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Skins handle Eagles

Rocky McIntosh, left, and the Redskins made things tough for Brian Westbrook and the Eagles on Monday night.Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Barry Wilner Associated Press
Rocky McIntosh, left, and the Redskins made things tough for Brian Westbrook and the Eagles on Monday night.Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

PHILADELPHIA – The Washington Redskins believe they are ready to be kings of the NFC East.

The best way to prove it is by knocking off the incumbent, which they did Monday night with a superb mixture of big plays on offense and defense.

Led by maturing quarterback Jason Campbell and hard-hitting safeties Sean Taylor and rookie LaRon Landry, they beat Philadelphia 20-12.

Speaking for the offense, which got touchdowns from Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley and two field goals by Shaun Suisham, Campbell said:

“In the NFL, you can’t be one-dimensional, you’ve got to be able to do both things, you’ve got to be able to run and pass. I thought our guys did an outstanding job once we got our rhythm.”

And for the defense, Landry said: “We went out there and executed well. We played sound defense.”

Sound enough to keep every Eagle except Brian Westbrook off-balance.

The surprising Redskins, coming off a 5-11 season, are 2-0 and tied with Dallas atop the NFC East, which Philadelphia was expected to dominate.

“Philly has been the king of this division for so long,” said Washington’s new middle linebacker, London Fletcher. “I think these guys have got to get used to winning and beating good teams. Beating good teams like this only adds to your confidence.”

The Eagles are 0-2 and their offense, other than the dynamic Westbrook, has been far too spotty. Westbrook rushed for 96 yards and caught eight passes for another 66 yards.

Westbrook’s work wasn’t enough to get Philadelphia into the end zone, however, as an array of blitzes and some hard hitting by the Redskins’ secondary kept Donovan McNabb off-balance much of the night.

McNabb has lost six of his last seven starts and is 9-12 since the Eagles lost the Super Bowl to New England in January 2005. Though he was 28 of 46 for 240 yards, some of his misguided passes weren’t close to the target.

“We didn’t win the game, so I didn’t play well. If I’m out there, I have to make plays,” McNabb said. “We have to find out what we’re doing wrong and correct it.”

Campbell didn’t have gaudy statistics – 16 of 29 for 209 yards – but he kept the Redskins on the move when it counted with sharp passes and timely third-down conversions.

“You can’t try to make plays that are not there, and he didn’t,” receiver Santana Moss said.

Philly lost safety Brian Dawkins, its defensive leader, with a neck stinger in the fourth quarter on the play that moved the ball to the Philadelphia 6 and set up Portis, who swept left for the decisive points.

“It’s not all Donovan. It’s everybody pulling together around him,” coach Andy Reid said. “We’re off by a hair. Once we get that straightened out, we’ll be fine.”