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McNabb, Westbrook lift Eagles past Redskins

Nov 12, 2007 - 12:00 AM LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) -- For at least one week, Donovan McNabb silenced his critics.

McNabb threw for four touchdowns and Brian Westbrook accounted for three scores as the Philadelphia Eagles rallied for a 33-25 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

After the Eagles endured a 38-17 beating at the hands of Dallas last Sunday night, the much-maligned McNabb took the brunt of the criticism from the Philadelphia media and fans who wanted coach Andy Reid to turn to second-round pick Kevin Kolb.

"I haven't had a bad week," McNabb said. "Controversy hasn't just hit us in a week. It's been all through the year."

McNabb looked like he would be in for some more harsh treatment after he lost a fumble at his own 23 with just over eight minutes remaining, leading to Shaun Suisham's 21-yard field goal that gave the Redskins a 25-20 lead with 4:15 remaining.

But it had to be considered a lost opportunity for the Redskins, who had a 2nd-and-goal at the Redskins 24.

McNabb, who also had a costly fumble last week, quickly made up for the miscue, getting plenty of help from Westbrook.

McNabb swung a screen pass to his right to the speedy Westbrook, who cut to the middle and raced 57 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a 26-25 lead with 3:16 remaining.

"I saw big Jon Runyan get out there and pulling hard and running down the field. I saw Shawn Andrews throwing a block. I saw Reggie Brown throw a block," Westbrook said. "Our guys did a great job on that play.

"We saw that they were blitzing early on. Donovan pointed that out. Unfortunately for them, we had the right play called at the right time. It was hard to stop that."

Earlier in the fourth quarter, McNabb hit Reggie Brown, who made an acrobatic catch for a 45-yard TD, pulling the Eagles within 22-20.

Overall, McNabb completed 20-of-28 passes for 251 yards. He also was more mobile out of the pocket, rushing for 37 yards on seven carries.

McNabb hurt his right shoulder on the final play of the first half after taking a hit from rookie safety LaRon Landry. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to continue.

"We didn't notice it until we came out at halftime," Reid said. "We checked on the first series, and he felt OK."

Left without a timeout due to poor clock management, the Redskins were unable to pick up a first down on their ensuing possession, with quarterback Jason Campbell losing a fumble on fourth down.

"We turned the ball over at crucial times," Washington coach Joe Gibbs said. "We played hard, but we made a lot of mistakes."

Westbrook then waltzed into the end zone from 10 yards giving the Eagles a 33-25 advantage with 2:18 remaining. After the game, he admitted he knew that Washington had allowed him to score intentionally.

"They allowed us to score. I wish I would have known that," Westbrook said. "I would have stopped at the one. As an offensive player, any time you have an opportunity to get into the end zone, you get into the end zone."

It was a huge afternoon for Westbrook, who rushed for 100 yards and had 83 more receiving. He also opened the scoring with a 4-yard TD reception off a shovel pass.

Philadelphia (4-5) won for the first time in four division games.

"We're in the position now that we need to win every game," Westbrook said. "We're going to continue to fight, we're going to continue to push."

With one more chance, the Redskins (5-4) were unable to advance past midfield, giving them a bitter defeat in a game they had dominated the entire second half.

"You get better or you get worse. We didn't get worse today. We just didn't close out the game," Redskins wide receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "We got to get going and get this thing turned around--string some wins together."

Through the first 3 1/2 quarters, the Redskins' offense had moved efficiently under Campbell to go with the running of Portis.

Campbell completed 23-of-34 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns.

"We shot ourselves in the foot," Campbell said. "They did a good job of holding us down there, but we still had two more opportunities to score, and we didn't come throught."

Two of Campbell's touchdowns went to veteran James Thrash in the first half. Campbell had not thrown a TD to a wide receiver in the first eight games.

Thrash's 12-yard TD reception with 4:40 left in the first half gave the Redskins a 12-7 lead. He had a 4-yard TD catch early in the period.

Thrash finished with five catches for 85 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injury to his left ankle.

Portis churned out the yards on the ground, rushing for 137 yards on 30 carries. But he was unable to reach the end zone.

After Suisham's 23-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the third quarter gave the Redskins a 15-7 lead, McNabb answered with an 8-yard connection to tight end L.J. Smith.

Campbell connected with veteran Keenan McCardell for a 6-yard score with 12:36 left in the fourth quarter to give Washington a 22-13 advantage. It was McCardell's first TD since 2005.

"It was definitely a game we should have won," Campbell said. "We need to figure out a way to punch that ball into the end zone. We need to learn how to finish."