1. The Phillies have had 120-plus years to build their shitty little fanbase.

2. The Phillies have been a winning team for the past nine seasons. As a general rule, winning teams have more support than losing teams.

3. Bad Phillies teams actually drew less fans than bad Nats teams.

To that last point, the Nats have existed in Washington for seven seasons and have yet to field a winning team. They’ve averaged 26,000 fans/game. The last time the Phillies went seven years without a winner was 1994-2000, and they averaged 24,000.

Meaning, I wish we had a reason to invade Philly in the ’90s, if we were that obnoxious and it was actually a city worth visiting.

Winners

Brian Orakpo — Picked up two sacks and a forced fumble, which is pretty much his greatest game ever vs. an NFC East foe.

Evan Royster — Picked up over five yards/carry and recorded 167 total yards (giving him 314 in two starts). The highlight was a 28-yard run in which he evaded four or five tacklers before falling over.

Roy Helu — Had a 47-yard TD despite a bad wheel that prompted Ron Pitts to say, “He is definitely gimping.” Gimping!

Draft position — With the loss, the Skins appear headed for sixth.

Losers

Danny Smith — Special teams were a hot mess in so many ways: holding on a fair catch, shanking a punt, committing multiple block-in-the-back penalties on one return, giving up a big punt return and, of course, allowing yet another blocked field goal, their fifth of the season. Fire Danny Smith.

Kyle Shanahan — I don’t know who to blame for the sequence at the end of the first half that resulted in time expiring without an attempted FG, but Kyle it is. Incredible incompetence. Also, 10 points.

Rex Grossman — That was a flat-out ugly game for the Sex Cannon.

London Fletcher — Only made four tackles, which is weird. Also missed a tackle on Brent Celek’s 30-yard catch-and-run.

Donte Stallworth — Called for unsportsmanlike conduct after “going to the ground” to celebrate a TD that was not his own. The celebration, which was a shoe-shining thing, I think, was lame to boot.

DeAngelo Hall and Perry Riley — Teamed up to totally not make the tackle on Chad Hall’s TD.

Rocky McIntosh — Inactive today. Probably done as a Redskin. Great second-round pick, there.

Brandon Banks — Returned two punts for -1 yard.

Mike Shanahan — Not only did the Redskins lose badly to a division rival to finish the season 5-11, but they did so while making tons of mistakes. In addition to everything listed under Danny Smith and Kyle Shanahan, Shanny also challenged a call that was clearly correct. He lost that too.

Medium

O.J. Atogwe — Caught a gimme INT. Also gave up a long TD to DeSean Jackson and later flexed after tackling a RB for a 20-yard gain.

Santana Moss — Dropped a long gainer. Was later flagged for taking his helmet off after not getting the call; he was right, but still.

Even with such a clear line to gaining or losing such vital draft position, I just can’t do it. Beat Philly, and end this misery on a high note.

Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Line: Redskins +9
Prediction: Eagles by 6
Beer: No matter the outcome of this game, I will be having an Ayinger Celebrator to close the season. Thank God that’s over with. — Mr. I Beer Guy Chris Larkum

RMNB did a really nice job on these Jaromir Jagr signs for the mullet-headed one’s return to D.C. [Russian Machine Never Breaks]

It didn’t matter though as the Caps lost 5-1 to Philly. [Japers' Rink]

Tomas Voukoun had a “terrible performance,” says Vokoun. [Caps Insider]

Joe Theismann gave Hall, Davis and Williams a nice ripping. [Bog]

Awesome, quick highlight videos from Wizards practice. [Truth About It]

The best NBA blog in the world previews the 2011-12 Wizards. [BDL]

Explainer for what’s happening with Nick Young’s free agency. [Wiz Insider]

A Nats prospect proposed to his Titans cheerleader girlfriend. [Bog]

O’s sign Japanese lefty Tsuyoshi Wada for 2 years, $8m. [Camden Chat]

More on Wada, who’s known as “the Dr. K of Tokyo.” [Krem's Sports]

It’s about time Baltimore got rid of Luke Scott. [Dempsey's Army]

VT ranked 25th-best college football job in America. [Outkick the Coverage]

Maryland has yet another transfer, their seventh. [Testudo Times]

D.J. Adams’ blond hair was apparently an issue for Randy Edsall. [Bog]

JMU football outdrew 46 I-A schools. JMU! [JMU Sports Blog]

Dan Snyder is Romney supporter. Ted Leonsis is an Obama supporter. [Bog]

Winners

Oshiomogho Atgowe — The free agent signee played his best game as a Redskin. Atogwe registered six tackles and a crucial interception of Michael Vick on the goal line.

