Eagles deliver brutal bad beat in Washington, keep pressure on Cowboys in NFC East

The Philadelphia Eagles escaped Washington on Sunday with a critical win for their playoff hopes.

And thanks to a wild last-play touchdown, they delivered a brutal bad beat for Washington bettors in the process.

Eagles mount late rally

Trailing 27-24 with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz orchestrated an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Ward with 26 seconds remaining to take a 31-27 lead.

The play left Washington rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins a long-shot chance to cap the best game of his brief career with a miracle comeback. Find a miracle, he did not.

Botched Hail Mary leads to bad beat

After picking up a pair of first downs, Washington set up for a Hail Mary near midfield with six seconds remaining. Haskins found himself under immediate pressure after taking a shotgun snap and aborted the pass play, tossing the ball backward to avoid a game-ending sack.

There was no Washington teammate in the vicinity of the ball. Instead, linebacker Nigel Bradham found it and made a decision that would sway fate of every bettor who wagered on the Eagles as seven-point favorites.

Bradham did not make the safe decision of simply diving on the ball to secure the win. He scooped it up and saw open ground ahead, pouncing on the opportunity to score an elusive defensive touchdown.

Bradham ran untouched to the end zone to punctuate a 37-27 win to keep pressure on the Dallas Cowboys and deliver a maddening loss for Washington bettors who thought they had covered the seven-point spread.

With the win, the Eagles improved to 7-7.

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