PHILADELPHIA -- For all intents and purposes, the Eagles' season was on the line Monday night.
To get this season back on track and en route for the playoffs, the Eagles had to do something they hadn't done since their Super Bowl run at the start of the year -- win two games in a row.
With the Cowboys upsetting the Saints earlier in the slate of Week 13 games, the Eagles had little margin for error in their race for an NFC East title.
There was a nail, and a coffin. They were a hammer away from ending the season.
Instead, they're alive.
The Eagles beat the Redskins 28-13 on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field, and all of a sudden this team has reason for optimism.
Michael Perez | AP
From the get-go, something felt different about this game.
It got weird pretty quickly -- more on that in a moment -- but the Eagles (6-6) did things against the Redskins that they (mostly) hadn't done all season.
They scored on the first drive, powered by the running game. Previously, they had been shut out in 9 of 11 first quarters.
They (finally) figured out how to use Golden Tate, the first sign of life since he was acquired at the trade deadline.
The defense forced a turnover.
There was still a couple questionable playcalls from coach Doug Pederson -- namely a fourth-and-one decision at the one-yard-line where Pederson opted to run up the middle with Josh Adams -- but in the end, the Eagles won their second game in a row for the first time since the Super Bowl.
Next week, they travel to Dallas for a vital Week 14 road matchup with the Cowboys. The winner leads the NFC East.
No pressure.
Here are six random thoughts from the Eagles' important win over the Redskins on Monday night
1. Wentz
Carson Wentz's play against the Redskins was pretty much his 2018 season in a nutshell.
At times, he looked like the Wentz from 2017. On two separate occasions, he scrambled away from a pass rush and found Golden Tate for impressive completions, including a six-yard touchdown pass.
He went to Zach Ertz early and often, and it worked, even fitting a few passes into tight windows.
A 39-yard completion to Nelson Agholor was especially impressive.
He had his fifth 300-yard performance of the season. He had 306.
He also might've thrown his worst interception of the season, killing a drive where the Egles worked their way all the way up to the Redskins' five-yard line. He badly placed a ball on an attempt for Alshon Jeffery and Josh Norman picked it off. It was Wentz's sixth interception in five games. He had seven all of last season.
Ultimately, it didn't prove costly, and in the end Wentz looks to be back on the right track.
2. Sanchize Never Dies
As Mark Sanchez took the field for the Redskins in the second quarter on Monday night, fans in a nearby section gave him a standing ovation.
That was done ironically.
It only took Sanchez one play to show the Eagles what they're missing.
Dude can hand off the ball like it's nobody's business.
That's a joke, of course, but his first play was not -- Sanchez handed the ball off to ageless wonder Adrian Peterson, who scored on a 90-yard touchdown run.
Sanchez, who played for the Eagles from 2014-15, didn't attempt his first pass until the following drive, and it was classic Sanchez -- it plopped down onto the middle of the field, not near anyone in particular.
The Redskins signed Sanchez a couple weeks ago after Alex Smith was lost for the season, the presumption being that he'd sit behind Colt McCoy for the remainder of the season.
Instead, Washington's playoff hopes now rest on the shoulders of the Sanchize. McCoy fractured his right fibula and will miss the rest of the season.
AP
For what it's worth, Sanchez did about as well as could be expected, completing 9 of his first 13 passes for 82 yards as the Redskins ran a risk-free offense to keep Sanchez from making any mistakes. He eventually reverted back to form on a fourth quarter interception throw to Eagles linebacker Nathan Gerry.
Anyway, Monday marked the first time Sanchez completed a pass in an NFL game since Week 16 in 2016 ... against the Eagles ... at Lincoln Financial Field. Sanchez was with the Cowboys at the time.
Because it's Mark Sanchez, of course he couldn't even go a quarter without using his buttock region. This time it was a Butt Recovery instead of a sequel to his famous Butt Fumble.
3. Darren Sproles
For a while, there was some serious doubt as to whether Darren Sproles would actually play again for the Eagles in the likely final season of his career.
He started in Week 1, tore his hamstring, and didn't play again until Monday night after a couple of instances where he reinjured the hamstring in practice.
Sproles had planned to retire last year, but held off after breaking his arm and tearing his knee and only playing three games.
This was supposed to be his swan song.
It was depressing one at first.
If Monday night is any indication, it might have been worth the wait.
Ex-Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt to the Eagles? Don't count on it.
Sproles scored on an impressive 14-yard rushing touchdown -- helped by impressive down-the-field blocking from center Jason Kelce -- where he broke a couple tackles on his way into the end zone.
It was Sproles' first rushing touchdown since Dec. 22, 2016 and it gave the Eagles a 14-10 lead.
It seems the 35-year-old still has some juice left after all.
Sproles
4. Defense
There was cause for alarm after Peterson's remarkable 90-yard touchdown run. He showed impressive burst but poor tackling technique from cornerback Sidney Jones and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill made it look way easier for Peterson's trot down the field than it should have been.
To that point, McCoy had completed 5-of-5 passes for 50 yards -- a few of them on poor coverage from corner Rasul Douglas -- before Sanchez replaced him.
Then, the defense put on perhaps its best performance of the season, holding the Redskins to just two field goals the rest of the way. Peterson finished with 98 rushing yards.
Before his 90-yard score, the Redskins had gained 147 total yards. They gained just 88 after that, and even forced a turnover, on Gerry's interception in the fourth quarter. The Redskins had six total rushing yards in the second half.
Now, the defense could get back one or two of cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Avonte Maddox for the Cowboys game.
Progress.
Matt Rourke | AP
5. Golden Tate
After weeks of maddening explanation from Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh, the coaching staff finally figured out how to use Tate.
The gist: Get him the ball, watch him work.
Quickly, Tate and Wentz established that their chemistry is building on an impressive 19-yard pass that came about thanks to some improvisation from both Wentz, who scrambled, and Tate, who adjusted his route to get open for his quarterback.
Tate displayed his Yards After Catch ability that had received so much pre-trade hype, and even scored a touchdown.
Tate as a legitimate offensive weapon makes the Eagles offense scary, which is something it hadn't really been all season.
6. This time it's personnel ...
Some random observations from Monday night ...
- Defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan had back spasms and was declared out during the first half. Jernigan had offseason back surgery that cost him the first 11 weeks of the season before he finally returned against the Giants in Week 12 and played 19 snaps.
- Tight end Zach Ertz overtook Brian Westbrook as the Eagles' all-time single season receptions leader. Ertz had nine catches and is now at 93 for his career, ahead of Westbrook's 90, set in 2007.
- Center Jason Kelce was stellar, leading the way on Sproles' touchdown run and later guiding a couple long gains on the Eagles' early fourth-quarter scoring drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews.
- Josh Adams received another 20 carries and gained 85 yards. It was his second straight week with 20 carries, which is something nobody on the Eagles has done since 2016.
NJ Advance Media
WHERE TO REACH ME
Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ZackBlatt. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Ad Choices