The Washington Redskins held the ball for more than 15-minutes longer than the Philadelphia Eagles, and even out-gained their opponent by over 150-yards. They still lost though. With the setback the last-place Redskins fell to 4-9 on the season, sliding to an equally as unimpressive 3-4 at home. Ladell Betts ran for 100-yards for the third-consecutive week and Antwan Randle El completed his first pass as a Redskin. But neither Betts nor Randle El could help that Washington’s defense couldn’t stop Philly in the game’s final minutes, and because of the defense’s inability to force a punt in the game’s final three-minutes, the Redskins walked off of the field losers.  

Washington gained six-more first downs than the Eagles did and used their punter on two fewer occasions. But the Redskins committed 11 penalties (nine more than the Eagles), and committed two turnovers that led to 14 Philadelphia points. A second-quarter pass by second-year quarterback Jason Campbell was intercepted by Michael Lewis and returned 84-yards for a touch down. Campbell, who was intercepted twice on the afternoon, was erratic and inaccurate during the game’s early-going but looked better as the afternoon progressed. 

“I felt good about the first-half at halftime, and I thought we were still going to come back and win,” said Campbell after the game. “There was a lot of football to play after that second pick, so you just have to keep playing.”  Campbell went on to complete 15-of-27 for 182-yards and a touchdown. Campbell’s best play came in the third-quarter when he dropped back and lobbed a ball over the shoulder and into the waiting arms of Antwan Randle El, who was at full-speed, for a 34-yard touchdown. He also scrambled for two first-downs en-route to rushing for a career-high 38-yards. His numbers were far from sterling, but the young passer’s second-half resilience was commendable. 

Make no mistake about it though, Campbell wasn’t the focal-point of Washington’s offense. On this day that distinction belonged to Betts, a career-backup who signed a five-year contract extension earlier this week. Betts rushed for a career-high 171-yards on 33-carries. The fomer Iowa Hawkeye, who eclipsed the 100-yard plateau in the first-half, has now run for 430-yards in the last three games. Despite the re-emergence of the team’s ground game though, the Redskins have struggled to turn their disappointing season around. Sunday’s loss marked the team’s second-straight defeat at home and second in their last three games, each of which was played in front of the home crowd at FedEx Field. 

With three games remaining and the playoffs now a non-issue, expect the Redskins to spend the better part of the next month evaluating Campbell and the rest of their youngsters. They won’t be going to the playoffs, but there is something to say about finishing strong. After all, these games aren’t going to play themselves.  “We’re going to find out what the guys in this locker room are made of,” said defensive end Reynaldo Wynn. “We’re not going to stop wanting it.”