Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Philadelphia 37 at Washington 7 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Philadelphia Eagles: Donovan McNabb was clearly the star of the game from the beginning. His passing was brilliant, completing 26 of 38 passes for 292 yards, no interceptions and two touchdowns, including a 39 yarder to James Thrash. Plus another rushing TD. The Redskins defense was also was unable to contain him when he chose to run, as shown by his 8 yard TD run. One concern might be his shoulder or arm. McNabb appeared to be favoring his arm and clutching it after throws. The Eagles wouldn't comment on anything during the game, saying he was fine. RB Duce Staley got the most carries, but Dorsey Levens got the most yards, thanks to a 47 yard touchdown run. Brian Westbrook only had 2 carries but looked good on a 10 yard run. Coach Andy Reid commented before the game that it looks to all start with Staley but that each guy would get touches. Obviously, this was effective for them. In the "Take It For What It's Worth" department, announcer John Madden said that Coach Andy Reid told him that he felt Freeman was their best WR. Washington Redskins: The Fun n' Gun was shut down by the Eagles defense. The Redskins offense scored no touchdowns (Redskins only touchdown was scored on a punt return by Jacquez Green), and the quarterbacks struggled to get the ball downfield. Shane Matthews sat out the second half with a shoulder injury. Even when he was playing, he wasn't nearly as effective as last week. In the one half he played, he only threw for 62 yards and completed less than half of his passes. Danny Wuerffel didn't have much time to show us what he can do. He looked very nervous under pressure, getting sacked or making bad throws. He finished 6 for 9 with 57 yards and one interception. Matthews is planned to start next week, but don't discount rookie Patrick Ramsey seeing action maybe sooner rather than later. Said Coach Spurrier, "We may practice Patrick up a little bit. We'll see how close he is to being ready." Stephen Davis had less than half the carries he did in week 1. The Redskins started to pass more when they fell behind in the second quarter. He was still the target of many dump offs and screens, and finished as the Redskins second leading receiver, but he was only used to run the ball 12 times. The lack of carries wasn't an offensive scheme problem, it was a result of being down 14-0 at the end of the 1st quarter and down 23-7 at the half. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Philadelphia Eagles: QB: Donovan McNabb was the star of the show. He took off to run at just the perfect times, and made it seem like he could outrun almost anybody on the Redskins defense. Not to mention his 292 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. (2 passing, 1 rushing) He spread the ball around to 10 different receivers and looked totally efficient and poised in doing so. One note for McNabb owners is that Coach Andy Reid repeatedly made comments that Reid took the blame for the week 1 loss to Tennessee. Said he allowed the Titans back in the game by going conservative with his play calling. Clearly, he made an effort not to let that happen again which was evident here and is good news for McNabb owners down the road. RB: Coach Andy Reid made comments before the game along the lines that it starts with Staley but that all 3 RBs would get their touches. This proved true in the game (Staley 15 carries, Levens-6 and Westbrook-2) and was obviously effective. NFL coaches are not usually in the habit of changing what's working for them so this could be something we see for a while. Not unlike the situation in Minnesota, the biggest worry for the running backs is the QB vulturing the goalline TDs. Duce Staley was the top RB as expected. He caught 7 passes for 57 yards. Staley ran 15 times for 55 yards. The Redskins defense had trouble stopping him. While he still doesn't look totally like the pre injury Staley, he's plenty quick enough. Dorsey Levens had just 6 rushes but gained 65 yards. Most of them on one long 47 yard TD in the 4th quarter. He was not a factor in the passing game just catching 1 pass for negative yards. Brian Westbrook had 2 carries for 12 yards and caught 1 pass for 20 yards. He looked solid in the limited time he was in. WR: James Thrash was McNabb's top target. He caught 6 passes for 107 yards, including a 39 yard TD reception. Todd Pinkston and Antonio Freeman put up nearly identical numbers, each having 3 catches. Pinkston had 36 yards, Freeman had 35. It appeared that McNabb would often look at Thrash first, then to Staley, and then to Pinkston or Freeman. In an interesting comment that didn't seem to gather much attention, announcer John Madden said that Coach Andy Reid told him that he felt Freeman was their best WR. TE: Chad Lewis- Was very quiet only catching one pass for 14 yards. He was thrown to 3 times. Jeff Thomason caught 2 passes for 18 yards including a 2 yard TD. This clearly makes Chad Lewis owners very nervous. Pass Defense: Shut down Gardner and the Fun n' gun. Held the Redskins to only 119 yards passing. Clearly, having CB Troy Vincent back helps this unit. Rush Defense: Should thank the offense for scoring early, because that made Davis a non-factor. The Redskins abandoned the run in the second quarter when they fell behind. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Washington Redskins: QB: Shane Matthews' performance looked far from the one he put up last week. He threw for only 62 yards before injuring his shoulder at the end of the first half. He never appeared to be in synch and was clearly troubled by the pressure and coverage of the Eagle defense. Danny Wuerffel played the second half for the Redskins and didn't put up much better numbers, throwing for only 57 yards. He looked very hesitant and indecisive in the pocket. Remember, those two things are the primary reason he was benched in the preseason in favor of Matthews. Matthews is planned to start next week, but don't discount rookie Patrick Ramsey seeing action maybe sooner rather than later. Said Coach Spurrier, "We may practice Patrick up a little bit. We'll see how close he is to being ready." RB: Stephen Davis was still the target of dump off passes from both quarterbacks, but wasn't the target on many running plays. The Redskins only used him to run 12 times. They abandoned the run when they fell behind in the second quarter. He had a nice run when he was given the ball on a 4th and inches. That call was significant for the fact that for all the Fun and Gun hype, Coach Steve Spurrier realizes that Stephen Davis is by far his best player. The few carries by Davis had very little to do with anything other than the fact his team fell behind early and was forced to play catch-up. WR: Rod Gardner was double teamed by the Eagles secondary most of the game. Danny Wuerffel tried to force a long pass to him, but it was under thrown and picked off. He is still the Redskin's primary threat through the air. His value is closely tied to the health of Shane Matthews though. Derrius Thompson and Kevin Lockett were very quiet. They each had one catch. Against the tough Eagle Defense, it appeared that the QBs immediately looked for Stephen Davis if Gardner was covered. TE: Zeron Flemister was not used in the passing game. He was taken out sometimes in favor of a third receiver. Pass Defense: The pass defense was unable to stop McNabb. They also were unable to stop Duce Staley on the screen pass. Actually, a pretty surprising performance from Coach Marvin Lewis and his defense. Corner back Fred Smoot might be advised to stop talking as much and start covering. Rush Defense: Did an okay job handling Philly's RBs, but could not contain McNabb on the ground.