By Michael Donovan
What’s up with the Washington Redskins’ recent domination of the Eagles?
They’ve won four straight, and, as the Washington Post so succinctly put it:
The last time that happened, the coaches were Joe Gibbs and Buddy Ryan, the quarterbacks were Doug Williams and Randall Cunningham, the place kickers were Jess Atkinson and Paul McFadden, the home venues were RFK Stadium and the Vet, and Jay Gruden was a college quarterback at Louisville. That’s a long time.
Washington last beat the Birds four straight times from late 1985 through September 1987. The Redskins last beat the Cowboys four straight times from late 1986 through October 1988. And the Redskins last beat the Giants four straight times from late 1998 through September of 2000.
So Sunday’s 27-20 victory means this is only the second time the Redskins have won four straight games against an NFC East rival since their last Super Bowl win — and the first time in more than 16 years.
In that same span, the Skins have had five divisional losing streaks that lasted at least that long: against the Eagles (seven games), the Cowboys (four games and 10 games) and the Giants (five games and six games).
“Oh man, they’re a rivalry team, they’re in our division,” Spencer Long said of the Eagles. “It means everything. It’s a big game, man. It’s an extra one. It’s got a little more weight to it, especially when they’re doing as well as they started the year. So a huge win today, and hats off to everybody. We beat a really good team today.”
The Redskins play the Eagles again at the Linc in early December. A win then would give them five straight against an NFC East rival. That hasn’t happened since the early 1980s, when the Skins won six straight against the Giants (from 1981 through 1984), and six straight against the Eagles (also from 1981 through 1984). Only two members of the team’s active roster (Vernon Davis and Cullen Jenkins) were even alive the last time the Redskins had such a streak.
