Winning Ugly

The Redskins controlled the ball and the clock. Ran at will. Completed more passes for more yards than the Eagles. Yet the Birds managed to win on Brian Westbrook's legs, Jeff Garcia's arm, Brian Dawkins' red-zone stop and enough Washington mistakes to warrant a subcommittee probe.

That leaves the Birds with a winning record (7 and 6), and still alive in the hunt for a playoffs spot. The best line of the day (hat tip, Iggles blog) goes to mprinz on the Wingheads board, who wrote:

did you ever notice how some teams use directional kicks to keep the ball away from a dangerous return man? They intentionally kick AT Mahe.

The amount of green in the stands at the Redskins' Fed-Ex Field was visible from as far away as Japan, wrote Micc's Rants and Raves, who watched the game online. So was the lameness of surprise plays, which prompted Micc to add:

NOTE TO ANDY REID: your timing is WAY OFF on the trick plays, STOP IT....quit getting cute when the situation calls for pounding the ball and just running normal plays to regain momentum.

I'm guessing Sean Portnoy isn't planning on a plane to Miami this Feb. 4. He wrote at For The Birds:

I couldn't help watching the final three quarters without thinking that it's far more likely that the Eagles could lose their next three games than win them, and that winning even two out of three would be a minor miracle. After all, this was supposed to be the easy game on the schedule for the final month of the season, and the Birds barely escaped with a win. I can't imagine them winning consecutive weeks on the road against the Giants and the Cowboys playing like they did in the second half today. Oh, I'll still be watching and rooting for them, but I'll also be waiting for the other shoe to drop. And believe me, it's going to drop.

AOL Fan House: It was horribly ugly at times. The defense looked really bad against a less than mediocre Washington squad. Eagles receivers continued to drop balls. The Eagles are 7-6 and have made the final games in December meaningful. After Donovan McNabb went down, the best Eagles fans could hope for was meaningful games in December. Eagles fans will have more to worry about on Christmas day than what Santa left under their Christmas tree -- Eagles/TO round 2 will still have meaning.

Here's the take-away for the Iggles blog:

Whipsaws between veteran savvy and rookie mistakes. Possesses an explosive offense that can't convert third-down and short. Relies on a defense capable of winning or losing every game it plays. And is desperately searching for help in stopping the run, but can't find a #!%#$ place on the field for this guy. Make peace with those facts, enjoy the ride, and let's see where this takes us.

Yep, it was ugly.  Again, right down to the wire.  Only this time, the Eagles had the ball.

I wonder if this team can win while it is so easy to run the ball against them.  Better teams, who they will presumably see in the playoffs, will be able to exploit that.

One game at at time, I guess.

Considering the Eagles season. If they can get to the Dallas game with true meaning left in their season. Then let the pieces fall as they be.