Battle-tested

PHILADELPHIA — As he mentioned all the things said about the Washington Redskins and all the things stacked against them during their rugged stretch to start the season, right guard Randy Thomas kept slapping his hands together for emphasis.

Injuries to three defensive starters. Three NFC East road games in the opening five weeks. Another new system for the quarterback. The age of the offensive line. An inexperienced coach.

Throw it all together, and the end result shouldn’t be a 4-1 record.

But there was Thomas in the locker room Sunday after the Redskins rallied from two touchdowns down to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 23-17 for their fourth consecutive victory, laying out the key reason why the Redskins are one of the NFL’s biggest surprises.

“We … keep … battling,” Thomas said, stressing each word. “That’s what we do.”

And since the opening night debacle against the New York Giants, the Redskins have battled regardless of the circumstances.

A week after stunning Dallas on the road, the Redskins rebounded from a horrific first quarter to gash a previously stingy Eagles run defense and build a nine-point advantage. Then, with the lead cut to six points, they held the ball for the final seven minutes.

In winning at Dallas and Philadelphia during the same year for only the second time since 1990 and moving to 4-1 for the first time since 1999, the Redskins enter the soft part of their schedule knowing the toughest part is behind them.

“We’ve put ourselves in a great spot,” said tight end Chris Cooley, whose career-high 109 receiving yards included an 18-yard touchdown from Antwaan Randle El. “Even though we’re 4-1, we know it’s going to be very tough to win the division.”

The division will play itself out over the next three months as the four teams slug it out while dominating their non-NFC East competition. But the way the Redskins defeated Philadelphia - 203 rushing yards, only 58 allowed - suggests this team is built for the long haul regardless of the competition or elements or circumstances like injuries.

The Redskins played without defensive starters Jason Taylor, Shawn Springs and Marcus Washington and got no catches from receiver Santana Moss. But Clinton Portis picked up the slack with 145 rushing yards, Cooley finished with eight catches and the defense controlled Philadelphia after an opening-drive touchdown.

All this after the Eagles led 14-0 on Brian Westbrook’s 9-yard touchdown run to cap the opening drive and rookie DeSean Jackson’s dynamic 68-yard punt return 39 seconds later.

“They shocked us a little bit,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “We exhaled, settled down and played solid.”

The Eagles’ first drive was perfect on third down (3-for-3) for 80 yards.

The Eagles’ next six drives were woeful on third downs (1-for-7) for 97 yards.

The Redskins’ offense, meanwhile, chipped away at the lead, using Shaun Suisham field goals of 41, 48 and 50 yards to make it 14-9 at halftime.

“Our players stayed poised,” coach Jim Zorn said. “We didn’t try to grab bag and change our whole game plan. We stayed with what we had. When we got the first field goal, the thing I started saying on the sideline was: ’One score at a time. That was the first one. Now let’s work on the second one.’”

The Redskins dominated the third quarter, outscoring Philadelphia 7-0 and outgaining the Eagles 172-17.

A trick play gave the Redskins the lead for good. Randle El took an end-around handoff from Jason Campbell and rolled right. Cooley acted like a blocker before he went into the flat, then caught Randle El’s pass for a touchdown. The play was upheld after the Eagles challenged that Randle El had crossed the line of scrimmage.

“We’ve been running a lot of double reverses and misdirection plays, and I sold the run hard,” Cooley said. “My guy bit on the run, and Randle El sold the play well.”

Portis’ 4-yard touchdown run with 14:54 remaining made it 23-14. The score was set up by his runs of 9 and 27 yards as the Redskins’ offensive line began dominating up front.

“Clinton was a slicer and a dicer in this game,” Zorn said.

Portis’ two-game 100-yard streak is only his third with the Redskins. He saved one of his best runs for last.

Philadelphia used nearly eight minutes of clock to make it a six-point game on David Akers’ 23-yard field goal. The Redskins took over possession at 7:18.

They never gave it back.

The Redskins converted a third-and-4 (Campbell to Randle El for 11 yards) and a third-and-9 (Campbell’s 15-yard scramble) before Campbell threw incomplete on third-and-1 from the Philadelphia 38 with 2:53 remaining. Zorn opted to go for it and said Portis called the play - a delay up the middle. The play gained 3 yards to seal the game and further cement Zorn’s new reputation as an aggressive play caller.

“That’s his personality,” left guard Pete Kendall said. “At that point, conventional wisdom says take the 5-yard penalty and punt it. But look at how we’ve closed out games.”

The Redskins have closed out the last four games in identical fashion - burning the clock and Campbell taking a series of kneel-downs. Now come games they are expected to win: at home against St. Louis (0-4) and Cleveland (1-3) and at Detroit (0-4).

“These have been really big wins, but we have to realize that our job isn’t done yet,” Moss said. “There are going to be a bunch of teams that are going to come into our place to try and destruct what we’ve accomplished so far. We’ll enjoy this but know that teams will be coming after us.”