DeSean Jackson holds on as St. Louis Rams' Tye Hill tries to grab the ball during the first quarter of the Eagles season opener. The Birds led 21-0 at halftime. Entering a season healthier than he's been in years, McNabb played like the quarterback who went to five straight Pro Bowls and took the Eagles to the NFC championship four years in a row from 2001-04. He was 21-for-33, including a 90-yard TD pass to Hank Baskett.
"He's healthy. That's the difference," said Brian Westbrook, who ran for 91 yards and had two TDs. "Now, he can do his thing."
Jackson, the first Eagles rookie wide receiver to start the season opener in 18 years, had six catches for 106 yards and returned a punt 60 yards to set up a field goal. Greg Lewis had five receptions for 104 yards, Baskett caught two passes for 102 yards and each of the four wideouts had a catch longer than 30 yards.
It was the first time the Eagles had three 100-yard receivers since Timmy Brown, Tommy McDonald and Pete Retzlaff did it against the Washington Redskins on Dec. 18, 1960.
Not bad for a group missing injured starters Kevin Curtis (sports hernia) and Reggie Brown (hamstring).
"They work hard," McNabb said of the often-maligned receiving group that's lacked a big-name playmaker since Terrell Owens was kicked off the team in 2005. "In order for the guys to be successful, you have to call plays for them. We spread the ball around. When things are rolling like that, you're going to look good."
Coming off their second last-place finish in three years, the Eagles played like a team that expects to make a championship run. The offense racked up 522 total yards and the defense was dominant.
The Rams, 3-13 last season, were downright awful again.
Marc Bulger didn't have much time to throw and Steven Jackson hardly had any room to run against Philadelphia's stifling defense. St. Louis had 109 total yards through three quarters.
"It was not very good," Bulger said. "They played great, we didn't. Give them credit, but that's about as bad as you can get beat in the NFL."
McNabb hasn't played an injury-free season since leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004. He missed the final seven games in '05 because of a sports hernia and sat out the last six games in '06 with a knee injury. McNabb started slow last season after returning quickly following surgery to repair a torn knee ligament. But he finished strong after ankle and thumb injuries cost him two games late in the season.
"He's worked so hard to get himself back to this point," coach Andy Reid said. "For once, he didn't have to rehab in the offseason. He showed this the last three games last year and he picked up where he left off."
Right from the start, McNabb picked apart the Rams' secondary with crisp passes and pinpoint accuracy. He did it all except scramble. Kevin Kolb came in with 8:55 left, allowing McNabb to enjoy the rest of the game as a spectator.
"It's always big when you don't get touched too much," McNabb said. "The offensive line did a wonderful job."
McNabb connected with Jackson for 47 yards down the right sideline on the second play from scrimmage. Jackson, generously listed at 5 feet 10, was perfectly covered by Tye Hill, but made a leaping catch to the Rams' 33. An unsportsmanlike penalty on St. Louis' sideline moved the ball to the 18.
Three plays later, Westbrook scored on a shovel pass for a 7-0 lead.
McNabb hit a wide-open Jason Avant for 31 yards to the St. Louis 31 on third-and-12 to keep the next drive going. L.J. Smith caught a 5-yard TD pass in the back of the end zone to make it 14-0.
Pinned at their own 8 with less than two minutes left in the first half, the Eagles seemed content to run out the clock as Westbrook ran twice for only 2 yards. Then McNabb found Baskett streaking down the left side on third down. Baskett caught the ball in stride near the 40 and ran untouched the rest of the way to make it 21-0.
Notes: Calvin Williams was the last rookie receiver to start Week 1 for Philadelphia. ... Baskett's 90-yard catch was the longest of his three-year career and tied for seventh-longest in team history. ... Rams WR Torry Holt had one catch. ... The Eagles improved to 4-6 in openers under Reid.
If the first game of a season sets a tone, the message the Eagles sent out on Sunday was this: They are back. Using a combination of an explosive offense, a shut-down defense and a special teams unit that pounced on opportunities to bury the Rams in bad field position, the Eagles rolled to an impressive 38-3 win at a sun-drenched Lincoln Financial Field.
