Week 14 Game Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 21, Washington Redskins 19

What you need to know

Philadelphia Eagles

QB Jeff Garcia threw two touchdowns and led Philadelphia to a second consecutive victory to keep the Eagles’ playoff chances alive. Garcia threw just 23 times, but he completed 15 to seven different receivers and accounted for both offensive touchdowns.

TE L.J. Smith connected with Garcia for the first touchdown of the game, getting open at the front of the end zone and grabbing a ten yard score. WR Donte Stallworth grabbed the second touchdown on his first of three catches at the side of the end zone in the second quarter for Garcia’s second touchdown pass.

WR Reggie Brown was the deep target, as the first long toss on the opening drive fell incomplete but he gathered in a 60 yard completion in the second quarter, tying his season long.

RB Brian Westbrook continues to be the workhorse, getting 20 touches including 17 carries. He had 126 total yards, including 38 receiving and 88 more on the ground. He helped the Eagles hold on for the win as he ran five times in the final period and picked up a key first down late in the game.

Rookie LB Omar Gaither had his first career interception, the first of two picks by Philadelphia. DB Michael Lewis grabbed a deflected pass and ran the interception back 84 yards for the second Eagles touchdown of the game.

RB Reno Mahe made a blunder in the first half when he decided to field a bouncing punt and fumbled it near midfield. Fortunately for Philadelphia the defense forced the Redskins to punt the ball once again just four plays later.

Washington Redskins

RB Ladell Betts ran for a career high in rushing yards for the second week in a row. He celebrated his new contract with the Redskins by gaining 171 yards rushing including 118 in the first half. Inexplicably Washington took Betts out of the game in a goal line situation in the fourth quarter, giving the lone carry to RB T.J. Duckett who gained zero yards.

QB Jason Campbell had an average day with a swarming Philadelphia defense throwing multiple looks and pressure on him all game. He failed to complete any pass longer than 20 yards as he had to settle for short and underneath routes all game. His first interception came when he stared down WR Santana Moss for too long, but the second came on a deflection and was not entirely Campbell’s fault.

WR Antwaan Randle El was the most targeted Redskin with nine, including a 34 yard catch for a touchdown in the third quarter. He was also involved on the longest play of the game where he threw to WR Brandon Lloyd for a 40 yard gain.

WR Santana Moss was limited in his production, catching just two balls for 34 yards. TE Chris Cooley fared better, picking up 46 yards on four receptions.

What you ought to know

QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 15 - 23 - 164 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 7 - 0

Garcia threw the ball well in Week 14, connecting with seven different receivers in Week 14. While he only threw for 164 yards, he did toss two touchdowns and kept the chains moving against the Redskins. He threw the ball well on the run, hitting WR Donte’ Stallworth on the side of the end zone when he rolled to his right and bought extra time. He also threw a strike to TE LJ Smith for the other offensive score for the Eagles. More importantly, Garcia answered critics about his arm strength as he threw deep a few times, connecting with WR Reggie Brown for 60 yards in the first half and RB Brian Westbrook for 22 more in the third quarter. He nearly had another touchdown of 59 yards as the ball just went past Westbrook’s outstretched arms on a pass that went over 30 yards downfield.

Garcia also got rid of the ball quickly, avoiding any sacks or costly mistakes for the game. He threw zero interceptions and helped the Eagles get back over .500 and continue their hopes of getting into the postseason.

RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 17 - 88 - 0, Rec: 3 - 38 - 0 (4 targets)

Westbrook was the workhorse once again for the Eagles in Week 14, touching the ball 20 times for a combined 126 yards. He had 17 carries, including three or more in every quarter against Washington. Three of his carries went for over 10 yards, including a key first down pickup in the final period as the Eagles clung to a slim two point lead to win the game.

Westbrook had four targets, one in each quarter, converting three of them into catches. He had a short gain of five yards in the first quarter then added 11 more in the second quarter, picking up a first down. He added a 22 yard catch in the third period, and later ran a deep route of over 30 yards that could have been a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Westbrook had beaten the coverage and was open, but the pass was just a foot too long and fell incomplete rather than going for a 59 yard touchdown catch.

RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0

Buckhalter came in for one carry in the first quarter, picking up four yards on first down. It was his only touch of the game.

RB Thomas Tapeh, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Tapeh caught just one short pass for four yards in the fourth quarter, but it was good for a first down with less than four minutes left in the game and helped the Eagles to run out the clock. The catch was Tapeh’s only touch of the game.

WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 3 - 31 - 1 (5 targets)

Stallworth had only one target in the first quarter on a pass that was thrown away by QB Jeff Garcia. He converted his second chance for a score in the second quarter, catching a three yard pass on the side of the end zone with Garcia rolling out to his right to buy time. Stallworth added a 12 yard catch for a first down on the final and meaningless play right before halftime.

Stallworth had two targets in the second half, both coming in the final period. The first could be considered a drop as an intermediate pass slipped through his fingers. He grabbed the second and final target for 16 yards and a key first down late in the game, setting the Eagles up with a fresh set of downs with just three minutes left in the game.

WR Reggie Brown, Rec: 3 - 73 - 0 (6 targets)

Brown was targeted deep on the Eagles’ first play of Week 14 as he was thrown the ball deep, but the play fooled no one. Brown was double covered and had no chance to make the catch. He later broke free in the second quarter, tying his season long of 60 yards with a deep reception down the middle of the field. He added a short eight yard catch before the half on his fourth target.

Brown had just two more targets for the game, both coming in the final period. He dropped a 10 yard slant on third and short, costing the Eagles the ball as they tried to hold on to the lead. He converted a short pass into a five yard reception on his final play. With six targets, Brown was the most targeted Eagle for Week 14.

WR Greg Lewis, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets)

Lewis had one catch for seven yards on the opening possession of the game then disappeared for the next 59 minutes.

TE L.J. Smith, Rec: 3 - 10 - 1 (4 targets)

Smith caught a ten yard pass in the first quarter for a touchdown on his first target of the game. He broke open in the middle of the field in the red zone, catching the pass in the middle of the field on first and goal. He had three more targets the rest of the way, all coming in the third quarter. He lost four yards on a busted screen play, then added four yards to cancel out the loss on his final target. He was in the area of a ball thrown away by QB Jeff Garcia on his third target of the game.

TE Matt Schobel, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets)

Schobel was targeted on the first third down of the game for Philadelphia and he came up short, gaining just one yard. He had one other target in the third quarter but the ball was nearly intercepted by LB Marcus Washington, and by all rights it should have been an interception.

PK David Akers 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points

Akers converted all three of his extra point attempts, but was not given a shot at two very long (53, 60) attempts including one at the end of the first half.

PHI Rush Defense

RB Ladell Betts ran for a career high 171 yards rushing and seven first downs, but the Eagles held inside the red zone when it mattered most late in the game. Fortunately for Philadelphia, RB T.J. Duckett was given the goal line carry and picked up no yardage. Betts was held to just 15 yards in the final period on six attempts as Philadelphia held on for the victory.

PHI Pass Defense

The Eagles sent different looks and blitzes at rookie QB Jason Campbell, whom they held to under 200 yards passing and intercepted twice. LB Omar Gaither had his first career interception, and DB Michael Lewis picked off a second quarter deflected pass and returned it for an 84 yard touchdown. The Eagles had just two sacks but they did apply consistent pressure on Campbell.

QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 15 - 27 - 182 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 4 - 38 - 0

Campbell had an average game, completing just over half of his passes, but he was under a good amount of pressure from the Eagles’ defense all day. He completed no passes of over 20 yards for the game as he was forced to throw short and underneath routes by Philadelphia. Two of his passes were intercepted by the Eagles, including a leaping catch by LB Omar Gaither on a pass intended for WR Santana Moss. Campbell’s second interception came on a ball meant for TE Chris Cooley, but it was batted up in the air and grabbed by DB Michael Lewis and returned 84 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Campbell contributed on four scrambles, including a 15 yard rush for a first and goal for Washington in the fourth quarter. He had 38 yards rushing and suffered just one sack as he got rid of the ball more often than not when he was under pressure.

RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 33 - 171 - 0, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (3 targets)

Betts had another career high game in rushing, the second consecutive week that he accomplished that feat. He gained yardage in large chunks, rushing three times for 10 or more yards in the first quarter. He added two longer carries (17 and 12 yards, respectively) before the half to rack up 19 carries and 118 yards at the half way mark. Betts started fast in the second half, rushing for 14 and 11 yards and two more first downs on his first two carries of the third quarter, but his production dried up later in the game. Betts finished out his rushing by carrying six times in the fourth but managing just 15 yards. More importantly, he was removed from the game as the Redskins moved the ball all the way to the Eagles’ three yard line in favor of the bigger RB T.J. Duckett. This proved to be a mistake as Duckett had just one rush for zero yards and Washington had to settle for the field goal.

