Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 12, 2007; Page E01

Brian Westbrook’s 57-yard prance to the end zone late in the fourth quarter did not decide this football game — the plot was far too convoluted — but it was a rare virtuoso performance on an afternoon of blunders. Westbrook, like a cross between a ballet dancer and a sprinter, turned a simple screen pass into a backbreaking excursion, stunning players on both sidelines and putting the Philadelphia Eagles ahead for good.

Without it, perhaps Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs would not have been asked about coaching decisions, wasted timeouts, penalties and another blown lead after a 33-25 defeat at FedEx Field. The outcome rejuvenated an important rival — at 4-5 the Eagles are alive in the NFC — and stunted the Redskins (5-4) ahead of road tests at Dallas and Tampa. The Redskins committed 11 penalties — the defense extended drives with third-down infractions; the offense succumbed to procedural mistakes near the goal line — and for the 13th time since 2004 they lost a game in which they led at the half, most in the NFL.

We’ve got to learn how to put the dog away, point blank,” cornerback Fred Smoot said. “I felt like we were the better team, but they played better, and guess what happened? They won the game off our mistakes.”Gibbs said he remains baffled by the second-half letdowns — “I don’t think anyone has the answer to that,” he said — and fretful over mounting injuries. Wide receiver James Thrash’s superb effort was ended by a high ankle sprain and the Eagles posted 158 yards and four touchdowns after Sean Taylor, the anchor of a deep zone defense, sprained his knee late in the third quarter. Beyond that, the offense again failed to cap drives with touchdowns (settling for field goals from the 3 and 5; fumbling at the 29), to cloud quarterback Jason Campbell’s 16th start.

Westbrook, too, rose above the muck. The DeMatha graduate accounted for 183 combined yards and scored three touchdowns, reaching the end zone to open and close this game. Westbrook touched the ball seven times on the Eagles’ opening drive, for 47 yards, including a four-yard touchdown catch. Smoot aided that possession with an illegal contact penalty on third down, and though he claims receiver Kevin Curtis ran directly into him, Gregg Williams, assistant head coach-defense, has been infuriated by the recent rash of third-down penalties.

“Don’t put [the referee] in position to have to make good call or a bad call,” Williams said. “That’s our fault.”

The Redskins answered in the second quarter on Thrash’s third-down touchdown catch (it was Campbell’s first touchdown pass to a wide receiver since last December, a span of 44-plus quarters), but Shaun Suisham missed the extra point. The miss prompted Gibbs to try a two-point conversion after Campbell and Thrash hooked up for a 12-yard touchdown on Washington’s next drive (Thrash also caught two 31-yard passes on that drive — Washington’s first receptions of that length since Oct. 7).

Tags: football, moss, national football league, nfl, portis, redskins, Redskins Loose A Close One, washington redskins

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