The Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles met at FedEx Field for their first NFC East clash of the season.
The two big storylines of the off-season involved these teams, as Robert Griffin III returned from knee surgery while new Eagles coach Chip Kelly brought his fast-paced offense to the NFL.
It was Kelly's side who came out victorious as quarterback Michael Vick and running back LeSean McCoy ran riot, following early turnovers from the Redskins.
Check out how all the action unfolded in our commentary below.
Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the NFC East clash between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles.
One of the leading storylines in the off-season was the health of Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III after he sustained a horrific knee injury in his side's playoff defeat to the Seattle Seahawks last season. He tore his MCL and ACL and underwent surgery, and as a result he missed the majority of his side's pre-season. However, he will start tonight.
RG3 was voted as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year as he produced some electrifying plays last season. He threw for 20 touchdowns and ran for seven more, while turning over the ball 17 times. His return is a massive boost for Mike Shanahan's side.
Along with RG3, the Redskins have outstanding second-year back Alfred Morris in their offense. Between those two players, it's enough to give most defensive coordinators a severe headache.
The Redskins will hope their defense, especially their secondary, improves as last year they were ranked 32nd in yards conceded. That's last between you and me. A good secondary sometimes requires a good pass rush and that will be boosted by the return from injury of outside linebacker Brian Orakpo. He and Ryan Kerrigan should form one of the most fearsome duos in the league from a pass rush perspective.
It was an off-season of change for the Eagles, as they let Andy Reid go after 14 years with the club and replaced him with Chip Kelly. The 49-year-old had been head coach of college side the Oregon Ducks and renowned throughout the US for his fast-paced offense. It will be interesting to see how he develops and uses that system in the NFL.
Despite the change in head coach, one thing that won't change for the Eagles this season is the quarterback as Michael Vick has been named the start yet again this year. Vick had a down year, as he had terrible problems with ball security and turnovers. However, he and Kelly reportedly get on very well and this may bring the best out of him and return him to the form of the 2010 season, where he was an MVP candidate.
One person who might be happy for the change in coaching staff is running back LeSean McCoy. The 25-year-old was the fourth leading rusher in the 2011 season but struggled last season with injuries and a lack of playing time under Reid. This new offense could be what he needs to regain his form.
The Eagles have also upgraded their defense adding outside linebacker Connor Barwin in free agency from the Houston Texans and Isaac Sopoaga from the San Francisco 49ers.
A huge cheer from the home fans in FedEx Field as RG3 makes his way onto the field. He looks in decent shape as he runs through his teammates.
The Redskins held the advantage over the Eagles last season as they beat them in both matches they played, in 31-6 and 27-20 victories.
RG3 was on fire in the first of those games on this very field as he threw for four touchdowns and completed 14 of his 15 passes in his side's comfortable win.
His opposite number this evening, Vick, missed both of his side's clashes with the Redskins last season due to injury. What can he do today?
The Eagles win the coin toss and elect to receive the ball. Let's see this infamous offense then!
Kai Fortbath's kick is out of the endzone and the Eagles will start on the 20.
The pace is quick already! Vick finds Riley Cooper on first down for six yards and then goes to Brent Celek on play-action on second for 28 more to drive them into Redskins territory.
This is rapid! Vick finds DeSean Jackson for another big gain setting up another first. The next series they got stopped on third short of first down, but they go for it on fourth down and pick up the distance as McCoy runs through the middle.
McCoy picks up another first, with a powerful run as he makes two Redskins players miss and drives along the right-hand side and he gets knocked out of bounds just before the endzone.
TOUCHDOWN REDSKINS!
The Redskins take the lead as the get a defensive touchdown, as Vick's pass is batted down by Kerrigan and DeAngleo Hall picks up the ball and runs it back for the score. The play is under review; if it was a backwards pass by Vick, the Redskins will take the lead.
Replays are inconclusive but it looks as though it was going forward, so we could be coming back and it would be second down for the Eagles on the Redskins nine.
TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED!
