(SportsNetwork.com) - Maybe you can't do epic you know what with basic people but you can sure spoil things with some average folks.
The enigmatic DeSean Jackson proved that on Saturday when he played a rather large role in helping to torpedo his former team's season, catching four balls for 126 yards, including a pair of trademarked over-the-top strikes on embattled Philadelphia cornerback Bradley Fletcher, during Washington's 27-24 upset win over the sinking Eagles.
"They going home. Tell them goodnight. Bye bye," a gleeful Jackson boasted after the game.
Technically that's not true but it might as well be as Philadelphia needs to win its Week 17 game in North Jersey against the New York Giants and hope Dallas loses its final two games, starting with Sunday's matchup against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.
Jackson, a three-time Pro Bowl selection in Philadelphia, was unceremoniously dumped in the offseason in a curious move, considering he was coming off his best campaign of 82 receptions for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns in his first year under the offensive genius of Chip Kelly.
On paper, Jackson seemed like a perfect fit for Kelly's innovative offensive mind, a versatile player who lined up all over the field and served as the ultimate home-run hitter.
Jackson, though, is a complainer and his personality, to be kind, can be grating at times. He is always upset with something whether it's money, touches or coaching and Jackson is no shrinking violet when it comes to discussing it, often taking to social media to voice his displeasure like when he buried his current quarterback in an "epic" fashion on Instagram.
In Philadelphia. Jackson butted heads with Kelly on more than one occasion, wasn't exactly Jerry Rice when it came to his work ethic, and did keep some spotty off-the-field company, which all contributed to the toxic cocktail that sent the California product from the City of Brotherly Love to the Beltway.
It got so ugly that some in Jackson's camp (and me for that matter) believe the Eagles were behind the widely-circulated rumors that played up the Jackson's ties to gang-related activity.
So it's certainly no surprise the home-run threat took a special interest in sinking Kelly's season, giving an impassioned speech to the 'Skins before the game and then hauling in two passes of over 50 yards, the kind of pop-the-top, field stretcher the Eagles are desperately missing now that Jackson moved south on I-95.
"You try to get some help over the top in certain coverages and get matched up with them," Kelly said. "We felt like our corners could stay with them and obviously they didn't."
By "them" Kelly meant Jackson.
The physical Pierre Garcon did break a Cary Williams tackle that helped set up Kai Forbath's 26-yard game-winning field goal, but no one was considering rolling a safety over the top on his side.
"That's how they play," Jackson replied when asking about Philadelphia's defensive plan to leave Fletcher on an island. "They're very naive and they play how they play. They could care less who is out there or who is at wide receiver, they're going to play their defense the way they play it."
It's fair to say Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis' game plan outside the numbers left a lot to be desired especially after he watched the Cowboys' Dez Bryant do the same kinds of things to Fletcher six days earlier.
And when Davis did finally roll a safety toward Jackson late, the result was Robert Griffin III forcing the football and a Nate Allen interception, a turnover that helped the Eagles deadlock the game in the fourth quarter.
"That's the Philadelphia Eagle defense," Jackson said. "I've been there a lot of years and witnessed a lot of players -- wide receivers, tight ends -- get off on some huge games on them, and I'm just happy to be on this side and be able to send them home with a loss."
The Redskins are only 4-11 season and Jackson remains an immature, knucklehead at times, but he has recorded seven receptions of 50-plus yards this season and has 29 such catches since entering the league in 2008, the most in the NFL over that span.
That's production you can't replace and talent wins out more than not in the NFL, something Kelly learned the hard way on Saturday.
"That's a question you have to ask them," Jackson said when asked if the Eagles regret their decision. "As far as my ex-teammates, I think a lot of the guys miss me. I'm happy to be here in Washington. Things didn't go the way we wanted it go this year, but at the end of the day, we've got a job to do, which is to finish strong."
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