Kirk Cousins stars for Washington Redskins against Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday 27 December 2015 11:11, UK
Washington Redskins secured the NFC East division title and an NFL playoff berth with a 38-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kirk Cousins was the star man with four touchdowns as the Redskins improved to 8-7 with their third victory in a row and are back in the post-season for the first time since 2012.
The Eagles fell to 6-9, missing the playoffs for the second time in three years under coach Chip Kelly.
This triumph for Washington also eliminated the New York Giants, who are 6-8 heading into Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Despite the weakness of the division, the Redskins looked like unlikely candidates for the crown after going 4-12 in 2014 and languishing at 5-7 this year.
But they have rallied late in the season behind strong play from Cousins, who completed 31 of 46 passes for 365 yards without an interception on a rainy night in Philadelphia.
It was far from a perfect night for Cousins though. With six seconds left in the half and the Redskins in scoring position on the Eagles' seven-yard line, he took a knee while in field goal range.
That left the Redskins' lead 16-10 at halftime but Cousins bounced back from the error by throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chris Thompson to stretch the lead to 23-10 in the third quarter.
Eagles running back DeMarco Murray rushed for a four-yard TD to trim the deficit to 23-17 at the end of the third.
But Murray's later fumble was collected by Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who ran 17 yards for touchdown to make it 30-17.
Cousins made it four with a fine pass to wide receiver Pierre Garcon, and a two-point conversion gave Washington a 38-17 lead.
Eagles fans were heading for the exits when Philadelphia picked up a late TD.
Live NFL
