Eagles end season on an up note

For the Philadelphia Eagles, the 2011 season has been about missed expectations, but the players can at least hold their heads up on finishing strong this year.

With their 34-10 victory over the woeful Washington Redskins, the Eagles (8-8) finished the season on a four-game win streak, thanks to a sterling performance by quarterback Michael Vick, who completed 24 of 39 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns.

Without star running back LeSean McCoy, who was still feeling the effects of an ankle injury suffered the week before in Dallas, the Eagles turned to the passing game to help them move the ball.

Head coach Andy Reid said the team didn’t adjust the game plan to feature more passes after McCoy was declared inactive for the game.

“We really didn’t. We did our normal stuff. They were putting eight guys in the box. We took our shots,” he said.

Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek were Vick’s primary targets. Maclin, who edged out Celek for the team lead in catches for the season, had eight catches for 108 yards, while Celek recorded six catches for 86 yards. The tight end also caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in the Eagles' 21-point fourth quarter on a clever throwback screen pass.

Speaking of the Eagles' disappointing season, which started 4-8 through their first 12 games, Maclin said, “We can’t hang our heads. We did the best we could do the later part of the season. We finished the last quarter of the season 4-0. That’s the best we could do and we did it. We got to use this four-game win streak and take it into the off season.”

Vick said the unfortunate part of this season was that the Eagles are just hitting their stride.

“It feels so right, right now. Everybody’s gelling together. Everybody’s understanding the coaches, what they’re trying to do, the philosophy. That’s going to be a direct carryover into next season. We know what to do. We’re flying under the radar and will definitely try to shock some people next year,” he said.

Completing the Eagles' stellar day through the air was DeSean Jackson, who the Redskins did a good job of bottling up until the fourth quarter. Jackson made a slight adjustment on an underthrown Vick bomb and then outran the Redskins defenders for a 62-yard touchdown.

It was a sight Eagles fans didn’t get to see much in a year in which Jackson’s contract status - he’s a free agent after this season - affected his play. Much of the postgame talk with Jackson centered around whether fans had seen Jackson’s last touchdown as an Eagle. Jackson said he was frustrated with the way the season went but wanted to move forward. He admitted that he could have handled his contract situation better this season, in which Jackson only scored four touchdowns.

“It’s a professional game; it’s a business. I wish I could give you an answer saying if I’ll be here next year or not, but honestly I really don’t know, so we’ll just see how it plays out,” he said.

Reid also declined to speculate on whether he would be back for a 14th season as Eagles coach.

“I haven’t thought about that,” he said.

The first touchdown of the game came from an unlikely source, diminutive wide receiver Chad Hall, who caught a Vick screen pass and split Redskins tacklers DeAngelo Hall and Perry Riley for the score, which he celebrated with a leap into the stands. It was Hall’s second career touchdown.

“I knew before the play I was gonna get hit right away; I saw the corner sitting. I wanted to get in there; I don’t get many opportunities down there,” Hall said.

Besides Vick’s aerial bombardment, the Eagles also took advantage of the ineptitude of the Redskins (5-11). Washington did itself in with a combination of poor tackling, a sieve-like performance by their offensive line, dumb penalties and horrendous clock management.

Perhaps the worst moment for the Redskins came at the end of the first half. Vick got “Orakpoed” by Brian Orakpo, who also forced a fumble that Washington recovered deep in Eagles territory. But the resulting sequence made sure ‘Skins coach Mike Shanahan would not be seen at the pancake social tomorrow.

Quarterback Rex Grossman worked the ‘Skins down the field into scoring range with no timeouts. But on first and goal, Santana Moss was flagged for removing his helmet protesting a pass interference call, moving the Redskins back to Philly’s 19. Grossman then completed a pass to Terrence Austin over the middle. The Redskins couldn’t stop the clock and couldn’t get the field goal team on in time to get any points out of a golden opportunity.

Even when they scored their only touchdown of the day on a 47-yard screen pass from Grossman to Roy Helu, the Redskins did something dumb when wideout Donte Stallworth was flagged for excessive celebration.

Grossman finished with 22 completions in 45 attempts for 256 yards and a touchdown but also had one of his “Bad Rex” moments, forcing a pass into double coverage that was picked by Nate Allen. Grossman wasn’t helped by an offensive line that got him hit constantly in the first half.

“We had a game plan for him,” Allen said of Grossman. “Up front, they were putting a lot of pressure on him, and that will make any quarterback throw a ball up here and there and make some bad decisions.”

Closing the season with four straight wins, the Eagles were hopeful the momentum will carry over into next year. Addressing this season and the future, Vick said, “There was just a smorgasbord of things that happened that we know we can change and can do better. Next year will be totally different. I promise you.”