Betts also added two short catches for 14 total yards. His third target was an attempted screen that was broken up by the Eagles before he could make the catch.

RB T.J. Duckett, Rush: 3 - 1 - 0

Duckett had four carries, interspersed throughout the game. He did gain 10 yards on a second quarter rush, but the play was called back on a penalty. The Redskins opted to pull out RB Ladell Betts in the fourth quarter on a goal to go situation for Duckett, which proved to be a questionable decision. Duckett gained no yards on his only carry from the Eagles’ three yard line, and the Redskins failed to punch it in for a touchdown.

RB Mike Sellers, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (3 targets)

Sellers caught a three yard pass in the second quarter, which proved to be his only reception of Week 14. He had two more passes come in his general area in the third quarter, but both were just throwaways by a hurried QB Jason Campbell as neither was very catchable for Sellers.

WR Antwaan Randle El, Pass: 1 - 1 - 40 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rec: 6 - 85 - 1 (9 targets)

Randle El was the most targeted Redskin in Week 14, as he had nine passes thrown in his direction. He converted six into receptions, gaining the most receiving yardage against Philadelphia. Five of the six went for first downs, including a 19 yarder in the first quarter and another for 15 more in the third. His final catch came in the third period which went for a 34 yard touchdown, his longest reception of the game. Two of his three incomplete targets were well beyond his reach, while the third (and final) target was defended by the Eagles.

While his last target fell incomplete, Randle El found another way to contribute in the fourth quarter. He lined up at tailback and took a pitch from QB Jason Campbell and then threw a nice deep strike to WR Brandon Lloyd for a 40 yard completion.

WR Santana Moss, Rec: 2 - 34 - 0 (5 targets)

Moss started well with an 18 catch for a first down on his first chance of the game. He was targeted across the middle later in first quarter, but the pass was intercepted by LB Omar Gaither. He converted another target for 16 more yards and a first down prior to the half, but his fourth target before intermission was batted away by the defense. Moss had just one second half target, coming in the third quarter, on a deep attempt of more that 40 yards. The pass sailed well out of bounds, affording Moss no chance to make a play.

WR Brandon Lloyd, Rec: 1 - 40 - 0 (1 targets)

Lloyd caught one pass on a trick play. He ran a deep go route and caught a long toss from WR Antwaan Randle El for 40 yards and a first down in Eagles’ territory in the fourth quarter. It was Lloyd’s only target for the game.

TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 4 - 46 - 0 (7 targets)

Cooley had two catches for just 13 total yards in the first half, as two other targets fell incomplete. He was targeted all four times on short passes, including a target on a 15 yard down and out in the first quarter and a short one over the middle that was deflected and intercepted by DB Michael Lewis who returned it for a Philadelphia touchdown. Cooley had to leave the game once just before the half due to a brief injury, but he returned to the game after halftime.

Cooley caught his longest catch of 20 yards in the third quarter, picking up a first down on his only target of the third period. He had two more targets in the final quarter, where he picked up 13 yards and his second first down on the first pass. The final target came in the red zone, but the pass was thrown well over his head and out the back of the end zone on a throw away by QB Jason Campbell.

TE Brian Kozlowski (1 targets)

Kozlowski officially had one pass thrown in his direction, coming in the first quarter. The pass, however, was well over his head and through the back of the end zone, so Kozlowski had no chance to make any sort of play to catch the ball.

PK Shaun Suisham 4 - 4 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 13 points

Suisham converted four field goals, one in each quarter, to go along with his lone extra point of the game. His field goals were from 31, 45, 32, and 35 yards, respectively.

WAS Rush Defense

RB Brian Westbrook had over four yards per carry, gaining 88 yards on just 17 carries. The Eagles only ran the ball 19 times (not counting three kneel downs by QB Jeff Garcia) but still managed to get 102 yards. The Eagles were able to pick up a key first down late in the game as Washington could not stop them and get the offense one last chance to win the game.

WAS Pass Defense

Washington failed to force any turnovers as they had little pressure on QB Jeff Garcia. They had zero sacks and gave up two touchdowns through the air in the first half as the Redskins were forced to cover the Eagles for too long downfield. They also gave up the deep ball, as Philadelphia had two completions of over 20 yards, including a 60 yard toss to WR Reggie Brown.