Eagles Run All Over Redskins
The Philadelphia Eagles kicked off the Chip Kelly era with an impressive offensive performance against the Washington Redskins on Monday night as they accrued 443 total yards against their NFC East rivals at FedEx Field in a 33-27 victory.
The Eagles surrendered a touchdown on their first offensive drive when officials ruled that Michael Vick's pass was a backward throw, and upheld the fumble recovery by DeAngelo Hall, who ran the ball back for a 75-yard touchdown.
From there, Kelly's offense would take over. Philadelphia scored 33 straight points behind two touchdown passes from Vick, who also rushed for a three-yard touchdown with 1:02 remaining in the first half. Running back LeSean McCoy thrived in the new offense, rushing for 184 yards on 31 carries, to go along with a 34-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Vick completed 15 of his 25 passes for 203 yards, with DeSean Jackson as his main target. The 26-year-old wide out caught seven of the nine passes thrown to him for 104 yards and one touchdown.
"I think we did good for four quarters and we were still going strong," said Vick, after the game. "We got a little sloppy in the end, but I think there's a lot of things that we can work on. I feel good about where we are. Obviously, we got to continue to work and figure out what problems we had and try to correct them."
Kelly's offense often moved the ball up the field with the same ease as the Oregon Ducks. Kelly served as Oregon's play caller for six seasons, and the Ducks offense often ran up high scores with a fast-paced offense. The Eagles had their share of miscues in the 77 offensive plays, but looked rather comfortable for most stretches of the 60 minutes.
The Redskins were able to mount a comeback in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome the Eagles big lead. Washington scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, but their failed attempt to recover an onside kick with 1:14 remaining ended their hopes of an improbable come-from-behind victory.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III, who received a great deal of media attention in the offseason following his recovery from knee surgery, played to mixed results. The second-year star completed 30-of-49 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns, but also had two passes intercepted, and his pitch to Alfred Morris in the end zone was off the mark, causing a fumble that Morris was able to recover but resulted in a safety.
Morris led the Redskins in rushing with 12 carries for 45 yards. Griffin had five carries for 24 yards.
In Week Two, the Redskins travel to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, while the Eagles host the San Diego Chargers.
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