John Beck — Beck was a winner in this game because he was not Rex Grossman. We will get to Rex a little later, but Beck showed good speed and awareness in his time on the field. His stats were fairly pedestrian, 8 for 17 for 117 yards, but he also added a touchdown on a nifty QB sneak. Most importantly, he didn’t throw four interceptions.

Fred Davis — Ol’ Sleepy Davis hauled in six catches for 95 yards. He was the only receiver Rex could hit consistently, and he kept that same flow when Beck entered the game. The Redskins still had quality tight end play despite Chris Cooley leaving the game with a broken finger.

LaRon Landry — Quietly led the team with eight tackles and delivered one big hit on Vick. Pressure from Landry also forced Eagles backup QB Vince Young into a bad throw that was intercepted by DeAngelo Hall.

Sav Rocca – That dude keeps pinning punts inside the 10-yard line. Sadly, we didn’t get to see Rocca that much because Rex kept throwing picks.

Medium

DeAngelo Hall — He had to make the list somewhere. Hall picked off the errant Vince Young pass, but he also got burned on a deep ball that seemed like he should have been able to make a play on. Also, he had a serious whiff on a LeSean McCoy run.

Rocky McIntosh — The linebacker from the U is having one of his best seasons as a Redskin. He just seems to know the 3-4 defense well this year, and he made six tackles in the Philly game.

The Defense – Though the game was ugly, the defense kept the Redskins in the game. After the first quarter, the Skins D basically shut down the Eagles, blanking the Birds in the second half. If only the Skins had some offense, which brings us to …

Losers

REX GROSSMAN – REX PLAYED AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The stats show plenty (9 for 22 for 140 yards and four picks). Yes, four picks. Grossman got benched for Beck, and I’d venture a guess that Beck starts next week in Carolina.

Ryan Torain, Roy Helu — Maybe it was not their fault, but neither running back did anything. Injuries to Trent Williams and Kory Lichtensteiger hurt the run game, but Torain had a bad drop of a Beck pass and Helu never got to show off his speed.

Offensive Line — Losing two starters is going to hurt any line, but when the offense is as ineffective as thee Redskins were against Philly, the line has to take a large portion of the blame.

Matt Terl: Eagles, 24-17

I want to believe. Really, I do. I’ve got faith in the Shanahans. I loved the offseason moves, and they’ve largely played out the way I hoped. Rex, for all his faults, is at worst a serviceable NFL quarterback. But … it’s the Eagles, and I keep thinking about last year’s Monday Night Massacre. It’s the Redskins off a bye, which has been bad news for three years running. And it’s the Redskins just when people are starting to consider believing in them, which is usually a guarantee that things are going to go wrong. A win this week will totally change my tone, but for now I have to give the edge to a desperate Eagles team whose season is almost certainly on the line.

Andy Peden: Eagles, 34-24

I hate everything about this game. The Eagles are clearly desperate, and I hate betting against the desperate team. So far this year, they moved the ball in huge chunks only to turn it over. This will be the game where they have no turnovers and put it all together which will lead to a ton of highlights from last year’s MNF game. The Eagles D is soft. The gameplan should be to pound the rock with the Skins RBs getting 30-35 carries, but I’m guessing Rex gets to drop back way too much. With a Skins win, the Eagles are officially done. I’m not that fortunate. Hide the bourbon, cause I’d probably drink it all.

JP Finlay: Eagles, 27-24

I hate Eagles week. I get excited for Dallas week, and playing the Giants always generates a ton of emails with my NY/NJ friends from college, but Eagles week, it just sucks.

