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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- For one game, at least, Donovan McNabb proved
he was the right pick for the Philadelphia Eagles.
|  | | Philadelphia's Torrence Small had five catches for 74 yards during Sunday's victory. |
McNabb threw for a career-high 222 yards and two touchdowns to
lead the Eagles to a 21-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints on
Sunday.
He did it against the NFL's top-rated pass defense and in front
of running back Ricky Williams, whom many Eagles fans wanted
instead of McNabb in the 1999 draft.
"I never had a problem with losing my confidence," said
McNabb, the No. 2 overall pick, three spots ahead of Williams.
"For me to come out and play this way and lead our team to victory
is important."
McNabb completed 20 of 32 passes and picked up 25 yards on the
ground to help the Eagles snap a two-game losing streak.
He hit Chad Lewis with a 16-yard touchdown pass at the beginning
of the second quarter to tie the score at 7. Twenty seconds later,
after Williams fumbled, McNabb hooked up with Charles Johnson for a
21-yard TD pass.
"He showed his great mobility out there, didn't let all the
Saints' pressure take him out of the game," Eagles offensive
coordinator Rod Dowhower said of McNabb.
The Eagles (2-2) managed the first-half TDs despite the Saints'
strong defense, which limited Philadelphia to 270 total yards and
14 first downs.
Brian Mitchell added a touchdown for the Eagles late in the
third quarter with a 72-yard punt return.
Williams, meanwhile, had his second straight 100-yard rushing
game but fumbled twice, losing both. He finished with 103 yards on
20 carries and caught six passes for 47 yards.
"Any time you turn the ball over it's costly," Williams said.
"It's my job to hold onto the football. I think I pretty much gave
them 10 points by myself."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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The Eagles have been somewhat disappointed in recent weeks with the play of QB Donovan McNabb. But McNabb stepped up in this game against the NFL's No. 1-rated pass defense.
McNabb threw the ball with a lot of confidence and authority and finished with impressive stats. He appeared to be in a good rhythm thoughout the game.
One of the notable things about McNabb's peformance is that he moved the ball around -- he hit his tight ends, his wide receivers and his running backs.
For the Saints, this was another good effort, but they turned the ball over too much. Their turnovers seemed to come at critical times in the game.
A season-long problem for New Orleans has been poor special-teams play. Once again, the Saints gave up a return for a touchdown in this game.
The Saints aren't a good enough football team to give points away.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director of football operations.
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The Saints are 0-4 in games in which Williams runs for 100
yards.
Philadelphia shut down the Saints for the final 3½ quarters,
allowing only quarterback Jeff Blake's 10-yard touchdown run midway
through the first period. The Eagles had five sacks against Blake,
who finished 19-of-39 for 168 yards.
"I can't understand it," Blake said. "We had the ball almost
20 minutes in the first half. They only had the ball 11 minutes in
the first half. But we had a couple of turnovers, a couple of
fumbles, a tipped ball. I just couldn't understand whey we couldn't
get in the end zone or at least in field-goal range."
The Eagles went into the game searching for offense. After Duce
Staley led the way in a 41-14 victory over Dallas in the
season-opener, the Eagles scored just 21 points in the next two
games.
In stepped McNabb, taken in a draft that included quarterbacks
Tim Couch, Daunte Culpepper, Akili Smith, Cade McNown and Shaun
King. Until Sunday, McNabb had been the only one of the six without
a big game.
His best previous performance was against Washington last season
when he was 16-of-28 for 172 yards, two touchdowns and no
interceptions.
For most of the first quarter against the Saints, it looked as
if McNabb and company would struggle again.
The Eagles had gained just 1 yard when they started the final
drive of the period with three minutes left to play. Before the
quarter ended, the Eagles had gained 60 yards of the 88-yard
touchdown drive that gave them their first points.
On New Orleans' next possession, Williams fumbled and
Philadelphia's Troy Vincent picked it up, giving the Eagles first
down on the Saints' 21. Five seconds later, McNabb hit Johnson.
Mitchell's TD run was the third longest scoring return (95 and
93 yards) against the Saints this season. He would have had another
one, but his 94-yard run on a first-quarter kick was nullified by a
holding penalty.
Staley, who had at least 100 yards in two of the first three
games, finished with 50 total yards, including 44 yards on 18
carries.
New Orleans (1-3) entered the game averaging just 16 points
despite having the NFC's fifth leading rusher in Williams. The
Saints didn't help themselves Sunday, gaining only 282 total yards.
Game
notes
Philadelphia was New Orleans' second straight home sellout.
The last time the Superdome was sold out for consecutive Saints'
games was in 1993. ... Staley entered the game with 54 percent of
the Eagles' offense (453 of 853 yards). He finished last year with
41 percent of the team's yards, the highest percentage in the
league. ... Joe Horn went into the game leading the NFC with 24
catches. The Saints haven't had a player lead the NFC or NFL in
receptions since Danny Abramowicz in 1969. ... Injuries _ Saints:
DE Joe Johnson, strained right calf, WR Joe Horn, left knee sprain.
Eagles: OL Jermane Mayberry, toe.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
New Orleans Clubhouse
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