Taunts, fights break out as tempers flare between Eagles, Redskins
DeSean Jackson's homecoming to Philadelphia went, well, exactly as some maybe expected it to go.
The fiery wideout who was jettisoned by the Eagles in the offseason returned to his old stomping grounds on Sunday and made his presence known.
On his first offensive series, this happened:
If that weren't enough, Jackson broke free for an 81-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Of course, Jackson could act like he'd been there before (especially since he had, in Philly, many times) but chose this route instead:
Then, tempers really boiled over after this hit on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles in the fourth quarter.
The hit came on what looked to be an interception, but the ball touched the ground and the turnover was nullified after review. Redskins defensive lineman Chris Baker, thinking there had been a turnover, played blocker and laid out Foles.
Eagles left tackle Jason Peters took umbrage and a fight broke out. Peters and Baker were ejected ... all for a play that ended up being an incomplete pass.
At the time of the play, the game was tied 27-27 and the game had already seen more than its fair share of penalties. According to the official game book, Baker and Peters were each assessed two penalties on the play, along with the ejections.
Afterward, both sides had their say. As you can imagine, accounts of the events varied wildly, dependent upon which locker room you were in.
"I saw our guy had an interception, and I went to do what we are taught to do, and that's to go get a block," Baker told The Associated Press. "I didn't look to see if it was a quarterback or not. All I saw was someone going to pursue the ball, and I got my head in front, and I leveled my shoulder, which is a legal football hit, what I've been taught to do.
"The whistle had not been blown. He was going towards the ball; the ball carrier was still running, and he could make a tackle. I didn't even really hit him hard. I just hit him with my shoulder and he happened to fall. He's a quarterback, so I guess that was the reason for the ejection."
Peters, ejected for throwing a punch, told The Associated Press: "That wasn't scripted or planned. The guy just cheap-shotted Nick Foles and I reacted. I shouldn't have done what I did, but I was just trying to protect my quarterback."
Added running back LeSean McCoy: "If you see your quarterback get hit in a dirty way -- it was obviously dirty -- that kind of charged us up a bit."
As for Foles, he did not miss a play. In fact, he went 4 of 5 for 61 yards the rest of the drive, capping it off with a 27-yard scoring strike to Jeremy Maclin to give the Eagles the lead for good in the eventual 37-34 win. Foles ended the game with 325 yards passing, three touchdowns with no interceptions, and a 114.4 passer rating.
Jackson didn't get the win, but his numbers sure were something. He finished the game with five receptions for 117 yards.
