Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 29, 1993 TAG: 9311290020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
It was the time and the place to try something different, so Eagles head coach Rich Kotite did just that - calling his own plays.
"At the end, we ran when the Redskins figured we'd pass and we passed when they thought we'd run," said Eagles running back Vaughn Hebron.
His remarks put an exclamation point on his first NFL homecoming and described how the Eagles edged Washington 17-14, driving 75 yards for the winning touchdown with 46 seconds left.
Scoring a pair of touchdowns in 5 minutes, 36 seconds to take a fourth-quarter lead after they hadn't crossed the goal line in 12 periods, the Redskins found another way to lose in a 2-9 season.
"It's a win, and we'll take it," said Kotite, whose team started 4-0 before injuries brought a reversal of fortune.
"We can't be too proud," said fullback Herschel Walker, whose receiving and running produced 148 of the Eagles' 268 yards. "Washington has been in the same situation as us."
In a rivalry that has been played near the top of the NFC East Division in recent years but not this season, Philadelphia swept a series from Washington for the first time since 1980. That was Jack Pardee's final season as the Redskins' coach.
Philly did it in similar fashion in different stadiums. The Eagles beat visiting Washington 34-31 in September on a Randall Cunningham 10-yard scoring pass to Calvin Williams with four seconds left.
This time, Kotite's club beat the clock and the 'Skins with a third-down, 2-yard pass to backup fullback James Joseph - the first touchdown reception in Joseph's three-year career.
Hebron, the free agent rookie from Virginia Tech, put the Eagles on Washington's 3 with a 17-yard run on first down, the first play after the two-minute warning.
"I wasn't surprised we called that play," Hebron said. "I wasn't sure I'd be running it, though. They showed a lot of confidence calling my number there."
It was only the second time Hebron ran that right-side trap play this season. The 17-yarder was his second-longest run as a pro, and it put the Eagles in position not only to score, but to use their final two timeouts without panic.
That was something the Redskins couldn't manage. They burned their first timeout of the second half on a fourth-and-two play from the Eagles' 44, preparing for an intentional delay-of-game penalty that set up Washington's most consistent yard-consumer these days - punter Reggie Roby.
While the Eagles have struggled since their great start, Washington has been even more embarrassing. Yes, the Redskins' defense that ranked 28th and last in the NFL held Philly to 268 yards. Washington also had 10 penalties, several of those the kind expected from a club in disarray.
Until Rich Gannon threw the two scoring passes in the final period, the Redskins had gone 17 quarters without a touchdown against NFC opponents.
Gannon obviously isn't the long-term answer at quarterback for Washington. However, his mobility put the Redskins on the scoreboard. Mark Rypien, benched by coach Richie Petitbon, couldn't have been so moved.
Before Hebron burst through the trap and bounced outside between two defenders on his late run, quarterback Bubby Brister moved the Eagles into the Redskins' red zone with his passing and scrambling, and Walker played up to his Heisman trophy-winner reputation as a tough runner and receiver.
Hebron, who had scored the Eagles' earlier touchdown on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, wasn't having any pangs of guilt about beating the team that always was on his family's television in its Baltimore home.
"I was always a Dallas fan," Hebron said.
After becoming the preseason surprise for the Eagles, Hebron slipped on the depth chart with fumble problems a few weeks into the season. He returned with several big plays in recent weeks and, after being used mostly as a second-half back, is starting again in the club's two-back set with Walker.
Brister and Gannon are similar as battlers, whether it be in avoiding the rush or trying to keep an NFL job. The difference was the Eagles had something the Redskins haven't had since Philadelphia rallied to beat them 2 1/2 months ago.
"We kept our poise," Kotite said.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB