LANDOVER, Md. – The Eagles’ season was saved by a rookie running back who wouldn’t be denied and a practice-squad wide receiver who saved his best work for the final drive.

Miles Sanders ran for a career-high 122 yards and added 50 more receiving, and Greg Ward had 7 catches for 61 yards. That included the game-winning touchdown, a 4-yard reception with 26 seconds left.

Nigel Bradham ended the game with a fumble return touchdown of 47 yards, giving the Eagles a 37-27 win Sunday.

Carson Wentz overcame a critical mistake, fumbling the ball away in the fourth quarter to set up Washington’s go-ahead field goal. He marched the Eagles down the field for his second straight fourth-quarter comeback.

And the Eagles (7-7) stayed in contention for a playoff spot.

A Dallas win over the Rams later Sunday would keep the two teams tied atop the NFC East. The Eagles host the Cowboys next Sunday. If Dallas loses to the Rams, the Eagles can clinch the NFC East next Sunday with a win.

Had the Eagles lost, they would have had to win their final two games while Dallas would have to lose both games.

And it almost fell apart for the Eagles when Wentz was sacked on a 3rd-and-2 from the Eagles’ 33 with 6 1/2 minutes left. Washington recovered, but the Eagles defense prevented a first down, forcing a go-ahead field goal with 4:52 remaining.

The Eagles’ only chance was to score while not leaving any time left for Washington’s lethal rookie duo of quarterback Dwayne Haskins and wide receiver Terry McLaurin.

So they did.

Wentz, who finished 30 of 43 for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns, hit tight end Dallas Goedert for 20 yards down to Washington’s 25. Then Ward caught a 13-yard pass down to the 15, and one play later, a 10-yard pass to the 4. On the next play, Wentz went to Ward again and he outleaped Josh Norman in the back of the end zone.

The Eagles clamped down on defense somewhat in the second half after being flustered by Washington, which ranked last in the NFL on offense coming into the game.

Then Sanders took over.

In the third quarter, Wentz was scrambling to his right from Washington’s 15 when he fired on the run into the back of the end zone through two Washington defenders. Sanders in the very back corner, caught the ball and fell on his backside just before going out of bounds.

That put the Eagles in front 17-14. Washington answered with Adrian Peterson’s 10-yard touchdown run.

It seemed dire when the Eagles faced a 3rd-and-10 from their 25 early in the fourth quarter. Wentz handed the ball to Sanders on a draw play, and he sped down the left side for 56 yards to Washington’s 19-yard line.

A few plays later, Wentz found Zach Ertz from 2 yards out and the Eagles were back in front.

Washington tied the game on a 53-yard field goal with 8:02 remaining.

But Washington (3-11) tested the Eagles in every way, mostly at wide receiver. The disparity was evident Sunday.

The Eagles were down to three healthy wide receivers, none of whom had caught a pass before this season. Washington had McLaurin, who quickly burned the Eagles for a 75-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, breaking a tackle at midfield in the process.

So while the Eagles had two long scoring drives in the first half, they still trailed 14-10 at halftime because the Eagles couldn’t stop Haskins and McLaurin.

The Eagles’ two scoring drives went for 7 minutes, 40 seconds and 6:18. Washington, meanwhile, raced down the field to score.

Haskins, who came into the game completing just 55% of his passes with a rating of 61.2, went 7-for-8 for 130 yards with 2 touchdowns through the midway point of the second quarter.

He finished 19 of 28 for 261 yards and 2 TDs. He came into the game completing just 55% of his passes. McLaurin had 5 catches for 130 yards.

The Eagles’ road was much more difficult. Of the Eagles’ wide receivers, Ward was the only one with a reception.

It stayed that way throughout the game as Ward finished with 7 catches for 61 yards. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside dropped a ball in the end zone and Robert Davis wasn’t thrown to.

The Eagles scored first, on a Jake Elliott 25-yard field goal after the Eagles went 88 yards to Washington’s 7. On Washington’s first play after the field goal, Haskins hit McLaurin for about 25 yards over the middle. McLaurin broke Avonte Maddox’s tackle attempt and went the rest of the way into the end zone for 75 yards.

The Eagles came back with a touchdown after another long, time-consuming drive, capped off by Sanders’ 1-yard TD run.

Again, Washington answered with a quick drive, as Haskins capped it with a 5-yard TD to Steven Sims.

Once again, the Eagles had only three wide receivers on the game-day roster. None of the three had a reception in the NFL before this season. And combined, they came into the game with 20 catches this season for a total of 220 yards.

The Eagles are in this situation because their top three receivers are injured. DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery are on injured reserve – Jeffery was placed on IR last Thursday – and out for the rest of the regular season.

Nelson Agholor missed his third game in four weeks with a knee injury.

It showed.

And then Sanders and Ward helped the Eagles save their season.