LANDOVER, Md. -- The last time he was on FedEx Field, Michael Vick put on an all-time great performance, throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns while adding another 80 yards and two touchdowns on the ground en route to a 59-point outburst. This time around, Vick only had one goal - to snap the team's four-game losing streak and pick up their second win of the season.
Mission accomplished.
The key for Vick and the Eagles was winning the turnover battle for the first time this season. Though Vick threw one interception on a tipped ball in the red zone (and Vince Young threw one of his own when replacing Vick for two plays), the Eagles defense produced four turnovers. But for the most part, the Eagles offense did a good job of avoiding the kind of crippling mistakes that had befallen them over the last four games.
"The turnovers really hindered us in the last couple of weeks," Vick said after the game. "I told the guys, let's focus in the moment on protecting the ball. Every guy made a conscious effort to do so. When you turn the ball over, you don't win games. When you protect the ball and take care of it, you usually win. The percentages are higher."
At one point in the first quarter, it looked briefly like the Eagles would suffer a debilitating turnover when center Jason Kelce snapped the ball over the head of Vick and running back LeSean McCoy. With the ball bouncing towards the end zone, Vick ran back, scooped it up and, in a heads-up play, threw the ball out of bounds. But a beat or two after Vick's release, the quarterback was hit in the head by Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo, which drew a roughing the passer penalty that turned the play into a positive 15-yards for the Eagles.
"It started out as a disaster," Vick said of the play. "I think the red made the ball because he knew I was trying to get the ball out of my hands and out of bounds. It was just a play where I'm trying to salvage the play. When you have Orakpo coming down your gun, you know you're about to take one and I just braced up for it and he hit me pretty good."
Playing behind a shuffled offensive line that featured Todd Herremans at left tackle (in place of the injured Jason Peters and King Dunlap) and Winston Justice at right tackle for the first time this season, Vick threw for 237 yards on 18-of-31 and a touchdown, adding 54 yards rushing. It was a gritty performance that succeeded in the task at hand - getting a win.
"It's always good to win," Vick said. "You go back and you look at all the games and we should be in a better position, I think we all know that. But hey, that's just the game."
Moving forward, the Eagles will enjoy their bye week before preparing for another important game against the Dallas Cowboys. Though they're 2-4, the Eagles are still very much alive in the race to finish atop the NFC East. At the very least, they're in position to control their own destiny in the second half of the season.
"We're going to enjoy this victory, enjoy the bye week and start the season all over again," Vick said.
