Michael Vick threw three touchdown passes, including a 62-yarder to DeSean Jackson, and the Eagles beat Washington 34-10 Sunday for their fourth straight win.

While the Eagles (8-8) go home feeling positive about a strong finish, the Redskins (5-11) have fewer bright spots. They finished last in the NFC East for a franchise-worst fourth straight year. It was Mike Shanahan’s worst full season in 18 years as a coach.

“I think the last five, six games we’ve done some good things, run the football against some good teams, not as good as we need, though,” Shanahan said. “We talked about adding a few pieces on offense, we need a few pieces on defense, a good draft, but we made some strides. Our football team is a lot different than a year ago, and that’s a positive.”

The Redskins had one more win last year, but feel they made strides this season.

“Oh yeah, tremendously,” linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “Even though our record’s worse, I feel like our defense is tops in the league. Statistically, we kind of fell off toward the end, but I really feel like we got the core guys we can build off of and really look for a bright future for this team, especially with all the young guys you see this year.”

It’s the first time since 2007 that Philadelphia didn’t qualify for postseason play and just the fourth time in coach Andy Reid’s 13 seasons.

“We have to get better all the way around, starting with me,” Reid said. “This wasn’t good enough.”

One of four NFL games on the final day that had no playoff ramifications, this had the feel of a preseason game. There were thousands of empty seats at the always sold-out Linc, and there was far more interest in the Mummer’s Parade on Broad Street.

The Winter Classic alumni game between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers across the street at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday generated more excitement.

Playing without NFC leading rusher LeSean McCoy, the Eagles relied mainly on their passing attack. Vick threw for 335 yards, becoming the second player to have consecutive seasons with 3,000 yards passing and 500 yards rushing.

Rex Grossman had 256 yards passing, one TD and one interception, and Evan Royster had 113 yards rushing for Washington.

“I’m not sure what my opportunities are going to be,” said Grossman, who will be a free agent. “I hope this is the best opportunity. It’s a very good team. I’m proud of every single teammate that I played with. Everybody worked hard, nobody gave up. We have great character in that locker room. Even though we finished where we finished, I was proud to be a part of this team.”

The Redskins were 3-1 and leading the NFC East when the teams met on Oct. 16. A 20-13 loss to Philadelphia started their six-game losing streak and knocked them out of the playoff picture.

“I think it was encouraging to see how we played in the first half of games this season, but was disappointed that we did not finish some games,” linebacker Ryan Kerrigan said. “We did not always play up to par this season.”

Vick’s 7-yard TD pass to Chad Hall in the second quarter gave Philadelphia a 10-0 lead after Derek Landri blocked Graham Gano’s 36-yard field-goal attempt.

Vick connected with Jackson to make it 20-10 in the fourth quarter. It could’ve been Jackson’s last game with the Eagles. The two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver played the final year of his rookie contract and never got the extension he wanted after holding out in training camp.

A 4-yard TD toss from Vick to Brent Celek made it 27-10.

Roy Helu turned a screen pass into a 47-yard TD to get Washington to 10-7 on the opening drive of the second half.

The Redskins turned the ball over on downs at the Eagles 35 in the final minute of the second quarter. They got the ball back when Brian Orakpo sacked Vick and forced a fumble. Perry Riley recovered at the 17, but the Redskins wasted the field position.

An unsportsmanlike penalty on Santana Moss for taking off his helmet and arguing a non-call for pass interference pushed the ball back, and the clock expired before Gano could attempt a field goal after Jabar Gaffney was tackled at the Eagles 7. Long snapper Nick Sundberg wasn’t on the field as players scurried to the line of scrimmage.

“A little mix-up there relative to communication, coupled with not getting the play,” Shanahan said, explaining that the headsets weren’t working at the time.

NOTES: Grossman finished with 20 interceptions despite not starting three games. … Shanahan’s previous worst season was 6-10 last year and with Denver in 1999. … Orakpo left with a left shoulder injury. He’ll have an MRI on Monday.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Philadelphia Eagles have nothing at stake against the Washington Redskins on Jan. 1. Eagles fans like myself can only root for a .500 record that is completely misleading to how 2011 really went – and a loss doesn’t seem likely to get Andy Reid fired anyway. The Redskins have nothing to play for either, since they are 5-10 and stuck in last place yet again.

This makes the Eagles-Redskins battle completely meaningless as a whole. What’s more, it is even more embarrassing since it is one of the few Week 17 games that have absolutely no stakes at all.

There are only two other games that will not make any impact on the playoff picture or on the top of the NFL draft order. The 7-8 Chicago Bears visit the 3-12 Minnesota Vikings, after the Bears got knocked out of the playoff race and the Vikings knocked themselves out of the race for Andrew Luck. Meanwhile, the 7-8 Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals do battle with only an 8-8 record on the line for the winner.

Every other game means something in some way for some team – and even the Indianapolis Colts-Jacksonville Jaguars battle is huge since it will settle the No. 1 draft pick one way or the other. The other finales will determine postseason berths and playoff seeding for one or both teams in action. But the Eagles and Redskins are completely free of such worries, however.

Washington is used to just playing out the last game of the season with nothing to shoot for, but it is a different story for Philadelphia. It is either resting for the postseason, trying to secure a better seed or seeking to clinch a spot in the playoffs by now. Instead, the Eagles are only attempting to reach .500 and not have any injuries that will impact the start of 2012.

Considering the rest of the high impact action in Week 17, there is no reason to tune into the Eagles-Redskins game over all the others, unless one is a fan of these teams. Unfortunately, myself and others are stuck with the Eagles and will have to yawn through the finale. In between, we will either be infuriated that Philadelphia couldn’t win four straight earlier in the season, or be mad at only the third losing season in the Reid era.