Referee Ron Winter confirms the score and Forbath knocks over the extra point and the Redskins lead.
Philadelphia start on the 20 and Vick is back into his rhythm and finds Jackson on a big gain for 26 yards to move them back into Redskins territory.
Two big runs for first downs as McCoy picks up the first with a bruising run through Orakpo, while Bryce Brown gets the second with another run as he jukes past London Fletcher. Eagles move to the 32.
The drive comes to an end as Vick can't find Zach Ertz with a short pass after doing well to dodge the Redskins pass rush. However, he missed a wide open Cooper in the endzone. Kelly challenges the call on the field, after Ertz dropped the pass. He may have had control for long enough to secure a first down.
FIELD GOAL EAGLES!
Ertz had indeed dropped the ball so Kelly lost his challenge, but they were in field goal range and Alex Henry got them on the board as he nailed a 48-yarder.
Here comes RG3, who will start at the 20.
FUMBLE!
The Eagles force a turnover as Trent Cole knocks the ball out of Morris's hands and Mychal Kendricks gathers it on the Washington 25. Drama already at FedEx Field.
TOUCHDOWN EAGLES!
The Eagles take the lead as Vick fools the Redskins defense on a play-action pass, bringing them forward, Jackson gets in behind and the quarterback hits him in the endzone for a 25-yard strike. What a start!!
RG3 and co are back out and begin at the 20 again.
INTERCEPTION EAGLES!
A bad throw from RG3 as he lifts one right down the middle of the field looking for Santana Moss, but Brandon Boykin is there to jump in front of the receiver to intercept the pass on the Washington 48.
McCoy breaks another big run as he picks up yet another first down for Chip Kelly's side to the Washington 32, as he picks up 16 yards.
A stop by the Redskins defense, as a pass interference penalty and a sack by Perry Riley stop Vick's offense this time around and forces them to punt the ball away. Donnie Jones's punt is good and pins the home side on their own five-yard line.
SAFETY EAGLES!
Oh dear! It's not going well for the Redskins as RG3 throws a pitch to Morris and it's not good and the running back can't hold it and he has to scramble to gather. The Eagles defense are quick to react and jump on him to earn the two points.
After a punt away from the Redskins the Eagles begin on their 34. Vick picks up a first down with his feet after escaping the blitz from the hosts, who are really bringing the heat now.
Vick fires to Ertz, who finally gets his first catch as an NFL player to pick up the first down, as he snags the pass for 11 yards.
Drive over as the Redskins bring the heat and nearly get to Vick on third down and his pass to Cooper is almost picked off by Hall but falls incomplete. Jones's punt goes into the endzone and RG3 will begin on the 20.
The Redskins finally have their first, first down of the season as Morris powers down the left behind a block of Trent Williams to pick up 15-yards.
END OF FIRST QUARTER: Washington Redskins 7-12 Philadelphia Eagles
The Redskins drive stalls as Logan Paulsen is penalised for a hold, leaving his side with 20 yards to get, which they can't do as Roy Helu Jr drops a pass from RG3 on third and nine.
Vick does well to find Jackson on a short pass to pick up a first down, on third and three. Jackson was under pressure from Hall but the pass was perfect and the receiver made an excellent catch.
Vick goes to Jackson again and picks up another 12 yards. The Eagles are running a no huddle offense, but with great speed. Quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have used this in the past, but the Eagles are going at an electric pace.
SACK!! Kerrigan comes up big for the Redskins as he shoots through the gap and brings down Vick for a 13-yard loss to kill the drive on third and six. Nice play by the linebacker!
RG3 does well backed up on his own five, as he fools the Eagles with play-action and finds Joshua Morgan for 13 yards and picks up a first down down the right sideline.
Another drive ends for RG3's offense, he tries two deep throws looking for Pierre Garcon but on the first he overthrows him and on the second underthrows under pressure from a blitz led by Eagles safety Patrick Chung.
