by Brandyn Campbell
(Image via the Philadelphia Eagles)
The ending of Sunday’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins, the final home game of an awful season for the Birds, was a good analogy for the frustration of the entire year.
Nick Foles, trying to orchestrate a game-tying drive, found new tight end Evan Moore near the goal line only for Moore to drop the pass with 11 seconds left in the game. For what would be the final play, Foles threw an incompletion that was ruled an illegal forward pass, thereby ending the game.
And so it went, with the Redskins winning 27-20 and on the cusp of winning the NFC East. Which left the Eagles to sink even further into meaninglessness, falling to 4-11.
If the Eagles were trying to put on a good show for Andy Reid’s final home game or attempting to play the spoiler, they failed at both tasks. But sadly, while we may have hoped for a different outcome, we didn’t really expect it.
There were some high points, certainly. Foles’ 27-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin in the first quarter was a beauty. And Dion Lewis notched the second touchdown of his career with a run into the endzone in the fourth. Brandon Graham was fierce, leading the defense with 6 tackles and showing that his 2012 “I’m not a bust” campaign will be a success. And Shady contributed his talents to the running and passing game, accruing 77 yards from 9 passes and getting 45 yards on the ground from 13 carries.
One of the highlights from the game only served to point out how bad this team has been this season. Colt Anderson got an interception, the first time the Eagles have done so since Week 5. That’s just pathetic.
Not surprisingly, there was a whole lot of bad. Philadelphia converted on just 5 of 15 3rd downs. The Redskins’ horrible defense did a number on Foles and the offensive line, sacking Nick five times. And once again, as was the case when the Eagles and Redskins met up in Week 11, RG3, returning from an injury and visibly limping early in the game, put in another strong performance, going 16/24 for 198 yards for 2 touchdowns and 1 pick.
Foles’ numbers for the day were 32-of-48 for 345 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. He sustained an injury to his throwing hand but neither he nor Reid pointed to that as the reason the team couldn’t get it done this time – as has been the case so many times this season.
The final test for Philadelphia comes next week when they play the Giants at 1 pm at the Meadowlands. This painful chapter of Eagles history will soon draw to a close, with a report this morning from ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio on Mike and Mike saying that Reid will be fired on December 31, a day after the team’s final game.
We’ll see. But it would be fitting to ring in 2013 Reid-free to show that we are truly entering a new era.
The end is almost near. I can’t remember ever wanting to see the end of the football season come to a conclusion but this season warrants that exception. And then will be an offseason of a lot of uncertainty and change. But it’s time.
And, in case you’re wondering, if the draft were held today the Eagles would have the fourth overall pick.
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Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
The third college head coach that the Philadelphia Eagles have interviewed in their search for a head coach, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, has decided to stay with his current institution rather than make a leap at the NFL. In an effort to create a sense that the search is still very much on track, the team released a statement about this fact on Saturday evening.
