|
|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE | |
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Once again, the Philadelphia Eagles felt right at home on the road. Donovan McNabb passed for two touchdowns as the Eagles remained unbeaten on the road -- and against former coach Dick Vermeil -- in a 23-10 victory over Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles improved to 5-0 on the road and have won eight straight regular-season contests away from Veterans Stadium since a loss to the New York Giants on October 29, 2000. Philadelphia is 11-2 in its last 13 road contests but just 2-4 at home this season. Coming off a disappointing loss to Washington, the Eagles established themselves from the outset, recovering an onside kick to open the game. They built a 13-3 halftime lead and never were threatened thereafter. McNabb, who had been erratic in his previous two games, also got back on track with touchdown passes of 46 and one yard. He completed 18-of-26 passes for 269 yards and an interception after throwing for a combined 231 in the last two games. "It was very positive to get out there after last week," said McNabb, who passed for just 92 yards against Washington. "I still think there are some areas we need to work on, but we really utilized the positives out there, and that is what helped us. We watched film and knew what we wanted to do out there." Duce Staley accounted for 146 yards and a TD for the Eagles (7-4), who moved 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Washington in the NFC East. Staley carried 25 times for 80 yards and had four catches for 66 yards, including a 46-yard score. "After a week like last week, our spirits were a little down, but we came in prepared," Staley said. "With the short week, we wanted to get out there and make our mark early." Vermeil, the Chiefs coach who guided the Eagles to their only Super Bowl appearance in the 1980 season and remains very popular in Philadelphia, fell to 0-3 against his old team. Trent Green threw a three-yard TD toss Derrick Alexander in the third quarter for Kansas City (3-8), which fell to 1-5 at home this season. Looking to get off to a good start, the Eagles surprised Kansas City right off the bat. David Akers squibbed a kick to the left and wide receiver Dameane Douglas recovered just past the 40 for Philadelphia. Televesion replays appeared to show Douglas recovered the ball before it reached the 40. But Vermeil and the Chiefs did not challenge the ruling on the field. "Obviously, we felt comfortable that we could pull it off," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "This is a tough place to play, but it's a small thing to get off to a good start like that." Last year, Reid had similar results on the same play in a season-opening win at Dallas. "I don't think it took the wind out of our team," Vermeil said. "They got three points out of it. It startled us. It was a gutsy, gutsy call. It's a high-risk call. It's in (Reid's) profile. I watched him to do it sitting home last year on my farm against the Dallas Cowboys. It's not a total surprise. When you have a defense like they have you could take more chances." The Eagles gained some momentum from that play and moved 54 yards in 12 plays. McNabb had a key 14-yard completion on 3rd-and-11 that moved the ball to the Kansas City 25. But the drive stalled and the Eagles settled for Akers' 24-yard field goal. Early in the second quarter, the Eagles capitalized on another special teams blunder by Kansas City. Sean Landeta had his punt blocked by Chiefs linebacker Glenn Cadrez and the ball bounced in the air. Eric Warfield fielded it out of mid-air but fumbled and cornerback William Hampton recovered for the Eagles at the Kansas City 41. "Yeah, the fumble did hurt us," Warfield said. "They got seven points out of it, but that's a part of being a corner. There are going to be big plays. Things like that are going to happen." Two plays later, McNabb found Staley in the left flat with a screen pass. Staley broke a tackle and raced 41 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, giving Philadelphia a 10-0 lead with 11:34 left before halftime. Akers kicked a 33-yard field goal with 5:17 to go before Todd Peterson connected from 29 yards out with 16 seconds left before intermission for Kansas City. In the first half, the Eagles held a 212-125 advantage in total yards and had 11 first downs, compared to seven for Kansas City. Last week against Washington, Philadelphia totaled 186 yards and seven first downs. The Eagles' offense continued to look good in the third quarter as they moved 71 yards in six plays on their second possession of the half. McNabb had completions of 21 and 13 yards and a 15-yard run during the march. He capped it with a one-yard toss to rookie tight end Tony Stewart with 8:09 left in the quarter for a 20-3 advantage. A fifth-round pick out of Penn State, Stewart made his season debut after being inactive for the first 10 contests. After Stewart's touchdown, Dante Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards. It led to Green's three-yard TD pass to Alexander with 3:02 left in the period. But Kansas City committed pair of turnovers in the fourth quarter en route to its latest home loss. Akers capped the scoring with a 38-yard field goal with 12:20 remaining. Kansas City's Priest Holmes carried 18 times for 76 yards, leaving him 22 shy of becoming the first Chief since Christian Okoye in 1991 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
|