I’m not sure how, or even why, but the Skins are going to lose. And I fear it will be a heartbreaker. My gut says we take a close lead into the fourth quarter, but through boneheaded playcalling from Kyle Shanahan and electric play from Mike Vick, the Skins lose late. It will be close, but this ain’t horseshoes.

Todd Davis: Redskins, 27-20

Eagles make a few explosive plays, but Skins dominate time of possession and relentlessly expose Philly’s utter futility up the middle on defense. Torain, Helu both over 100 yards. Without Jason Peters, Kerrigan/Orakpo may dismember Vick. Keep an eye out for JMU’s own Akeem Jordan. Great to see a fellow Duke out there, but he’s just another undersized guy in Philly’s front seven.

Jack Kogod: Eagles, 28-23

Bad feelings here. I’m sure the Redskins will move the ball, I’m just not sure about their ability to finish drives.

Chris Mottram: Eagles, 31-24

Me: Redskins, 24-21

Composite prediction: Eagles, 26-23

A lot of us are a little touchy about almost blowing it at St. Louis, but at least we’re not Eagles fans, though it would be cool to go by “eatdatpussy445.”

ESPN the Magazine’s “What If Michael Vick Were White” piece is getting a lot of (negative) attention today, but I don’t know what the big deal is; they just photoshopped Colt Brennan in an Eagles jersey.

Ian Desmond has had a crappy year, but the Nats beat Philly and took the series thanks in part to his ninth inning, two-out, two-strike, game-tying homer. The day after Ian Desmond Bobblehead Day, no less!* [WaPo, NE]

Correction: Desmond Bobblehead Day was actually Saturday (see below). This post has been updated to reflect the error.

Davey Johnson compared it to Game 6 of the ‘86 Series, sort of. [Boswell]

Bryce Harper’s season is probably over. Here’s a recap. [Nats Blog]

I don’t like the author, but I did like this Harper column. [Gregg Doyel]

Pretty sure this means Tyler Clippard is the best RP in baseball. [BR Blog]

Livan Hernandez threw like 200 pitches on Friday night. [Nats Journal]

Positing that Mike Morse’s 2011 season is “a giant fluke.” [Fire Jim Bowden]

O’s get swept in Anaheim, are now 30 games under .500. [The Sun]

The O’s are so bad this blogger is taking time off. [O's Card "O" the Day]

Vinny Cerrato said he once tried to trade for Jamaal Charles. [PFT]

A good X’s and O’s look at Skins draft picks by Doug Farrar. [Hogs Haven]

A good look at how the Skins’ 53-man roster is shaping up. [The Insider]

Another impressive highlight reel from Capital Punishment. [Bullets Forever]

Figuring why Nick Young didn’t play in Capital Punishment. [Truth About It]

Kevin Durant’s burgundy-and-gold shoes were pretty sweet. [Truth About It]

Durant went sightseeing in D.C., because Durant is awesome. [SBN]

Gilbert Arenas on the G’town brawl is very Gilbert Arenas. [The Dagger]

Georgetown played another, fight-free exhibition in China. [WaPo]

Wale namechecks Danny O’Brien on his new mixtape. [Testudo Times]

* The only thing funnier than the Nats having Ian Desmond Bobblehead Day is the Nats having Ian Desmond Bobblehead Day when Nats Park is invaded by Philly fans. Reminds me of the time I went to Pittsburgh and got a Jack Wilson bobblehead. Jack Wilson! Nice park, though.

Allow me to list the awesome things about this, beyond that it was a walk-off grand slam to beat the Phillies in a Phillies fans-filled Nats Park:

– The Phillies fan who got the HR ball actually raised his arms in triumph.
– Zim looked back at the Nats dugout before the ball even landed. Swag!
– Charlies Slowes’ HR call is about 1,000,000x better than Bob Carpenter’s.
– Zim received the rare pie in the face-Gatorade shower combo.
– This was Zim’s eighth walk-off HR in seven seasons, a new record.
– Zim is now four short of the all-time career walk-off HR record.

He is 26, he is ours and he is Mr. Walk-Off. We have the t-shirt to prove it.