Slumping Eagles Need Win at Washington to Turn Season Around

The defending NFC East champion Eagles were dubbed the "Dream Team" by backup quarterback Vince Young following key acquisitions in the offseason but have stumbled to a 1-4 start and are at risk of falling out of the playoff picture.

"Being loose is probably the best way to be right now," Eagles starting quarterback Michael Vick told reporters on Friday. "When everyone is tense and uptight, it creates more pressure and we already have enough pressure on ourselves."

To avoid losing five straight games for the first time since 1998, the Eagles will need a road win on Sunday against a division-leading Redskins team enjoying a turnaround of their own after going 6-10 last year.

Vick, who threw a career-high four interceptions during last week's loss to the Buffalo Bills, stressed a need for the Eagles to focus on playing mistake-free football.

"We're just focusing on the next best thing, and that's winning. We understand that can change everything around," said Vick. "Everybody has handled this whole situation with class and as professionals like we all are. We're waiting to pull through."

During Philadelphia's last game at Washington -- a 59-28 rout last November -- Vick became the first NFL player to register at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game.

However, this season's Eagles team is different. They have committed 15 turnovers, three more than any other team, and are sitting last in the NFC East.

The Eagles enter their bye week after the Redskins game and then return for another key divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) before matchups against the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals, who both have losing records.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, who is fifth in the NFL in rushing yards with 443, said his team mates' attitude has been positive all week and acknowledged the matchup against Washington is the biggest game yet this season.

"Out of all the games we've had so far, I think this is the biggest game that we'll play," said McCoy.

"Especially now, since we're 1-4 and going against the division. This is one of the biggest games we'll play."

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

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Refreshed Gophers to face slumping Iowa

Minnesota's open week came at the perfect time, but only because of what the Gophers had done on the preceding Saturday.

A win at Illinois snapped a nine-game losing streak and an eight-game Big Ten slide stretching back to last season. The emotion-charged triumph momentarily parted the clouds and left the Gophers feeling good and relaxed as they went through practice last week.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Charlie NeibergallThe Floyd of Rosedale trophy is on the line when Iowa faces Minnesota."You could definitely tell we had a different feel around here," interim coach Jeff Horton said. "You could actually smile and laugh and not be fake."

More than a week after the victory, Horton wasn't about to minimize what it meant.

"The old monkey had grown into a gorilla, it was King Kong on our backs, losing that many in a row," Horton said. "So obviously, it was an awesome feeling to get that off of you."

Minnesota is undoubtedly the looser team heading into Saturday's season finale at TCF Bank Stadium. But Iowa is still the better team.

The Hawkeyes simply need to play like it. Although they've fallen well short of preseason expectations, they can still secure a Jan. 1 bowl berth and retain the Floyd of Rosedale with a win in Minneapolis.

Iowa's biggest challenge could be the mental hurdle of bouncing back from consecutive losses in which it blew fourth-quarter leads.

"I'd have concerns either way," Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said. "If we were coming off two big, euphoric-type wins, I'd be concerned probably the other direction. So it's like in any game. ... The mental state of the team is always an issue that you think about and try to do your best to manage. Circumstances change, but you're always trying to anticipate how the team's thinking and what things you might have to cover."

Iowa has held Minnesota scoreless in each of the teams' last two meetings, and the Hawkeyes have surrendered a combined 39 points in five of their wins this season. While Ferentz has struggled with Iowa's previous two opponents, Ohio State and Northwestern, he's 8-3 against Minnesota.

"It is a huge rivalry game," Horton said. "In the last 10 years, we're 2-8, so we’ve got to do our part to rekindle that. We don't want Iowa to feel comfortable about just coming in expecting to win."

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