Shady Silences St. Louis
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Shady Silences St. Louis
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Update: The Eagles finished off a 31-13 win over St. Louis.
McCoy finished up with 122 yards and Michael Vick had 100 yards rushing and 190 passing. For the Eagles, it was the first time they had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since 2002.
Update: LeSean McCoy ripped off a 49-yard touchdown run behind exceptional blocking, giving the Eagles a 31-13 fourth-quarter lead and full control of their opener.
Earlier: The Eagles led 24-13 going into the fourth quarter. A touchdown drive that ended in a 6-yard Michael Vick to DeSean Jackson touchdown pass -- a thing of beauty, Vick rolling hard away from pressre and throwing a strike into the end zone -- gave Jackson six catches for 102 yards in the season opener.
The Rams could only manage a field goal after a pass interference call on Nnamdi Asomugha gave them first and goal at the Eagles' 1.
Vick began the fourth quarter 13 of 28 for 190 yards, 2 touchdowns and a 92.9 passer rating. He also had run 7 times for 86 yards, behind a sometimes confused offensive line.
Earlier: Two long late second-quarter drives netted the Eagles only three points, but they went into halftime leading the host Rams, 17-10, after rookie kicker Alex Henery made good on his first Eagles attempt, from 34 yards, with nine seconds left.
The Eagles might have scored a touchdown on that drive had they not squandered all their timeouts in confusion over playcalls earlier, in the loud Edward Jones Dome. They might have scored a touchdown on their previous drive had someone picked up former Eagle Quintin Mikell on a safety blitz to Mike Vick's blindside, Mikell causing a fumble the Rams recovered at their 21.
Vick finisghed the first half 11 for 26 for 158 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice. He also ran 5 times for 51 yards. DeSean Jackson caught four passes for 70 yards and dropped another long gainer.
EARLIER: ST. LOUIS -- That was one of the strangest first quarters you'll ever see.
The Eagles looked totally bumfoozled early, gave up a 47-yard touchdown play on the Rams' first snap, but somehow, the second quarter began with the Birds winning, 14-7.
After Stephen Jackson exploited the "wide nine" setup for a TD that had the Edward Jones Dome crowd rocking, the Eagles came back with an 80-yard drive that featured a 41-yard completion from Michael Vick to DeSean Jackson. They tied it on a sort of inside screen to LeSean McCoy, McCoy taking the pass and going 7 yard up the middle, with Jason Kelce getting a nice block on linebacker James Laurinitais.
Then the Bids got a gift. Rams second-year quarterback Sam Bradford stumbled and held the ball out to balance himself. Eagles defensive end Darry Tapp popped it free, fellow DE Juqua Parker picked it up, and 56 yards later, the Birds were ahead.
The Rams notched a 49-yard field goal early in the second, after a drive in which the Birds' D just couldn't get off the field a couple times on third and long.
Jackson left the game with a quad injury.
Stay tuned.
What seemed like a tap dance for McCoy the first three quarters exploded in the fourth...the left side of the Eagles line can really get up field.— bearsfriend- Admit it it was ugly,but we will take it!
— jtad - Admit it it was ugly,but we will take it! (HTML deleted)— jtad
- Uhhh spellcheck?— Hermosaphilly
- You want pretty, follow gymnastics. Football is sacks, fumbles, penalties, missed assignments, dropped passes, along with all the other great stuff that keeps is watching. Never understand this "ugly" to describe football.— retzlaff
- Just got home from the Edward Jones dome. Hats off to the Birds for an ugly win to start the season. Go Eagles!— Eaglesfan in IL
- The offensive line was better than I thought it would be and got better as the game went along. The run defense was just so porous in the first half; it was brutal to watch the linebackers get beat so handily. Overall, though, you can't really gripe, considering all the new faces (players and coaches). This should be a fun season.— phillyinsd
