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NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- When the Eagles did not take Ricky Williams in the 1999 draft, the city of Philadelphia viewed it as a mistake. Today, Williams had a mistake-prone afternoon for the New Orleans Saints. The Eagles forced four turnovers, including recovering a pair of fumbles by Williams, en route to a 21-7 victory over New Orleans. Playing against the team that shunned him in the 1999 draft for the first time, Williams carried 20 times for 103 yards and added seven receptions for 52 yards. But the former Heisman Trophy winner lost fumbles in the second and third quarter. "I think anytime you turn the ball over, it is costly," Williams said. "I think I pretty much gave them 10 points all by myself." "I'm kind of concerned. When I got here I never heard of him being a fumbler and I don't know if that was true in college," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "I don't think it was. I'm kind of surprised by it but he has to do a better job as everybody does of holding on to the football." Williams' fumble early in the second quarter led to Donovan McNabb's 21-yard touchdown pass to Charles Johnson that gave Philadelphia (2-2) the lead for good, 14-7. McNabb, who the Eagles selected second overall in 1999 -- three picks ahead of Williams -- also had a 16-yard TD pass to tight end Chad Lewis in the second quarter. McNabb had a mistake-free afternoon and completed 20-of-32 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns. "I never had a problem with losing my confidence," said McNabb, who had struggled the last two weeks. "We can feed off of this win and come in Monday or Tuesday and try to take another step forward." "I thought Donovan did a decent job for the most part," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "Out of all that stuff (statistics) the thing that was most important is that he threw to seven different people." Brian Mitchell added a 72-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter for Philadelphia (2-2), which improved to 2-1 on the road. Prior to this season, the Eagles won just once in 24 games (1-22-1) away from Veterans Stadium over the last three seasons. New Orleans (1-3) quarterback Jeff Blake struggled against an aggressive Eagles defense and finished 19-of-39 for 168 yards with two interceptions while getting sacked five times. Blake was frustrated with his club's struggles on offense afterwards. "We had the ball almost 20-something minutes in the first half," he said. "They only had the ball 11 minutes in the first half. We had a couple of turnovers, a couple of fumbles, a tipped ball. I just couldn't understand why we couldn't get in the end zone, at least in field goal range. If we kick four field goals, we should at least win the game." It also was the first game for Saints coach Jim Haslett against Philadelphia. He was in the running for the Eagles coaching vacancy prior to last season before being passed over in favor of Reid. A mistake by the Eagles on special teams led to the game's first points. On a punt by Toby Gowin, Eagles defensive back James Bostic had the ball hit him in the back. New Orleans defensive back Chris Oldham pounced on the ball on the Eagles 20. Four plays later, Blake ran around right end for a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Saints a 7-0 advantage with 7:44 left in the first quarter. Philadelphia appeared to get even when Mitchell returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. But that play was nullified on a holding penalty by safety Rashard Cook. After failing to score a touchdown in last week's loss at Green Bay, the Eagles finally got into the end zone early in the second quarter. McNabb capped a 10-play, 88-yard drive with with a 16-yard TD pass to Lewis just inside the right pylon to tie it. It did not take long for the Eagles to take the lead. On the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff, Williams was stripped of the ball by defensive tackle Hollis Thomas and cornerback Troy Vincent recovered on the New Orleans 21. McNabb needed just one play to find Charles Johnson, who made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead with 12:55 left before halftime. Blake found the going rough against the Philadelphia defense. Facing constant blitzes, Blake was on the run most of the afternoon and when he had time to throw, he often misfired. Trailing 14-7, the Saints drove into Philaldelphia territory in the third quarter. But on 3rd-and-2 from the 24, Williams was again stripped by Thomas and Vincent recovered, ending that threat. "It is my job to hold on to the ball regardless of what happens," Williams said. "I'm not going to make excuses. I have to hold on to the ball for whatever reason." Thomas had his big game five days after signing a five-year contract extension. Eagles first-round pick Corey Simon had the best game of his young career, recording a pair of sacks. One of the best return men in the game, Mitchell made his presence felt in the third quarter. He fielded Gowin's punt at the 28 and raced right up the middle for a toucdown, giving Philadelphia a 21-7 lead. "It was a return for us to go left," Mitchell said. "They tried to overplay it and the guys picked up the blocks. I just ran straight up the middle of the field. I didn't have to make too many moves. It was just there." It was the eighth time in Mitchell's 11-year career that he returned a punt for a score. The Saints special teams have had two punts and one kickoff returned against them for TDs this season. New Orleans did a good job on Eagles running back Duce Staley, holding him to 44 yards on 18 attempts.
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