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McNabb leads Eagles to 27-16 win over Vikings

3 min read

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Donovan McNabb didn’t need much of Terrell Owens on Monday night. Daunte Culpepper could have used a lot more of Randy Moss. In a strange game featuring lots of long drives but not many points, the Philadelphia Eagles rode the running and passing of McNabb past the Minnesota Vikings 27-16. Of the four big offensive stars, only McNabb glittered, and Culpepper hurt his team badly with a fumble inside the Philadelphia 1-yard line.

The Eagles’ 2-0 start at the Linc is a switch from last season, when they lost the first two games at their new home. The Vikings (1-1) have lost 16 of their last 17 outdoor regular-season games.

Neither defense was particularly responsible for the lack of scoring. Time-consuming marches ate up chunks of yards, but the end zone was elusive for Minnesota until 31/2 minutes were left – even though the Vikings had the ball for nearly 38 minutes.

That was not problematic for Philadelphia because McNabb made several big plays in throwing for 245 yards. He passed for two scores, including the clincher to Owens for 45 yards with 7:40 remaining, and ran for another.

Otherwise, Owens, who had three TD receptions in his Eagles debut last week, didn’t have a big impact with four catches for 79 yards.

Moss, whose costly offensive pass interference penalty was his most noteworthy play until a 4-yard TD catch in the final minutes, did have eight receptions for 69 yards. But the Vikings kept bogging down in or near the red zone, in part because Moss was blanketed and Culpepper was sacked four times.

Culpepper finished 37-for-47 for 343 yards.

Morten Andersen, at 44 the league’s oldest player, appeared in his 340th NFL game, tying George Blanda’s record. The 23-year veteran’s left leg looked plenty strong as he made three field goals, including a 42-yarder to open the scoring. But he was short on a 44-yarder with 9:14 remaining.

Brian Westbrook dominated the Eagles’ 72-yard march to a 7-3 lead on their first series. He was involved in six of the 11 plays, gaining 44 yards. L.J. Smith beat rookie linebacker Dontarrious Thomas over the middle for an 11-yard touchdown catch.

Minnesota didn’t flinch, driving 65 yards in 14 plays before flopping on three runs from the Eagles 2. Brian Dawkins’ hard hit on Culpepper’s third-down quarterback draw stopped him short of the end zone, and Andersen added a 19-yard field goal. Culpepper outweighs Dawkins by about 50 pounds.

Then it was Philadelphia’s turn to score again, this time on David Akers’ 37-yard field goal. He had a 47-yarder with 1:11 to go in the game.

Dawkins’ fumble recovery after Nate Wayne stripped the ball from Culpepper inside the Philadelphia 1 finished a wide-open, yet low-scoring first half. There were few points, but also only one punt as neither defense could stop time-consuming drives. The teams combined to gain 357 yards in the half that ended 10-6.

Philadelphia got 43 more on the opening drive of the second half, which began at the Vikings 43 after rookie J.R. Reed’s 46-yard kickoff return. McNabb avoided a strong rush and got a great downfield block by tailback Reno Mahe on his 20-yard scramble for a 20-6 lead.

Culpepper returned the favor by scoring on an 11-yard run on the next series, only to see it negated by center Matt Birk’s holding penalty. Andersen kicked his third field goal, from 39 yards.

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