There was a shift of momentum Monday night when the Eagles hosted the Washington Redskins in a pivotal NFC East Division football game. The shift didn’t register on a Richter scale which would’ve made world-wide news. But, nonetheless, it was a turning point the Eagles used to their advantage in a sound thrashing of the Redskins, 34-24, and extends their winning streak to five games.

The game wasn’t as close as the score would make you think and the almost 70,000 in attendance and a nationwide television audience would probably agree. Not only does it extend their winning streak, but it puts the Eagles (6-1) in first place by two-and-a-half games over Washington and Dallas.

They could do little on offense in the first quarter and their defense was giving up big plays to the Redskins. But after a quarter, they were somehow down by only a field goal, 3-0. After Jake Elliott tied it up with a field goal, the Redskins went ahead with a touchdown, 10-3. Late in the quarter, the birds scored two touchdowns in the span of less than three minutes and went into halftime with momentum on their side and a 17-10 lead.

They had momentum and didn’t give it up in the second half. After starting the game poorly, second-year quarterback Carson Wentz made himself a consideration for Most Valuable Payer with his second four touchdown pass game in three games. He also threw four touchdown passes in the 34-7 win over Arizona on October 8.

Wide receiver Mack Hollins caught his first touchdown, a 64-yard bomb and tight end Zach Ertz followed it up with a four-yard TD reception for the 17-10 halftime lead. In the second-half, Wentz connected on a 9-yarder to running back Corey Clement and Nelson Agholor hauled in a 10-yarder to close out the scoring.

The play people will always talk about when the name Carson Wentz is mentioned occurred on the final touchdown drive. The Redskins were down a touchdown, 24-17, midway through the final quarter and had the Eagles facing third-and-eight from their 27. Wentz dropped back and appeared all but sacked for a loss but somehow managed to escape from the clutches of the Washington defenders and ran for 17 yards to keep the drive going. The Redskins felt a little done and dusted and now can give a first-hand account of the frustration a team feels when Wentz escapes from what appears to be a sack.

If Carson Wentz continues to play at this rate, other teams in the NFL will also know how it feels to miss out on an opportunity to pin the Eagles deep in their territory.  This win enables the birds to stay undefeated in the division at 3-0, undefeated in the conference at 5-0. They are the only team in the league that has played at least four conference games to be undefeated in the conference. Pittsburgh is the only other team to have a 3-0 division record. The Steelers lead the AFC North at 5-2. The  winless San Francisco 49ers (0-7) visit Lincoln Financial Field Sunday at 1 p.m.