The Philadelphia Eagles were at 3-3 and facing a key test
as they hosted the Washington Redskins on October 15, 1978. In their third
season under intense Head Coach Dick Vermeil, the perennially-losing Eagles
were showing signs of improvement. In particular, second-year HB Wilbert
Montgomery (pictured above) had broken out and already produced three hundred-yard rushing games.
QB Ron Jaworski was now in his second season with the club and developing
steadily. The defense, anchored by ILB Bill Bergey, contained several rising
young stars. After losing their first two games – the second at Washington –
Philadelphia won three straight before falling to the Patriots.
The Redskins, coached for the first year by Jack Pardee,
were undefeated at 6-0. QB Joe Theismann was performing well and FB John
Riggins was steady in leading the ground game. However, there were cracks in
the façade – the wide receivers were nothing special and the defense was aging,
which would become more of an issue as the season wore on.
There were 65,722 fans in attendance at Veterans Stadium
on a pleasant Fall afternoon. Following HB Tony Green’s 30-yard kickoff return,
the Redskins moved quickly into Eagles territory when Theismann passed to
Riggins for a 33-yard gain. But the drive stalled at the Philadelphia 24 and
Mark Moseley’s 41-yard field goal attempt into the wind was wide to the left.
The Eagles kept the ball on the ground, with Wilbert
Montgomery carrying most of the load and FB Mike Hogan contributing a 13-yard
carry on a third-and-four draw play. They eventually had to punt but, on
Washington’s next play from scrimmage, FS John “Deac” Sanders intercepted
Theismann’s pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown. Nick Mike-Mayer
added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The Redskins again advanced into Philadelphia territory
and once more Moseley missed a field goal try, this time from 49 yards. The
Eagles responded by driving from their 32 to the Washington 34, but Mike-Mayer
was short on a 51-yard field goal attempt. The first quarter ended with the
home team continuing to hold a one-touchdown advantage.
The Redskins started off the second quarter by getting a
34-yard gain on a pass from Theismann to Green on their second play. This time
they didn’t come up empty when Moseley, now kicking with the wind at his back,
put them on the board with a 49-yard field goal.
Washington got a break when, following a short series by
the Eagles, punter Mike Michel, who was playing in his first game for the
Eagles, fumbled the snap and, while he got off the kick, it was for only nine
yards. The Redskins had excellent field position at the Philadelphia 28 but
backed themselves up with holding penalties and they ultimately had to punt the
ball back.
The Eagles, pinned back at their nine, went three-and-out
and Michel’s ensuing punt went only 26 yards to again give the Redskins a big
field position advantage as they started at the Philadelphia 37. Riggins
converted a fourth-and-one play with a three-yard carry but the Eagles
continued to stymie Washington’s passing game. Once again having to settle for
a field goal try, the Redskins went with a fake but Theismann’s pass fell
incomplete.
Philadelphia again failed to generate offense and had to
punt. This time the unfortunate Michel fumbled as he tried to get the punt away
and LB Don Hover recovered for the Redskins at the Philadelphia 21. However,
three plays later Theismann lost the ball when hit by DE Dennis Harrison while
back to pass and Bill Bergey recovered for the Eagles.
With just under two minutes remaining in the half, the
Eagles got a first down on two running plays and a defensive personal foul
penalty moved them to the Washington 45. Ron Jaworski threw to WR Ken Payne for
17 yards and, after being flagged on the next play for intentional grounding,
he hit TE Keith Krepfle for 26 yards to the 12 yard line. The half ended with
Mike-Mayer kicking a 29-yard field goal and, despite the Redskins spending most
of the first two quarters on Philadelphia’s side of the field, the Eagles were
in front by 10-3.
On the second play from scrimmage of the third quarter,
Jaworski was picked off by CB Lemar Parrish near midfield. With Riggins running
the ball effectively, and even Theismann running for 11 yards on a
third-and-two play, the Redskins drove to the Philadelphia two. But passing up
a short field goal to try and score on fourth-and-goal, Theismann rolled out, was
sacked by Harrison, and fumbled. LB Reggie Wilkes recovered at the nine.
Now the Eagles put together a solid drive of their own as
Montgomery ran well and Jaworski connected on back-to-back passes to Krepfle
for 15 yards and WR Harold Carmichael for 28. But facing third-and-12 at the
Washington 25, Jaworski was hit by DE Coy Bacon while trying to pass and
fumbled, DT Diron Talbert recovering for the visitors.
This time the Redskins struck fast and didn’t come away
empty, going 65 yards in three plays. Theismann threw to WR Ricky Thompson for
49 yards and Riggins followed up with runs of 13 and then three yards for a touchdown.
Moseley’s extra point tied the score at 10-10.
Now it was Philadelphia’s turn to strike quickly. FB
James Betterson returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Washington 47 and,
on the last play of the third quarter, Montgomery took off on a 24-yard run.
Montgomery and Hogan added 11 more yards before Montgomery, going to the
outside, ran 12 yards for a TD. Mike-Mayer added the point after and the Eagles
were back in front by seven.
There was still plenty of time for the Redskins. On their
first play following the kickoff, Theismann connected with WR John McDaniel for
21 yards, but three plays later CB Herman Edwards intercepted a pass at his own
13 and returned it 25 yards.
Montgomery fumbled the ball back to the Redskins at
midfield and Riggins ran four straight times, gaining 23 yards, and Theismann
threw to TE Jean Fugett for eight yards. But after reaching the Philadelphia
11, in a pivotal play Green fumbled after gaining five yards and Wilkes
recovered at the three to end the threat.
There were just over five minutes left on the clock and
the Eagles kept the ball on the ground, with Montgomery and Hogan again running
the ball with some success. Once more they had to punt, something that had
often gone badly earlier in the game, but this time it was the Redskins who
suffered misfortune. Michel’s 32-yard kick was fielded by Green, who fumbled
when hit by WR Vince Papale. HB Billy Campfield recovered for the Eagles and
that effectively sealed the win for Philadelphia. The Eagles were able to run
out the clock and won by a final score of 17-10.
The Redskins had more total yards than Philadelphia (273
to 262) but the Eagles led in first downs (17 to 14). While they only gained 99
passing yards, the Eagles were effective on the ground as they gained 180 yards
to Washington’s 135. The Redskins turned the ball over six times, to four
suffered by the home team. The Redskins
only punted once, while the punting game was a headache for the Eagles as Mike
Michel averaged just 25 yards on his four kicks and suffered various miscues.
Ultimately, Washington’s inability to capitalize on opportunities – especially
in the first half – proved fatal.
Wilbert Montgomery was the star on offense for the Eagles
as he rushed for 125 yards on 25 carries and scored a touchdown. Mike Hogan
added 39 yards on 11 attempts. Ron Jaworski completed just 7 of 14 passes for
99 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Keith Krepfle topped the
receivers with two catches for 41 yards. On defense, Dennis Harrison (pictured below) accounted
for two sacks (as yet an unofficial statistic), knocked away a pass, and forced
a fumble.
For the Redskins, John Riggins gained 97 yards on 21
rushing attempts that included a TD and had another 43 yards on three pass
receptions. Joe Theismann was successful on only 8 of 21 throws for 163 yards
with no TDs and two intercepted. Ricky Thompson, with 49 yards on his lone
catch, topped the club in receiving yards.
The win by the Eagles foreshadowed a change of fortunes
for both teams. While the Eagles lost their next two games, they then reeled
off four straight victories on their way to a 9-7 finish that put them second
in the NFC East and in the postseason for the first time since 1960 as a Wild
Card. They lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Washington faded badly, winning only twice more the rest of the way
to end up third in the division at 8-8.
Wilbert Montgomery continued to perform well for the
Eagles, setting a then-franchise record with 1220 rushing yards on 259 carries
(4.7 avg.) and nine touchdowns. He was selected to the Pro Bowl.
Mike Michel, who had such difficulties punting against the
Redskins in his Philadelphia debut, did not find the going any easier. When
Nick Mike-Mayer was injured, he took over the placekicking in addition to
punting and missed three of his 12 extra point attempts. In the playoff loss to
the Falcons, he failed on another extra point and attempted a 34-yard field
goal in the final seconds with the game on the line that missed badly. It
marked the end of his two-season NFL career.
