For two quarters, Washington was clearly the better team, but a second half lull allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to come back before Pierre Garcon played the role of hero down the stretch in a 23-20 win.
Eagles vs. Washington 2015 final score: Washington pulls out 23-20 win in odd game
After blowing a 13-0 halftime lead, Washington drove 90 yards in the final minutes of the game, culminating in a 4-yard touchdown reception for Pierre Garcon.
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After blowing a 13-0 halftime lead, Washington drove 90 yards in the final minutes of the game to set up a 4-yard touchdown reception by Garcon in traffic.
The catch gave Washington a 23-20 lead with 26 seconds remaining, and it proved to be the game-winner when the Eagles were unable to pull off another big play to end the game.
In the first 52 games of Sam Bradford's career, he threw just two touchdowns of 39 yards or more, but in the second half on Sunday, he doubled that total by connecting with Riley Cooper and Miles Austin for TDs of 62 and 39 yards, respectively. With a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek on top of that, Bradford finished with 269 yards passing and three touchdowns with no interceptions, despite completing just over half of his passes.
The 118.3 passer rating was the second highest mark of Bradford's career, but it didn't show the ineffectiveness he actually displayed. After struggling to get things going on offense through the first three weeks, the offense looked like more of the same despite actually finding a little running room for DeMarco Murray early and finally connecting for some big scores.
Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis missed his only field goal attempt of the day and an extra point, four points that could have proved extremely helpful, while Dustin Hopkins was a perfect 3-of-3 with an extra point for Washington.
Washington failed to keep its offensive momentum going into the second half, but Kirk Cousins avoided making big mistakes and the game remained close because of that. For only the third time in his career, Cousins finished a game without an interception, although each team turned the ball over once with fumbles.
Cousins was also responsible for the only touchdown of the first half for Washington, scoring on a 1-yard rush. But the touchdown and an efficient 30-of-45 passing performance didn’t lead to enough points to keep up with a few big strikes by the Eagles until the last drive allowed Washington to recapture the lead for good.
With the win, Washington improves to 2-2, which could be enough for a tie in first place in the NFC East if the Dallas Cowboys aren't able to earn a win against the New Orleans Saints in a Sunday night matchup. Philadelphia drops to 1-3 and the cellar of the division.
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