Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins: Washington Grades, Notes and Quotes

A dominant first half was almost put to waste, but in the end, the Washington Redskins prevailed 23-20 over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4.

After blowing a 13-0 halftime lead, Washington needed Kirk Cousins to engineer a 90-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes.

Registering his first career fourth-quarter comeback as a starter, Cousins threw for 290 yards while accounting for two scores.

Making up for its porous showing in Week 3, the Redskins defense forced two turnovers and tallied five sacks.

Moving past the recap, here are the postgame grades, notes and quotes for Washington.

Position Grades

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Position	Grade
QB	B+
RB	C+
WR/TE	B
OL	B
DL	B+
LB	A-
DB	C-
Special Teams	C+
Coaching	B+

Putting his latest turnover-filled outing behind him, Cousins had his best game of the young season. He completed 31 of 46 passes and had zero turnovers. In addition to his 290 yards through the air, he both threw and ran for a touchdown.

On to the backfield, with Alfred Morris picking up 38 yards rushing on the game-winning drive, the Skins were able to salvage an otherwise average showing on the ground.

Led by Morris' 62 yards, the team churned out 127 yards on 32 carries. For most of the contest, though, Chris Thompson was the lone effective back. Thompson had 53 yards on six carries and 24 yards receiving. Rookie Matt Jones was irrelevant, rushing for 11 yards on seven carries.

Due to the team riding this trio, though, Washington possessed the football for over 40 minutes.

At the receiver position, a host of new faces headlined the stat sheet. Jamison Crowder led the team with seven receptions and 65 yards. Bringing the deep element missing with DeSean Jackson out, Rashad Ross made a cameo and hauled in a 43-yard reception.

In money time, it was Pierre Garcon who stole the show. On the game, he had seven receptions for 55 yards. But on the final drive, he hauled in the game-winning touchdown.

Along the offensive line, Washington didn't make waves until fatigue set in for Philly's defense in the fourth quarter. Down Shawn Lauvao, the Skins averaged just four yards a carry.

The passing game was another matter. The Eagles managed just one sack and two quarterback hits on Cousins.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball, the front seven was the story. Sam Bradford was sacked five times and hit on another eight occasions.

Chris Baker led the team with two sacks. With the exception being DeMarco Murray's 30-yard run on his first carry, Philly's rushing attack was non-existent. It ran 18 times for 87 yards.

As a result, the Eagles aired the ball out. Bradford lacked consistency, completing 53 percent of his passes, but he hurt the Washington secondary with big gains.

He had four completions of 30-plus yards, with Riley Cooper's 62-yard touchdown reception being the highlight. Hampered by a knee injury, Chris Culliver was victimized for two of Bradford's three scores.

Taking into account how frequently Philly dropped the ball, the Redskins secondary was fortunate to surrender 270 yards and three touchdowns to Bradford.

Big plays and penalties (10 for 110 yards) were a problem spot, but all in all Washington's coaching staff had a solid showing. The running game was slow to get going, but head coach Jay Gruden didn't let the run-pass ratio get out of whack.

Looking at defensive coordinator Joe Barry's game plan, execution was the only issue. Bradford is most comfortable throwing short. With pressure and aggressive coverage, Barry took that away.

Washington paid for it in the second half, but looking at Bradford's history, Barry's approach was the right one. 

On special teams, Dustin Hopkins continued to make Kai Forbath a distant memory. He connected on all three of his field goal attempts.

While there's nothing of note to report on Washington's return men, the team's coverage unit did fail when it allowed Darren Sproles to escape for a 45-yard punt return.

Next up, the Atlanta Falcons.

Important Note No. 1: Change of Guard at Receiver

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It all started with Andre Roberts being put on the inactive list. Following a mediocre debut in D.C., Roberts was again disappointing in 2015.

Drops have been an issue for Roberts. And to put it simply, he wasn't producing. He had five receptions for 54 yards before being shown the bench.

Between Jackson's impending return and the play of Washington's young receivers, he may never leave the inactive list.

Crowder, Ross and Ryan Grant were responsible for 13 of Cousins' 31 completions and 153 yards overall. With both Jackson and Garcon carrying large cap numbers in 2016, per Spotrac.com, the progress of this trio will be something to monitor as the season goes on.

Important Note No. 2: Emerging Pass Rush

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General manager Scot McCloughan's first order of business this offseason was to bolster the team's front seven. The thinking was that a strong pass rush could mask a suspect secondary.

As a result, Ricky Jean Francois, Terrance Knighton, Stephen Paea and rookie Preston Smith were added to the returning core of Baker, Jason Hatcher, Trent Murphy and Ryan Kerrigan.

While these changes transformed the Redskins run defense (No. 3 overall), the pass rush remained underwhelming. In the first three games, the team had all of four sacks.

This changed in Week 4, as Washington had five sacks. What's most important here, though, is who tallied them.

Possibly feeling the weight of his new contract, Kerrigan was held without a sack for the first three weeks. Against the Eagles, he got off the schneid. Joining him and Baker were youngsters Smith and Murphy.

Murphy in particular ended any shot Philly had at coming back with the pressure he generated on the game's final drive.

With matchups on the horizon against Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Drew Brees, the Skins will need their pass rush to make today's showing a more common occurrence.

Quote No. 1: D.C. Youth Movement

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It's nothing we haven't seen before. Young and inexperienced players have manned key positions in Washington for some time now. When you have one playoff berth in the past seven seasons, this type of thing is bound to happen.

The difference here is the timing. These aren't meaningless games at the end of season. The Redskins are trotting out players such as Crowder, Jones, Brandon Scherff and Smith with the expectation that they'll produce.

And they have. In the face of injuries, Washington's 2-2 record speaks to this.

Speaking postgame, per the team's official Twitter feed, Jay Gruden further delved into the impact of the team's young players.

"These young guys have emerged as starters, and they have to grow up fast. ... I think they're prepared," he said.

With the expedited development of the Redskins' young prospects and the looming return of Jackson and Hall, the team could be in position late in the season to make some noise.

Question is, will it be as a contender or as a spoiler?

Stay tuned.

Quote No. 2: Jordan Reed Concussion

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Lost in Washington's riveting win is the injury that knocked Jordan Reed from the game on the final drive.

Speaking postgame, per ESPN Radio 980, Gruden confirmed Reed was being evaluated for a concussion. Moving past his place as the team's leader in receptions and yards, Reed's status looms large because of the players behind him on the depth chart.

Remember, Logan Paulsen and Niles Paul have already been lost for the season. Derek Carrier and Anthony McCoy are next up on the depth chart. Between them they have four receptions. 

As such, with Atlanta's high-powered offense on the docket in Week 5, Washington would be in dire straits if Reed were unable to play.