PHILADELPHIA — It took a while, and the Eagles certainly made things more difficult than they should have been against the COVID-19-depleted Washington Football Team, which started a quarterback plucked off New England's practice squad only last Friday.
But the Eagles eventually got the job done after falling behind by 10 points early. They turned to their dominating rushing attack led by Miles Sanders' career-high 131 yards, and got a solid performance from Jalen Hurts in his return from an ankle injury to beat Washington 27-17 on Tuesday night.
The game was delayed for two days because of a COVID-19 outbreak that left Washington with 23 players on the COVID list as of last Friday. That included starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke and backup Kyle Allen.
So Washington was left with Garrett Gilbert, who had thrown just 44 passes since he was drafted in 2014.
But the Eagles couldn't get out of their own way early.
Dallas Goedert dropped a pass that turned into an interception that Washington eventually converted into a touchdown. Then Hurts fumbled the ball away on the Eagles' second possession, eventually leading to a WFT field goal for a 10-0 deficit with 2:47 left in the first quarter.
It was a stunning beginning for an Eagles team that desperately needed a win to stay in contention for a playoff spot. By winning, the Eagles moved level with New Orleans and Minnesota at 7-7. For now, the Vikings sit in the seventh and final playoff spot due to tiebreakers with the Eagles claiming eighth due to tiebreakers over the Saints.
Washington (6-8) fell a game behind the pack with only three games remaining.
The Eagles eventually got their bearings, getting a field goal with 8:07 left in the second quarter, then Hurts' 1-yard TD run with 1:29 left in the half.
The Eagles kept running. They finished with 238 yards on the ground, just short of their season high of 242. It was their seventh straight game with at least 175 yards. It's their longest streak with at least 175 yards since at least 1949.
But the Eagles were also adept passing the ball. Hurts completed 20 of 26 passes for 296 yards. Goedert finished with a career-high 135 yards receiving, his second straight game with a career high.
In all, the Eagles had 519 yards of offense.
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Still, it was a slog.
The Eagles took their first lead of the game with 12:26 left in the third quarter. Sanders opened the drive with runs of 8 and 37 yards. Then Goedert's 20-yard reception got the Eagles down to the 1-yard line.
Hurts' second rushing TD of the game made it 17-10. They added a Jake Elliott field goal for a 20-10 lead.
Even then, the Eagles couldn't put Washington away as Gilbert's 29-yard pass to John Bates got WFT to the Eagles' 1. Washington scored on the next play to make it 20-17 early in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles finally put the game away on the next drive. Hurts' 34-yard pass to Jalen Reagor was followed by a 19-yard TD pass to Greg Ward.
Just like that, the Eagles had a 10-point lead with 7:46 left.
This time, Gilbert couldn't bring Washington back. The sixth-round pick of the Rams in 2014 finished 20-of-31 for 194 yards.
Career-highs for Sanders, Goedert
Sanders came up 2 yards short against the Jets for his career-high rushing mark, finishing with 120 yards that game before leaving in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.
Sanders got the mark Tuesday, however, on a 9-yard run early in the third quarter. That gave him 123 yards on 16 carries. On the Eagles' previous drive to start the second half, Sanders had a 37-yard run.
Sanders, who finished with 131 yards, wasn't the only one with a career high. Goedert, for the second straight game, set his career high. Goedert followed Sanders' 37-yard run with a 20-yard reception down to Washington's 1 yard line.
That catch gave him 118 yards receiving, beating his previous high of 105 yards set on Dec. 5 against the Jets. He finished with 135 yards.
Hurts throws a weird INT, then fumbles
It was not a great start for Hurts as he threw an interception that wasn't his fault on the first possession. He then fumbled the ball away on the second possession, which was his fault.
It seemed like the Eagles had an easy first down as Hurts took a few steps to his right and threw short to a wide open Goedert near the sideline on third-and-1, with plenty of room to run.
Goedert dropped the pass, which was disappointing enough. But Landon Collins picked up the ball and ran it into the end zone. As it turned out, the ball hit off Goedert's foot and caromed into Collins' arms.
The whistle had blown, so Collins didn't get a pick-six. But WFT scored eventually.
On the next drive, Hurts was trying to move around the pocket when Montez Sweat forced a fumble that Collins recovered and returned 19 yards to near midfield. Washington got a field goal out of that drive.
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
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