[skinsfaninok]

This was the game Washington had to win, and people in the building knew it. Dallas (10-4) is long gone for the division title. The best, most realistic postseason chance was securing the No. 7 seed in the NFC. The most realistic way to do that was to beat Philly twice, then beat the Giants in the season finale to finish with nine wins.

Eight isn’t going to be enough; nine now requires running the table. And that now means going down to Jerry World on four days’ rest this Sunday and somehow cobbling enough bodies together to beat a team that just dominated you 10 days ago for most of the game.

And that also would mean fixing a defense that got mauled Tuesday by Philly’s offensive line and two-tight end personnel, blasting Washington for 238 (!!!) yards rushing, with Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard taking turns gashing the front seven. When they got tired, Jalen Hurts ran wild and free. Jonathan Allen, stalwart as always, was the only exception to most of the beatdown; he was everywhere, again.

David Aldridge