Washington Football Team: Three takeaways from playoff-clinching win

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 03: Quarterback Jalen Hurts #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after throwing an incomplete pass on fourth and goal in the third quarter of a game against the Washington Football Team at Lincoln Financial Field on January 03, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

No. 1 – The Eagles made this one easy

At the end of the day, a win is a win, no matter how ugly the game. That’s especially the case when the win earns the Washington Football Team the NFC East division crown and a trip to the playoffs.

But because Washington is now a playoff team, it feels like it’s important to note that the Washington Football Team received all the help it could from the Eagles. For a long time, this game felt like it was being passed back and forth each drive.

In the end, Washington won. But that only came after the Eagles benched Jalen Hurts, who’d scored both of their touchdowns on the ground, for the less-mobile Nate Sudfeld. It only came after the Eagles chose to go for it on fourth-and-goal, down six. And it only came after Sudfeld turned the ball over twice on his first four plays.

I don’t want to take away from Washington’s win, because they should be celebrating right now. They withstood a lot of adversity to reach the NFC playoffs. But at the same time, for self-evaluation purposes, it’s important to understand that Washington was way closer to losing that game than they should have been. It gives them a nice blueprint to follow in the 2021 offseason.

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