 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
No passing fancy Philadelphia performs the perfect balancing act
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Donovan McNabb doesn't have to do it alone anymore. The Philadelphia Eagles found a running game at just the right time -- in the playoffs -- and head into next Sunday's second-round game against the New York Giants with the most balanced offensive attack they have had all season. McNabb completed passes to 10 different receivers and the Eagles ran the ball as many times as they threw it for just the third time this season in Sunday's 21-3 wild-card victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Chris Warren, playing his second game with Philadelphia, had 85 yards rushing on 22 carries and the Eagles had 126 yards on the ground against the NFC's third-ranked rush defense. In his debut with the Eagles, Warren lost two fumbles in a 16-7 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 24. "He very easily could've hung his head and tanked it on us after the two fumbles, but he didn't," head coach Andy Reid said Monday. "He handled himself like a professional and bounced back. "A majority of his running was inside the tackles and those were tough yards. He hung onto the ball and they were obviously going for it. He kept those feet moving and did a nice job." McNabb was 24 of 33 for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 32 yards and one TD. Since losing Duce Staley to a season-ending foot injury in Week 5, the Eagles relied mostly on McNabb and became a predominantly passing team. McNabb set team records with 569 attempts and 307 completions, and accounted for 75 percent of the offense, including a team-high 629 yards rushing. The Eagles ran the ball 397 times -- their lowest total since 1984. But against the Bucs, Philadelphia ran and passed the ball 33 times each. Most of the runs came in the fourth quarter as the Eagles worked the clock after taking an 18-point lead. However, Tampa knew the ball would stay on the ground and still couldn't stop it. "We heard all week the running game wasn't up to par, but we know what we can do up front with the offensive line that we have," said Warren, who gained 43 yards on 12 carries in the final quarter. "The second half is when you want to run the ball and wear the defense down. The offensive line did a great job." It was the fourth time this season McNabb hit 10 different receivers. Jeff Thomason and Na Brown each had one catch -- both were TDs. "I was just going through the progressions," McNabb said. "They were trying to run up underneath our receivers. That would leave our running backs open or I could check it down to our tight ends. From then on we had some opportunities to get the ball to our receivers. It was just a great total team effort." Return specialist Brian Mitchell filled in for injured running back Stanley Pritchett and had five catches for 37 yards -- all in the first half. Mitchell, who had no receptions and only two carries in the previous four games, accounted for 39 yards on a 69-yard drive in the final two minutes of the first half as McNabb hit Brown for a 5-yard TD pass and a 14-3 lead. "Mitchell really came up big, particularly in the two-minute offense," Reid said. "He had some nice catches, nice runs and really played well." Philadelphia needs a similar performance from the entire offense against the Giants. The Eagles were not in the lead or within range in the final minutes in just two games this season -- both losses to the Giants, who have beaten them eight consecutive times.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
