Eagles Show Toughness in Physical Win Over Redskins
PHILADELPHIA -- Jordan Matthews and veteran Jeremy Maclin lifted the Philadelphia Eagles past the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Matthews caught two touchdown passes, Maclin had one, and the Eagles again stormed from behind to win, beating Jackson's Washington Redskins 37-34 on Sunday.
The nasty game was marred by a fourth-quarter brawl near the Washington sideline after Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was blindsided by defensive lineman Chris Baker during an apparent interception. Baker and Eagles left tackle Jason Peters were ejected -- and then the INT was overturned by video replay. That led to Maclin's 27-yard touchdown to break a 27-27 tie.
Jackson wasn't going to let Philadelphia forget him. The exiled receiver, cut by coach Chip Kelly last winter, caught an 81-yard touchdown pass. He added a Rockettes-style kick to his celebration as his former fans loudly booed.
But the Eagles (3-0), who rallied from 17 points down in their first two victories, came back from an early 17-7 deficit to drop Washington to 1-2.
Rookie Cody Parkey's third field goal, a 51-yarder with 5:55 remaining, proved to be the winning points when Washington scored a late TD.
Philadelphia's Chris Polk had a 102-yard kickoff return, the first for an Eagle at Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in 2003.
Washington's Kirk Cousins threw for 427 yards and three touchdowns in his first start replacing injured Robert Griffin III.
As they did in record-setting fashion in their first two victories, the Eagles fell into a hole.
Cousins, who came in last week to throw for two TDs when RG3 hurt his ankle, became the first Redskins quarterback with two TD passes in the first quarter since Mark Brunell in 2005. His 4-yard pass to Darrel Young made Washington the first opponent to score on an opening drive against Philadelphia in 15 games.
Kai Forbath added a 49-yard field goal to make it 17-7. But once again, the Eagles didn't flinch when down.
The Redskins couldn't handle Matthews, Philadelphia's second-round pick from Vanderbilt. He slipped into the back of the end zone off play-action for an 11-yard pass from Foles, who threw for 325 yards. Then Matthews took a perfect toss over two defenders for a 10-yard TD and the halftime lead.
The Redskins had the ball for just under 23 minutes in the first half, yet trailed 21-20. And Philly turned the tables by controlling the ball to get field goals of 38 and 33 yards by Parkey.
Then Jackson struck on a fly pattern, shaking off an attempted tackle by Cary Williams, turning around as he pranced into the end zone -- then making a kicking motion as if to remind the Eagles that they kicked him out of Philadelphia.
The Redskins had a chance to take the lead, but Forbath, who'd made 18 straight field goals, hit the right upright with a 33-yarder with 10:07 left.
On the next play, the officials ruled on the field that Breeland intercepted Foles -- leading to the brawl. But replays clearly showed the ball hit the ground.
And Philly was aided by another video review soon after when Maclin's lunging sideline catch was called incomplete, then reversed. Two plays later, Maclin was in the end zone.
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