It was beautiful to observe. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and moved 80 yards in six plays and one penalty, using a 47-yard pass down the right sideline to rookie DeSean Jackson to open things, working in a 10-yard gain to L.J. Smith and finally showing some red-zone efficiency with a 1-yard shovel pass to Brian Westbrook for a touchdown and a lead.
And it got better after that.
The second time Donovan McNabb settled under center, the Eagles used 11 plays to cover 82 yards. The final play, a McNabb dart to Smith that the tight end leaped to catch and then pitty-patted down his feet in the end zone, exhibited the success the offense had in the red zone, where they scored touchdowns on both trips.
Defensively, the Eagles overmatched the Rams. Steven Jackson gained a paltry 34 yards in the first half and quarterback Marc Bulger was harassed into a 6-of-15, 72-yard outing. Darren Howard (two tackles, ½ sack, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hurry) was a force at left end and at tackle in the nickel. Asante Samuel had three pass breakups and nearly two interceptions. Stewart Bradley (nine tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry, one pass defensed) led the charge against Jackson and the power running game. Trent Cole gave left tackle Orlando Pace fits.
And just as the clock was winding down, and the fans were deciding on their halftime fare from the concession stands, Andy Reid made a masterful move. With the ball inside their own 10-yard line, the Eagles twice ran the football and appeared ready to run out the clock. On third and 8 from the 10-yard line with the clock ticking toward one minute remaining in the half, McNabb faked a handoff to Brian Westbrook and the Rams defense took the bait.
The cornerbacks stepped up. The safeties stepped in. And McNabb pulled the ball from Westbrook's belly and dropped back to pass. He saw a wide-open Hank Baskett along the left sideline and fired a strike to Baskett, who stepped away from safety Corey Chavous and raced into the end zone for a shocking and exhilarating 90-yard touchdown catch and run.
At halftime, it was 21-0 and the fun was, truly, just beginning.
It was one of those great days, along with openers like the Pickle Juice game in Dallas and the Terrell Owens Show that kicked off the 2004 season. McNabb was simply brilliant, completing 21 of 33 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns. The receivers, minus starters Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, spread around the wealth and made big plays, all of them. Jackson, Baskett and Greg Lewis all went over 100 yards receiving.
Remember how we were wondering how long it would take Jackson to get up to the speed of the NFL regular season? Well, he caught a 47-yard pass on the first drive and finished with six catches for 106 yards and had punt returns of 18 yards – one that he nearly broke -- and 60 yards.
Amazing.
Fun.
More to come.
Donovan McNabb threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles' 38-3 win over the RamsThe Eagles did just about everything right in the blowout win. They downed two Sav Rocca punts at the 2-yard line. The defense permitted 87 yards of offense through two quarters, 109 through three quarters (166 overall) and had three sacks and another half dozen pressures. Jackson was a non-factor on the ground for the Rams.
From a mental standpoint, the Eagles committed just two penalties, missed only one or two tackles and took advantage of just about every opening the porous Rams defense allowed.
What do you take from this game? Well, you know the Eagles have a lot of ability up and down this roster. There are going to be more difficult challenges ahead – Monday night in Dallas just can't get here fast enough to provide an early-season litmus test – and the Eagles are going to have to rise to the occasion.
PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Donovan McNabb #5 of the Philadelphia Eagles throws a pass against the St. Louis Rams on September 7, 2008 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The opener was more than satisfying. It was, really, perfect. We all needed this. The Eagles are trying to build something here. They are trying to get back that swagger that so permeated this locker room for years and seemed to dissipate after the Super Bowl loss.
It was one game, only one game. And the Eagles downplayed its importance afterward, as expected. But it sure beat talking about a loss to open the season. And for 60 minutes, the Eagles showed us all what they are capable of doing in all three phases of the game.
A big one is next. The week ahead is going to be fun. Dallas Week is here, and it's something we can all enjoy.
