LANDOVER, Md. -- The passing numbers in the first half of Sunday's game weren't his best. Sam Bradford completed half of his 10 attempts, but he picked up just 75 yards through the air. Just as it looked like the offense was spinning its wheels and headed for another down game, the Eagles opened up the offense and starting taking deep shots.
Bradford was on the money, time and time again, as his three touchdown passes helped the Eagles climb out of a first-half deficit to take a 20-16 before eventually falling 23-20 to the Redskins thanks to a last-minute touchdown on Sunday at FedEx Field. He hit on deep passes of 45 yards to Nelson Agholor, 62 yards to Riley Cooper and 39 yards to Miles Austin. The latter two finished in the end zone.
The vertical strikes were a welcomed addition to an Eagles offense that had not been able to hit on many big plays through the first three games.
"We thought we had it early, but we just weren't protecting it well," head coach Chip Kelly said after the game. "When we had the opportunity to protect it, then we had the opportunity to hit it. We had one to Nelson early, then we had one to Coop and Miles. … We ended up protecting it better in the second half."
Both Bradford and Cooper echoed the thoughts from their head coach, explaining why the big vertical passing plays where there on Sunday.
"You guys act like we don't want to throw the ball down the field. I think we saw something that we could take advantage of this week, and we called a couple of plays trying to hit those posts." Bradford said. "Any time that you can get big plays like that, they're kind of game-changers and momentum-changers. I think the one to Coop in the third quarter really got us going. It brought some energy to that sideline."
"We've done nothing different, been doing the same thing for four weeks, but the defense allowed that to happen," Cooper said. "It's nothing that we're doing special. We're just playing our game, but we did nothing different."
Cooper also noted that one of the main reasons why the Eagles' receivers were able to sneak by was because of Jordan Matthews drawing extra attention in the slot.
"When he's running across the middle of the field, there are multiple eyes on Jordan." Cooper said. "That lets you get behind on those deep balls. The safeties are kind of shifting over and covering those crossing routes that Jordan runs so well."
The deep passes to Cooper and Austin both came in the second half as the Eagles looked to erase a 13-0 halftime deficit. Agholor's big one-handed grab came in the first half, and according to the wide receiver, it's a credit to the hard work he and the rest of the offense are putting in.
"The ball got thrown deep and we made plays. I wish we would have made more," Agholor said. "We're doing well every day in practice. I thought we practiced really hard and we gutted it out with a great week of practice, and we came out here and we tried to execute the things that we practiced.
"We just keep getting one step closer, but at the end of the day, what's going to define us is how we respond again. You do more on the practice field than you do in the game. The whole world sees the game, but we're developing as football players every day. Soon, things are going to go the right way."
The extreme weather couldn't keep the Eagles from traveling to Washington for their Week 4 match up. View the full gallery here...
RB DeMarco Murray takes off
PHIvsWAS
Waiting to make their attack
WR Nelson Agholor makes the one-handed grab
S Malcolm Jenkins celebrates the stop
Waiting for the verdict
The pass is in the air
QB Sam Bradford takes the field
Eagles Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Lurie and Vice President of Player Personnel Ed Marynowitz watch pregame
Heading to the field
Kickers Caleb Sturgis and Cody Parkey talk during pregame
RB DeMarco Murray prepares for the game
Catching up before the game
Ready to run
An intense practice
Ready to take the field!
Eagles on three!
Ready for the game to start
Pregame focus
Stretching out for #PHIvsWAS
RB Kenjon Barner catches a pass during pregame
The #SproleTrain has arrived
LB Connor Barwin gets the pass
Preparations...
C Jason Kelce
RB Darren Sproles goes through his routine
DB Walter Thurmond and WR Nelson Agholor jog on the field
T Dennis Kelly goes for the block during pregame warm-ups
WR Miles Austin flies high for the ball
Suit up
FlyEaglesFly!
RB Darren Sproles and QB Sam Bradford take the field
Ready to rock!
LB Mychal Kendricks is in position
Ready to make his move
LB Najee Goode looks on
DT Bennie Logan takes in the moment
WR Josh Huff shoes his #EaglesTBC support
LB Jordan Hicks during the National Anthem
The Eagles defense makes the stop
QB Sam Bradford looks down the field
Always prepared
EaglesNation is well-represented at the game!
High-fives all around
Ready to support their Eagles!
LB Connor Barwin goes for the ball
RB DeMarco Murray protects on the run
T Jason Peters protects along the outside
QB Sam Bradford looks for a receiver
P Donnie Jones kicks it away
RB DeMarco Murray tries to shake off the tackle
Walking the sidelines after the play
A true Eagles fan!
QB Sam Bradford scrambles
K Caleb Sturgis makes his debut as an Eagle
Watching it soar
DE Fletcher Cox sticks with the tackle
Hitting the open field
WR Nelson Agholor pulls the ball in
Blocking for RB DeMarco Murray
DT Bennie Logan sets up
Head Coach Chip Kelly
LB Jordan Hicks is ready for the snap
Examining the coverage
LB Connor Barwin eyes up the offense
On the run!
RB Darren Sproles escapes for the open field
QB Sam Bradford has time to make the throw
T Dennis Kelly runs off
DB Eric Rowe and LB DeMeco Ryans make the tackle
Protecting the ball
WR Nelson Agholor takes off
Now that's control!
RB Darren Sproles makes his move
Sproles in stride
As the National Anthem is sung...
It's a celebration!
WR Jordan Matthews runs with the ball
TE Brent Celek celebrates the touchdown!
DE Fletcher Cox marks up
The Eagles defense stops the offense
WR Jordan Matthews has no problem making the catch
WR Jordan Matthews hits traffic
WR Riley Cooper has the touchdown!
WR Riley Cooper celebrates with LB Connor Barwin
QB Sam Bradford joins in on the celebration
TE Brent Celek makes the catch!
Celek scores!
CB Byron Maxwell doesn't let him get away
T Jason Peters braces for impact
DE Fletcher Cox and LB DeMeco Ryans power through the tackle
DE Fletcher Cox tracks down the ball
The kick is good!
K Caleb Sturgis gets ready for the kick
The handoff to RB Ryan Mathews
LB Brandon Graham goes for the tackle
RB Darren Sproles slips through the tackles
Pressure on QB Sam Bradford
Going for it
A pile of Eagles make the tackle
WR Jordan Matthews prepares to take off
WR Miles Austin finds the endzone
The defense attacks from all angles
C Jason Kelce congratulates WR Miles Austin
The offense protects QB Sam Bradford
Incoming!
It's good!
All smiles for the wide receivers
Everyone is pumped up for WR Miles Austin
A beautiful throw from QB Sam Bradford and an amazing catch from WR Miles Austin
DE Vinny Curry tires to block the pass
The defense working together
Before the throw...
Stopped in his tracks
TE Trey Burton and LB Bryan Braman are fired up
RB Darren Sproles keeps running
RB Ryan Mathews runs through traffic
RB Ryan Mathews finds the opening
WR Miles Austin protects the ball