There is a slim chance that this finale could be historic as the last game in Philadelphia for Reid and DeSean Jackson, but we won’t know that for sure for weeks or months. For the moment, this is the most boring and meaningless Week 17 Eagles game in a long time, and perhaps the most boring Week 17 battle in the NFL as a whole.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan acknowledged Friday he began watching game film of college quarterbacks at midseason.

It’s no secret that the Redskins need improved quarterback play — Rex Grossman is tied for the NFL lead with 24 turnovers in only 12 starts — so Shanahan’s admission is not necessarily major. And Shanahan also implied this is not an unusual practice.

But Shanahan long ago turned some of his attention toward possible replacements for Grossman and John Beck.

“I’ve probably already looked at 10 or 15 of them,” Shanahan said. “I’ll take a half hour a day early in the morning — the tapes are made up. I’ll take a look at maybe 75, 80 plays of just a guy throwing the football in game situations, and so that’s most of the passes — or at least the good passes — during the season just so I get a feel for the guy.

“You’ve got names; sometimes you can’t relate to how a guy is playing because you hear a lot about it on TV, but a lot of it’s hype and not evaluation. So you like to go back and kind of put the play with the name.”

Washington already has secured a last-place finish in the NFC East prior to Sunday’s season finale at Philadelphia, so interview topics with the head coach this week drifted forward to the Redskins‘ offseason plan.

There’s only 118 days until the Redskins go on the clock, and in little more than 48 hours from now, their spot in the draft order will be finalized.

Beck sees a brighter future

Backup quarterback John Beck’s season did not go as planned, but he’s still encouraged about his future with the Redskins.

“Oh heck yes, I definitely want to be back,” he said Friday. “That thought hasn’t even crossed my mind.”

Beck is under contract for 2012, so he’d be denied that opportunity only if the team releases him. He wants to earn that chance, though, by making the most of the upcoming offseason.

Last spring — his first offseason in the Redskins‘ offense — he missed out on the offseason program because of the lockout. He already has reached out to offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan about scheduling offseason work for the upcoming months.

He wants to build on the positives and negatives of his ill-fated three-start midseason stint.

“I’m excited for this offseason,” Beck said. “I just want to get better. That’s the number one thing for me. There’s no rearview mirror. I’m just ready to work my tail off.”

Jenkins‘ rehab progressing well

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Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said he has no doubt he will return to the team next season despite a lack of progress in the won-lost column.

Shanahan is nearing the end of the second season of the five-year, $35 million contract that he signed in January of 2010. He was expected to return the Redskins to the ranks of NFL contenders, but Washington went 6-10 in Shanahan’s first season and the team owns a 5-10 mark entering the season finale at Philadelphia Sunday.

Still, Shanahan — who this week admitted it has taken longer to rebuild the Redskins than he initially imagined – said he fully expects owner Daniel Snyder to allow him to continue his reclamation project next season.

“No, there’s no doubt in my mind,” he said without hesitation.

“Hopefully there’s no doubt in Dan’s mind, too,” Shanahan added with a chuckle. “That would be the bigger guy to ask.”

Shanahan said the Redskins had less depth and less talent than he believed when he accepted the job. After keeping a rather veteran roster and adding several pieces, but failing at that attempt in 2010, Shanahan and general manager Bruce Allen shifted their focus in 2011 to fielding a younger team built primarily through the draft.

Shanahan said he made it clear to Snyder that patience would be required for him and Allen to transform the Redskins into a franchise that will enjoy long-term success. The coach expects to receive that time.

“Like I talked to him about when I first got here, I said, ‘Dan, if you don’t plan on me coaching here five years and doing it the right way, you’re hiring the wrong guy.’” Shanahan said. “It’s going to take some time to do it right.”

When DeAngelo Hall came to the Washington Redskins midway through the 2008 season as a free agent who had been cut by the Oakland Raiders, the Redskins – then coached by Jim Zorn – owned a 6-2 record. But they stumbled, going 2-6 to finish 8-8.

Hall recalls how he and his teammates entered that offseason saying “hopefully next year will be our year.”

But Zorn and the Redskins went 4-12, and the coach was fired. The players again hoped for next year, and Mike Shanahan took over in January of 2010, but went 6-10 in his first season.

Now the Redskins own a 5-10 record and need a win over the Philadelphia Eagles to equal last year’s mark and equal the lowly record of Zorn’s embarrassing two-year tenure. And once again, Hall is hoping for next year.

“I’ve been here 3-1/2 years and it’s always been ‘hopefully next year,’ so it’s definitely tiring. Hopefully that won’t be the case next year,” Hall said chuckling and rolling his eyes. “Hopefully [we’re] one offseason away. Hopefully one draft, one free agency away from adding more pieces on offense, maybe a couple pieces on defense away from being what we want to be.”

Hall said he believes a turnaround in Year 3 of the Shanahan era is possible. The organization spent last season primarily upgrading the defense, and the results have started to show. Now the hope is that with an emphasis on the offense this coming offseason, a breakthrough will come there as well.

“We took the 31st-ranked defense to now being top 15,” Hall said. “The offense has been playing great the last couple weeks, so hopefully, through the draft and free agency we can get the pieces we want and get our kind of guys, Washington Redskins, and be the team we want to be.”

The Redskins face an Eagles team Sunday that, like them, entered the year with high aspirations, only to post a disappointing campaign and miss the playoffs. Hall and his teammates hope to avenge a 20-13 loss to Philadelphia earlier this season and at least give themselves a positive start to their unwanted vacations.

“When I got here, they were 6-2, and that’s more wins than we’ve got right now. We’re not trying to compare the two coaches and win for that. We just want to go out there and end on a good note,” Hall said. “It’d be nice [to win]. It’d be real nice, especially against the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that we know pretty well and haven’t been able to beat for a while.”