Vick does well on third down as the Redskins bring the heat again but he finds Jackson, who jukes Hall and goes to outside before the corner catches up to him and knocks him out of bounds and grabs his neck afterwards. The referee awards a 15-yard penalty along with the gain for Hall's indiscretion.
TOUCHDOWN EAGLES!!
The Eagles extend their lead as Vick fires a beauty of throw down the seam for Celek, who takes a hit from Baccari Rambo in his stride and walks into the endzone for the score. Henry adds the extra point and the Eagles are cruising.
The Redskins are really struggling on offense as RG3 takes a sack from Cary Williams on a cornerback blitz and can't make up the yardage on third down on a run and they are forced to punt yet again.
McCoy is really ramping it up now for the Eagles, as he runs three times for big yardage and helps bring up two first downs for the Eagles. He drives them right to the Washington 14, within striking distance of the endzone.
Two minute warning is here and the Eagles are poised on the Redskins' eight looking for another score as Brown continues McCoy's good work running the ball.
McCoy comes back into the game drives hard down the right to pick up the two yards needed for a first down. Eagles first and goal on the Washington four.
TOUCHDOWN EAGLES!!!
The Eagles extend their lead as Vick runs in himself from four-yards out after faking the hand-off to McCoy and he powers over Rambo to go over the line. Henry adds the extra point and the Eagles are in command here.
RG3 gets his side rolling with a 16-yard strike to Moss, who quickly kills the clock by going out of bounds. They could get a field goal here.
Ruh Roh!! RG3 takes a hit from Kendricks and looks in pain as he gets up. Not only is he hurting he also gets a penalty for intentional grounding. Redskins third and 13 from their 26.
Not a great end to the half as the Redskins commit another penalty as Leonard Hankerson commits a false start, which results in a 10-second run-off, which ends the half.
HALF-TIME: Washington Redskins 7-26 Philadelphia Eagles
Well that was a peculiar half of football. The Eagles have been excellent and this fast-paced offense is exactly how it was billed. The Redskins have had no answer for it bar, the hand of Ryan Kerrigan.
Michael Vick has looked in the zone throwing the ball, while LeSean McCoy looks like the player of the 2011 season with some excellent runs between the tackles and outside. DeSean Jackson has been great for Vick, as he's always been open. Even their defense has been good, though they haven't had to do much.
The less said about the Redskins half the better. RG3 has not looked himself, rusty won't be an understatement after he missed all of his side's pre-season. His accuracy has been poor and his play diagnosis just hasn't been there. Running back Alfred Morris has had an equally poor half, as he fumbled the ball twice. His first led to a Philadelphia TD and the other led to a safety, it would be safe to say he's played better.
There's a lot of work to be done for Mike Shanahan and his players at the break as bar Kerrigan, they've been woeful.
The Redskins will begin on the 20 after Henry's kick is fielded in the endzone.
INTERCEPTION EAGLES!!
Williams picks off a cross field pass from RG3 with a wonderful diving catch for pass intended for Garcon. That was a bad throw by RG3 there, he should not have thrown across his body and his pass lacked any power.
TOUCHDOWN EAGLES!!
What a play by McCoy! He collects the hand-off from Vick and immediately jukes a tackle by leaping over the outstretched hand of Rambo. He gets behind a block from Cooper and runs the 34 yards into the endzone. Simply brilliant from the 25-year-old.
The Redskins pick up a first down as RG3 finally uses his feet to juke the rush of Trent Cole and he runs eight yards to advance to the 35.
Another first down for the Redskins as this time RG3 uses his arm, first he avoids the rush from the Eagles and finds Morris with a short pass to pick up the 10 yards.
The Redskins are rolling now, as Helu powers through the Eagles defensive line to pick up a first down. After RG3 had found Garcon for eight-yards beforehand.
Two more first down pickups as Morris runs over left guard for nine yards, then RG3 fires a short pass to Moss, who runs through a tackle to get 12 more yards and set up his side on the Eagles 13.
FIELD GOAL NO GOOD!! Forbath misses from 40-yards after the Redskins drive stalls after a sack from DeMeco Ryans and Moss drops a short pass from RG3.
