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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- As their season disintegrated right before
their eyes, the New England Patriots appeared not to know what hit
them. Koy Detmer knew.
"I just call it the whuppin' stick," the Philadelphia Eagles'
third-string quarterback said after throwing a career-high three
touchdown passes in a 24-9 victory over the wrecked team that used
to be the Patriots.
|  | | Eagles quarterback Koy Detmer completed just 10 of 29 passes but tossed three touchdowns. |
Detmer, filling in for injured starter Donovan McNabb and backup
Doug Pederson, was referring to the celebratory dance he performed
after each touchdown. But his comments applied to what the Eagles
(4-11) did to New England, a team whose playoff hopes all but
disappeared with its fifth loss in six games.
"Maybe we're just not that good," said Drew Bledsoe, who was
sacked six times and threw four interceptions. "I don't know what
the answer is to the situation we're in."
The Patriots fell to 7-7 after starting the season 6-2. A
victory by Seattle or Buffalo later Sunday would eliminate New
England from playoff contention.
Adam Vinatieri produced New England's only points with three
field goals. Bledsoe was 23-for-49 for 331 yards, and has 15
interceptions in the last six games.
"Whether it's me, whether it's the offense, whether it's the
entire team, we're just not very good," Bledsoe said.
Defensive tackle Chad Eaton said, "This is humiliating, is what
it is."
Celebrating with an emphatic flogging motion some players call
"whippin' it," Detmer created quite a stir with three TD passes,
including a 50-yarder to Torrance Small. Detmer was 10-for-29 for
181 yards, raising questions about why he didn't start sooner.
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GAME NOTES |
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The strangest sequence in a turnover-filled game occurred when Philadelphia's Allen Rossum fumbled a kickoff, with New England's Brown recovering at the Eagles 28. Al Harris picked off Drew Bledsoe's pass intended for Terry Glenn, ran it back 84 yards -- and fumbled! Brian Dawkins recovered at the Patriots 11, and Detmer hit Small for the TD.
The Eagles ended a seven-game losing streak
against AFC teams.
Otho Davis, the Eagles' longtime trainer who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, was inducted into the team's honor roll at halftime.
Eagles CB Bobby Taylor broke his jaw in the first quarter and didn't return. Rookie OL Doug Brzezinski got a stinger in the fourth quarter and missed his first snaps all year.
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Put it this way: Eagles fans, infamous for their surliness and
for booing Santa Claus at a game years ago, actually cheered jolly
ol' Saint Nick when he kicked a field goal at halftime.
"It would have been a shame not to win this game with everybody
counting on me to do it," said Detmer, who breathed life into the
Eagles' 3-13 season last year even though he was 1-4 starting the
last five games.
Detmer made his biggest play just moments after getting his head
pounded into the hard Veterans Stadium turf. Detmer was hit as he
threw and gave way to Pederson and his broken rib for the remainder
of the possession.
Detmer only had the wind knocked out of him and walked off the
field laughing.
"You kind of feel like a sissy flailing around, because it was
nothing," he said.
Detmer came back and threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to the
speedy Dietrich Jells to make it 24-9 in the third. Detmer took
three swashbuckling steps toward the Eagles sideline and proceeded
to "whip it" with gusto -- swinging his arm back and forth as if
slapping someone across the face.
"I saw Scott Zolak do it in the preseason last year," Detmer said. "I just got a kick out of it and thought it was pretty neat."
Though reluctant to say Detmer could be a starter for another
team, Eagles coach Andy Reid said, "He's a beauty, but he's
definitely not a dancer."
Reid and Pederson, incidentally, were with Green Bay last year
when Detmer "whipped it" while facing the Packers sideline in a
24-16 loss.
"He got to whip it three times today," Pederson said.
"I'm just like you, I have no idea what that is," McNabb said.
Mike Mamula had three sacks, Troy Vincent had two interceptions
and Mike Caldwell recovered a fumble and the Eagles' own blocked
punt. That was a momentum-swinging play that led to an 11-yard TD
pass to Small that made it 17-6 in the second quarter.
Bledsoe hit Troy Brown for 37 yards in the final 90 seconds, but
he quickly had a pass to the end zone intercepted by Vincent -- the
final indignity for a reeling New England team.
"Our performance today leaves a taste in your mouth that you're
not going to get rid of for a while," said Patriots coach Pete
Carroll, whose job is in jeopardy if his team misses the playoffs.
"I'm just about as sick about this as you can be."
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
New England Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Week 15 wrap-ups
Week 15 infirmary report
TJ's Take on Week 15
PrimeTime Players
Week 15 stats leaders
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