Eagles 24, Redskins 16… a close call at the end, but the Linc jinx is crushed…

How do you like that? The Eagles are going into their Bye at 6-5…

It got tense at the end, but for the most part the Eagles played a dominating game, up 24-0 at one point… But the NFL is a 4th-quarter game, and most of the damage done usually happens in the final 4 minutes. Such was the case on Sunday in Philly as the Redskins made a valiant comeback to almost steal the game.

Nick Foles threw for 298 yards and ran on a keep option for a touchdown, LeSean McCoy ran for two scores and the Eagles snapped a 10-game losing skid at Lincoln Financial Field with a 24-16 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday. A year after finishing 4-12 under Andy Reid, Chip Kelly has guided his Eagles (6-5) to the division lead. They're a half-game ahead of idle Dallas (5-5).

The defending division champion Redskins rallied in the fourth quarter but fell short, dropping to 3-7. The Eagles withstood a last-minute rally by Washington that fell short on a desperation 3rd-and-1 off-balance heave by RG3 that landed in the hands of Brandon Boykin. To be fair to Griffin, he was under intense pass-rush pressure by the Birds.

"I don't look at it globally," Kelly said. "We have five games in December and we put ourselves in position where those games are meaningful. We'll see where we're at Dec. 29."

The Eagles hadn't won at home in 413 days since defeating the New York Giants on Sept. 30, 2012. They'll enter their bye week on a three-game winning streak, having turned things around after consecutive home losses last month.

"Not one person on this team was defeated," Foles said. "Everybody in our locker room believed we can win and if you feel that way, it's something special. We have to keep the momentum going."

Here are some instant reaction observations from NJ.com's Eliot Shorr-Parks which we share:

Nick Foles: What more can Foles do to be called the starter by Chip Kelly? Foles is now 4-1 as a starter this season, and has 16 touchdowns to zero interceptions. He has shown he can win when he isn't very sharp (Green Bay), when he is (Oakland) and when he is somewhere in the middle (Washington). The Eagles have some serious momentum now, and Foles being inserted into the starting lineup is a big part of the reason why.

Fletcher Cox: Fletcher Cox had a good game against the Redskins, but his first quarter penalty for pushing Robert Griffin III once the quarterback was already out of bounds was perhaps the dumbest penalty of the season for the Eagles. No reason to give the Redskins any yards, especially at the beginning of the game that kept a drive alive. But Cox redeemed himself throughout the rest of the game with excellent pressure, pursuit and tackling. Cox recovered a crucial fumble later in the game.

LeSean McCoy: McCoy was having an outstanding game before going down with an apparent hamstring injury in the 2nd quarter. But Shady came back in the second half and made some key contributions.  The running back's biggest play of the game was a first quarter reception that went for 49-yards. McCoy was matched up with Redskins' linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, and Foles hit him in stride on a wheel-route. The big reception got the Eagles into the redzone and on the next play, gave them a 7-0 lead.

Najee Goode: For the second week in a row, Najee Goode did not look like the weak link on the defense everyone thought he would be. Goode had a sack in the first half, and with it, tied Mychal Kendricks with one sack on the season. Goode also came up with some nice pressures off the edge and also with some decent coverages.

Donnie Jones: Jones had a huge play in the fourth quarter when he pinned the Redskins down at the four-yard line. It was a 70-yard punt, and stalled the momentum the Redskins had.

Connor Barwin: Barwin isn't being given enough credit for the season he is having. Not only has Barwin been instrumental in helping the other linebackers adjust to a 3-4, he has been producing on the field as well. Barwin made two big plays on Sunday, both of which killed momentum Washington was building. First, Barwin batted down a pass at the line on third-down to force a punt. The batted pass was Barwin's 6th of the season. Later in the game Barwin drilled Robert Griffin III in the redzone, forcing a fumble the Eagles would recover. Another strong game for Barwin.

Challenges: It ended up not mattering, as McCoy scored on the next play, but Chip Kelly should have challenged the Riley Cooper catch which was ruled "No TD" on the one yard line with 9:41 to go in the third quarter. It was pretty clear that Cooper got in the endzone, as replays showed the entire ball crossed the goal line. Yes, McCoy scored on the next play, but it was a play that didn't have to happen. Sooner or later the way Kelly has handled challenges this season is going to come back and haunt the Eagles.

Trent Cole: Trent was playing like he was 5 years younger on Sunday. Yes, he blew a critical coverage late in the game, but overall he was a force of pursuit and destruction as he rushed the passer from his OLB spot. Nice game by #58.

Down 24-0 in the fourth quarter, the Redskins rallied behind Robert Griffin III's TD passes of 62 yards to Darrel Young and 41 yards to Aldrick Robinson and both 2-point conversions. RG3 then drove the Redskins to the Eagles 18 before his pass off his back foot was intercepted by Brandon Boykin in the end zone.

"I was trying to throw the ball in the back of the end zone," he said. "It didn't get to where I wanted it to go. Obviously I was on my heels. Something I can definitely learn from."

Foles didn't throw any TD passes after tossing 10 in the past two games. But he still hasn't thrown an interception this year, extending his streak to 199 passes without a pick. Foles tied an NFL record with seven TD passes in a win at Oakland two weeks ago and followed it with three more in a victory at Green Bay.

McCoy finished with 77 yards rushing and 73 receiving. He leads the NFL with 1,009 yards on the ground. Foles had a career-best 47 yards rushing. "We're all playing as one," McCoy said. "Earlier in the year, the offense was playing good and defense wasn't or defense was playing good and offense wasn't. Now we're clicking. "

The Redskins started their last drive at their 4 with 3:26 left after a 70-yard punt by Donnie Jones. Griffin completed a 28-yard pass to Santana Moss on third-and-25 and Washington eventually moved to the 18 before the pick.

Griffin was 17 of 35 for 264 yards and ran for 44 yards.

"Took us until the fourth quarter to make a couple plays," Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. "We had our opportunity at the end. Just couldn't take advantage of it."

The Redskins couldn't generate much offense until Griffin connected with Young after scrambling early in the fourth quarter. He hit Nick Williams on the conversion.

Robinson made a nice adjustment to catch Griffin's underthrown deep pass for the next score, and RG3 dived in from the 2 for the conversion. But Washington couldn't complete the comeback.

Foles ran in from the 4 for a 7-0 lead, even showing some athleticism with a spin move after getting hit at the 2 and then reaching for the end zone. A 49-yard pass to McCoy set up the score.

One play after Brent Celek turned a tight-end screen pass into a 42-yard gain, McCoy ran in untouched from the 1.  Then the Redskins drove to the Eagles 8 before Griffin was sacked by Connor Barwin and fumbled. The ball popped straight up and was recovered by Fletcher Cox.

The Eagles turned that into a 24-yard field goal by Alex Henery to make it 17-0.

McCoy left briefly after injuring his right hamstring in the second quarter, then scored on a 1-yard run to put the Eagles up 24-0 in the third.

I like the fact that Foles has added an intelligent screen game into his repertoire. He's even using a Drew Brees-type pump fake to cause momentary confusion to the defenders. Nice…