WASHINGTON -- The NFC East title could hinge on whether the Philadelphia Eagles or Dallas Cowboys slip up against the Washington Redskins.
The Eagles (9-5) go first with a visit to Washington today. Then the first-place Cowboys (10-4) head to the nation's capital a week later for their season finale.
Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker over Dallas, but that is moot if the Cowboys win out. The Eagles have lost two in a row and could end up with 11 victories and missing the playoffs, even though their record would be at least three games better than the winner of NFC South.
"If we win 11 games and it's not good enough to get in, shame on us because we didn't win the right games," Philadelphia Coach Chip Kelly said. "That's the bottom line. That's what this whole deal is all about, and we know it going in."
Quarterback Mark Sanchez knows what it's like to be hurt, and what it's like to have people questioning his competence. Maybe Robert Griffin III could use him as a role model.
Sanchez has had a revival of sorts in Philadelphia after four challenging years with the New York Jets. He's kept the Eagles afloat as the starting quarterback while Nick Foles recovers from a broken collarbone.
"Win, lose or draw, I am in a great opportunity and I can't ever forget that, how fun this is," Sanchez said. "Usually when I am feeling like that, I am playing pretty well."
That said, Sanchez needs to do more than just keep the Eagles afloat if they are to repeat as NFC East champs. He's 3-3 as a starter with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. In fact, Philadelphia's team passer rating (82.6) is substantially lower than the Redskins' (89.9).
The Eagles have a league-leading 34 turnovers this season after giving the ball away just 19 times in 2013.
A costly fumble by tight end Brent Celek was the turning point in Sunday's loss to Dallas, and Sanchez ranks last in the NFL in interception percentage.
"We have to take ownership of this thing, and it starts with the quarterback," Sanchez said. "I have to be a lot better."
The Eagles held the ball for only 18 minutes each in consecutive losses to Seattle and Dallas, which means their defense has been on the field for 84 of 120 minutes in the past two weeks.
Of course, Kelly's up-tempo, no-huddle system has never translated into a ball-control offense, but holding the ball for a total of 36:09 in two games is taking things beyond the extreme.
Still, the coach insists he cares more about the number of plays rather than the amount of time they take up.
"The time of possession thing, I don't understand that concept," Kelly said.
Griffin regains the quarterback job in Washington after Colt McCoy was placed on injured reserve this week with a sprained neck. Redskins Coach Jay Gruden hasn't set the bar particularly high, citing Griffin's ongoing struggles to get a grasp on the fundamentals of drop-back passing.
"I don't expect perfection from him," said Gruden, who is in his first season as the Redskins' coach. "But we want to see improvement."
Griffin might want some extra padding. The Eagles have 47 sacks, second-most in the league, and linebacker Connor Barwin leads the way with an NFC-leading 14 1/2.
The Redskins have been sacked 53 times, second-most in NFL. They've allowed at least five sacks in six consecutive games. Griffin has been taken down on 16 percent of his pass plays, the most for any quarterback with at least 100 drop-backs.
"A lot of people want to pin it on the line, some people want to pin it on the quarterback, the offensive coordinator, the head coach, whatever," Gruden said. "It's a combination of things."
Few are expecting much resistance from the Redskins (3-11), who have lost six consecutive and just made their fifth starting quarterback change this season. They have lost their past three games by 22, 24 and 11 points.
Of course, strange things sometimes happen. Washington's signature victory this year came on a Monday night in October at Dallas, and the Redskins' top offensive output came when they gained 427 yards in a 37-34 loss at Philadelphia in September.
"We've got to play in a crucial situation, and somebody's got to rise above it and make a play," Gruden said. "Unfortunately, we were unable to do that against Philadelphia. It was obviously a very good game, but we came out on the short end of the stick, which isn't good enough."
Sports on 12/20/2014