Whew, the Eagles fan base was able to release a collective sigh of relief and nerves just before 4 p.m. on Sunday.Their teams playoff dreams are alive and well following a 20-16 nail-biting win over the Washington Football team at FedEx Field on Sunday, one that required a Rodney McLeod interception in the end zone interception with just 24 seconds to sealI knew I caught it once I secured it, really, said the veteran safety. I let one slip away the first time we played them. I wanted to make sure I closed this game out the right way. It felt good to be able to finish the game, make a big catch, make a big play for this team.After Jake Elliott made a 41-yard field goal with 2:21 to play, Washington drove 55 yards to Philadelphias 20 with 30 seconds left. Thats when McLeod ended it. RELATED:With safety Anthony Harris playing tight coverage on Terry McLaurin, quarterback Taylor Heinicke sailed his throw. McLeod stretched his body as far as it would go to make the interception going to the ground.The turnover survived replay and it was over, as the Eagles offense took the field for one final kneel down.He won the game for us, Dario Agrazal Jersey said RT Lane Johnson. It wasnt looking too good for usMy first thought was the ball hit the ground. Then I saw the replay and saw he caught it.It was the second straight week McLeod notched an interception. He also had five tackles.The Eagles are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the league, winners of four straight and seven of nine. They have turned a 2-5 record into 9-7 and into a playoff spot because the 49ers beat the Texans later in the day and in the night game, the Packers beat the Vikings. That formula enabled the Eagles to reach the postseason for the fourth time in five years and the first time since 2019.Its not whos the toughest, its whos the toughest the longest, said tight end Dallas Goedert, who had six catches for a game-high 71 yards.The Eagles havent had many close wins this season, other than a 21-18 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 5, yet head coach Nick Sirianni, who became the fourth rookie head coach in NFL history to go from 2-5 to a winning record, said he detected a sense of calm on the sideline.Im obviously Ivan Nova Jersey pleased with the situation where we are right now, controlling our destiny, he said. Im really pleased the way we responded in this gamewhat you saw (Sunday), what I felt on the sideline was a calmne s. There was a calmne s throughout the entire game. We only had one game that was not a double-digit win, and that was Carolina, but that whole game (against Washington), there was just a calmne s from our leaders on the team that reflected to everyone else, Fletch (Cox), Rodney McLeod, Jason Kelce, Jalen Hurts. Jalen was so calm throughout the entire game.RELATED:Really, the entire Eagles defense deserves credit in this one, at least in the second half, along with some gutsy fourth-and-goal calls from Sirianni.Scroll to ContinueAfter allowing the WFT to score on all four of its first-half po se sions to take a 16-7 lead, the defense rose to the occasion, led by defensive end Josh Sweat. Sweat forced Washington to punt for the first all game when he sacked Taylor Heinicke on third Steven Brault Jersey down.Sweat was a force throughout. He notched 1.5 sacks with five tackles, o QB hits, and two pa ses batted down at the line of scrimmage. His 7.5 sacks are a career-high, breaking last years mark of six.We had a rough start, said Sweat, but weve pretty much been building up to be able to handle these momentswe had a rough start and got it taken care of, thats all that matter.The Eagles' defense allowed 230 total yards in the first half, but just 81 in the second half JB Shuck Jersey .DE Genard Avery also forced another punt with his first sack of the season.Cornerback Avonte Maddox overcame a questionable pa s interference call midway through the final quarter to make a stop to make a key tackle on third down then a pa s breakup on fourth down as WFT coach Ron Rivera opted to go for a first down on fourth-and-five at midfield.From there, the Eagles ran the ball eight straight times, including a fourth-and-one sneak by Hurts, to get into field goal range to allow Elliott to put them up four.Earlier, Elliott's 42-yard field goal gave the Eagles their first lead at 17-16 with 11:41 to play in the fourth.The offense got two Boston Scott rushing touchdowns on fourth-and-goal calls, one in the second quarter, the other to cap a game-changing 75-yard drive that spanned 14 plays and 7 minutes, 39 seconds. Scotts 2-yard sweep right that ended with him soaring through the air into the end zone cut the Eagles deficit to 16-14 with 7:21 to play in the third quarter.His first fourth-and-goal run, also from two yards out, was a burst up the middle, following what looked like a nice lane cleared by center Jason Kelce. That made the game 10-7 in Washingtons favor with 11:49 to go in the second quarter.Scott saw extended snaps with Miles Sanders out and finished 47 yards on 14 carries and 39 yards on four catches. His two touchdowns give him seven rushing on the season and the team 24, just two away from tying the team record of 26 set by the 1945 team.The Eagles NFL-leading running game started slowly but managed to finish with 118 yards on 34 runs, with Hurts adding 44 on seven carries and Jordan Howard 26 on 11 runs.Hurts completed 17-of-26 throws for 214 yards and a 90.9 pa ser rating.Heinicke completed his first 11 throws but was a nonfactor in the second half. He was 27-for-36 with 247 yards and McLeods interception.This game is so emotional, said Sirianni, when asked about McLeods game-winning INT. In tight games like this, you have to fight back tears Jameson Taillon Jersey of joy. Its just such an emotional game and why we love this game so much. There s so many ups and downs, its so lifelike."There are so many ups and downs throughout the game then excitement and joy when you can win with what you would say a walk-off interception, its pretty special to be a part of.