showing the offenses' trust in how reliable and dangerous of a target Jackson remains.
"You'd rather have those touches early, so [you feel] like you're being a part of the game plan and being used." Jackson said. "Any time I get the ball in my hands, an opportunity to make big plays, that's what I'm here for. I felt like I was used pretty good. Hopefully I can continue to be used so I can help my team win."
Winning is something that the Redskins continue to do, despite playing in multiple close games that they ultimately have been able to pull out. Its a quality Jackson feels speaks to the players in this group.
"We're really not peaking too soon, taking care of what we got to take at that given time and it's four quarters, it's a long game," Jackson said. "We start out the past few games 14-0 and teams came back on us, but that just shows the character in us that we were able to still go out there and make plays and move the ball down the field and still put points on the board."
Jackson and the other receivers, including tight end Vernon Davis, were able to assist the offense Sunday in doing just that, while making up for the absence of tight end Jordan Reed, who was out with a concussion. Still, the sentiment that was widely expressed after the game was just how much better the offense has the potential to be.
"Six games, 4-2, great team on the other end, one of the top teams in the division as well too. I think we put it all together as one and we still got a lot of football left. These games right here are going to help us out later on in the season, so hopefully next week we'll get another one."