Posted on 01/01/2006 5:07:39 PM PST by MJY1288
Portis carries Redskins into playoffs
| NFL.com wire reports
PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 1, 2006) -- Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins are back in the playoffs.
Clinton Portis ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Redskins to a hard-fought 31-20 victory over the woeful Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Washington (10-6) clinched the NFL's final playoff spot and its first postseason berth since 1999 with its fifth straight win. The victory also eliminated Dallas from contention.
The Redskins play Tampa Bay (11-5) in an NFC wild-card game next Saturday in their first playoff game since losing 14-13 to the Buccaneers in a second-round matchup six years ago.
Mike McMahon threw two touchdown passes to Reggie Brown as Philadelphia (6-10) completed its first losing season since '99 after reaching the Super Bowl last February.
McMahon, who struggled in his six starts for the injured Donovan McNabb, made a crucial mistake in the fourth quarter. His poorly thrown pass was tipped and intercepted by linebacker Lemar Marshall, putting the ball at the Eagles 22.
On the next play, Portis eluded a tackle in the backfield, completely spun around, cut to the left and sprinted down the sideline into the end zone to give the Redskins a 24-20 lead.
The Eagles drove to the Redskins 38 on the ensuing drive, but McMahon fumbled and Joe Salave'a fell on it. Koy Detmer replaced McMahon on the next series, but didn't fare any better.
Sean Taylor sealed the victory by returning a fumble 39 yards for a score after Phillip Daniels knocked the ball away from Detmer.
Washington had just one winning season under brash owner Dan Snyder, whose spending sprees on big names like Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith and Steve Spurrier proved futile.
But it took just two seasons for Gibbs to get the Redskins back to the winning ways they enjoyed when he was the coach in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles during his first stint in Washington from 1981-92. His first season back after a 12-year retirement was a flop, with the Redskins going 6-10 last year. However, Gibbs made the necessary adjustments to turn it around.
For the depleted Eagles, it was a fitting end to a miserable season. With McNabb and several other key starters sidelined by injuries and Terrell Owens banished from the team, Philadelphia was undermanned and overmatched.
Only 10 players who started in the Eagles' 24-21 loss to New England in the Super Bowl were on the field against the Redskins. Still, the Eagles made it difficult for Washington.
The Redskins tied it at 17 on Portis' 2-yard run on the first drive of the third quarter. A 54-yard catch by Santana Moss to the Eagles 6 set up the score.
But the Eagles answered with a 35-yard field goal by David Akers that made it 20-17. The lead held up until McMahon threw another costly pick, his eighth interception this season.
McMahon threw a 33-yard TD pass to Brown to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead in the first quarter. The two hooked up on an 8-yard scoring pass to make it 17-7 in the second quarter. An illegal motion penalty wiped out a TD catch by Brown and the Eagles faced a third-and-21 after McMahon tripped for a 10-yard loss. But a pass interference penalty on Shawn Springs gave the Eagles a first down at the Redskins 11, setting up Brown's second score.
John Hall kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 17-10 before halftime.
Washington went three-and-out on its first two possessions, but got a lucky break when Dexter Wynn fumbled a punt that was recovered by Mike Sellers at the Eagles 37.
Five plays later, Mark Brunell tossed a 4-yard pass to Sellers, giving the Redskins a 7-3 lead.
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead when Akers' 49-yard field goal hit the crossbar and went over.
Portis broke Stephen Davis' franchise rushing record of 1,432 yards set in 2001, and Moss topped Bobby Mitchell's 42-year-old receiving mark of 1,436 yards. |
|
WTG Redskins and Joe Gibbs
Houston wins cause Houston losses
Go Tampa!!!!! It's going to be a short week. You should thank Andy Reid for pulling McMahon, because I doubt the league will inquire why he did it.
PO'd Dallas fans need not reply.LOL
I wish your team luck, but I think Redskins will win by more than ten points
Boy, this game was a nail biter. Almost as good as the Redskins victory was the Cowboys elimination.
Hail to the Redskins!
Congrats to Deadskins. Danny Boy's money finally paid off for him. :)
I haven't watch the Redskins very much in the past few years, but since Joe Gibbs has come back, I've been watching them and I like what I see. Their game against Dallas was the b est I have ever seen from them in years, last week against the Giants was also a very good performance
I despise Danny Boy, but I think Joe Gibbs made it clear that Danny Boy answers to him if he wants to keep him as the head coach
Well, I was always under the impression that Gibbs was a caretaker coach to turn the team over to Greg Williams, once Gibbs sort of righted the coarse, but I have heard that Williams' name was being brought up for the Head coaching job at Kansas City.
Yes, Williams will get a contract as a head coach, but it won't be with the Redskins. Gibbs will be here for 3 more years is my guess
Hail to the Skins!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.