More hard running from McCoy brings up yet another first down for the Eagles, he now has over 150 yards on the ground this evening. A great performance and he isn't done yet.
The Eagles drive comes to an end after multiple penalties as Lane Johnson is caught holding, while Celek repeats that feat a play later and backs Kelly's side all the way back to their 19.
Better from RG3 and the Redskins as Morris picks up yardage on the ground and the quarterback finds Fred Davis for a strike to move them into the Eagles' side of the field.
More good stuff as the Redskins move to the Philadelphia five as RG3 hits Garcon on a screen and he gets blockers out in front of him for a 17-yard completion.
TOUCHDOWN REDSKINS!!
The Redskins finally get some points on offense as Morris runs it from the five, after cutting back on his blocks and juking Nate Allen and Chung to get to the endzone. Forbath adds the extra point and it's a 19-point game here.
END OF THIRD QUARTER: Washington Redskins 14-33 Philadelphia Eagles
McCoy does extremely well to pick up a first as he cuts one way and is then forced to go back another and jumps over Rambo to pick up the yard needed.
FUMBLE!!!
The Redskins create a turnover as Josh Wilson knocks the ball out of the hands of Jason Avant and Riley recovers the ball and runs it all the way back to the Eagles 29-yard line. Game on?
This might get interesting as RG3 finds Garcon open for a first down and he takes the ball to the Eagles 10. A touchdown here could make things very interesting. A side note; the Redskins line did very well there to pick up a blitz from the visitors.
TOUCHDOWN REDSKINS!!!
RG3 fires a 10-yard strike to Hankerson on a slant route, who then beats his man and strides into the endzone for six points. The Redskins go for two, but their conversion fails.
Vick responds for the Eagles with a huge 36-yard run, which will help them milk the clock. He faked to McCoy and then beat Rambo with a move before he was brought down on the Washington 37 by Hall.
The Eagles drive stalls as Jason Kelce is guilty of a hold and backs his team up for a third and 15, Vick can't complete a pass to Jackson on third down and Jones is forced to punt. He does well pinning the Redskins on their own six.
RG3 does well to find a first down as fools the Eagles with a play-action fake and finds an open Morgan, who beats a couple of tackles before he eventually goes down on the 24.
Two more first downs as RG3 finds Moss for eight yards and then finds Helu, who spins his man to pick up the 10 yards and advance his side to the 50.
A big completion on third down as RG3 finds Moss on an out route and he does extremely well on the sideline to beat Fletcher and get both feet down in bounds.
The Eagles defense makes a big stop to deny the Redskins a first down on fourth and 15, as Williams breaks up a pass intended for Hankerson, which would have got the home side the yardage.
Now, it's the turn of the Eagles offense to make a crucial play on third down, as a delay of game penalty threatened to end the drive, but Vick found Avant on the right sideline and he got just enough to get the yardage.
The Redskins defense holds Vick and his offense with a good stop to get RG3 the ball back. Whatever he does now, he had to do it quickly.
RG3 goes back to Morgan, who picks up 13 yards to advance the Redskins to their own 24.
RG3 keeps the Redskins drive alive on fourth down as he fires a completion to Jordan Reed, despite the attentions of Jordan Poyer. Washington are on their own 35.
TOUCHDOWN REDSKINS!!
The Redskins are still alive as RG3 loops strike over Chung into the hands of Hankerson for a 24-yard touchdown. They need an onside kick here to get back into this.
PHILADELPHIA GATHER ONSIDE KICK!!!
The Eagles have gathered the onside kick, all they need to do now is take a knee and this one is over.
FULL-TIME: Washington Redskins 27-33 Philadelphia Eagles
Thanks for joining our coverage of the game. Please feel free top hope over to our second commentary of the night, where the San Diego Chargers take on the Houston Texans. If not we'll see you back again on Friday morning. Till then, goodbye.
Written by
Simon Sinclair
Simon Sinclair
