Lawless
All About Brad!
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Registered: Jun 2003
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PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 5, 2003) -- Patrick Ramsey saw an open receiver, hurried his throw and put his head down.
The roar of the crowd let him know the outcome.
Ramsey overthrew Laveranues Coles on a two-point conversion with 13 seconds left, and the Philadelphia Eagles held on to beat the Washington Redskins 27-25.
Ramsey rallied Washington from an 11-point deficit in the final 3:10, connecting with Darnerien McCants on a 32-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds.
But under pressure from Brandon Whiting, Ramsey rushed his pass to Coles in the corner of the end zone and the ball sailed over the receiver's head.
"Coles was wide open and I overthrew the ball. It was as simple as that," Ramsey said.
After John Hall's fourth field goal, a 53-yarder, cut it to 27-19, the Redskins' Bryan Johnson recovered an onside kick at Washington's 43 with 1:13 left. Ramsey then drove the Redskins 57 yards in five plays.
Defensive end N.D. Kalu returned an interception 15 yards for a go-ahead TD, and Brian Westbrook had a 19-yard TD run for the Eagles.
The Eagles (2-2) won for the first time at Lincoln Financial Field after opening the season with consecutive losses at their new stadium.
Washington (3-2) fell to 1-7 against NFC East teams under Steve Spurrier. All the Redskins' games this season have been decided by three points or less.
Playing without three Pro Bowl players in their secondary, the Eagles held Coles and Rod Gardner to just five catches combined in the first 57 minutes. Free safety Brian Dawkins (foot) and cornerback Bobby Taylor (foot) missed their third straight games, and cornerback Troy Vincent sat out with a hamstring injury.
Donovan McNabb completed 16 of 30 passes for 157 yards and his first TD of the season. He was intercepted twice. Ramsey finished 25 of 50 for 271 yards, one TD, two interceptions and one touchdown rushing.
This was McNabb's first game since conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh made comments about him that ignited a weeklong firestorm. Limbaugh said on last week's ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown that McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.
McNabb said he didn't mind criticism of his performance but was upset that Limbaugh made race an issue. The remarks forced Limbaugh to resign from the show.
"I don't think I have to go out and prove myself," McNabb said. "I just have to go out and be myself. I'm a playmaker, a leader for this team and I can't let anything outside distract me."
Kalu, a former Redskin, broke a 13-all tie with his first career interception and TD late in the third quarter.
On a second-and-9, Ramsey's arm was hit by Eagles tackle Darwin Walker as he threw and the ball sailed up in the air. Kalu caught it at the 15, eluded an offensive lineman and rumbled untouched into the end zone.
"I thought he was throwing a screen," Kalu said. "I saw the ball up in the air and I was in the right place at the right time."
Westbrook then put the Eagles ahead by 11 with his scoring run with 3:10 left. The Eagles drove 70 yards, holding the ball for 5:39. McNabb ran 6 yards on third-and-5 to keep the drive alive.
McNabb connected with fullback Jon Ritchie on a 4-yard TD pass for a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. Roderick Hood intercepted a pass from Ramsey and returned it to Washington's 18, setting up the score.
Ramsey's 1-yard TD run made it 10-7 with 5:56 left in the first half. Former Eagle Jeremiah Trotter set up the score, intercepting McNabb and returning it 21 yards to the 1. On third down, Ramsey leaped over the top for the TD.
"The bottom line is we didn't play well enough to beat the Eagles," Spurrier said. "I'm frustrated with these guys and they're frustrated with me."
David Akers' 36-yard field goal late in the first half gave the Eagles a 13-7 lead. Akers gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead on a 52-yard FG in the first quarter.
Hall's 48-yard FG late in the first half cut Philadelphia's lead to 13-10. Hall hit a 45-yarder midway through the third to tie it at 13. His 37-yarder cut it to 20-16 in the fourth.
McNabb had just 19 yards rushing. He scrambled 54 yards to Washington's 10 on the Eagles' first possession, but a holding penalty on tight end Chad Lewis negated the play.
Game notes:
X-rays on McNabb's right leg at halftime were negative. He has a bruised leg.
Redskins DE Bruce Smith's sack on McNabb in the second quarter moved him within 1½ sacks of tying Reggie White's career record of 198.
Eagles MLB Mark Simoneau recorded his first career sack in the first quarter.
Eagles Pro Bowl RG Jermane Mayberry left in the first quarter after aggravating an elbow injury and didn't return.
Akers, a two-time Pro Bowl kicker, is 6 for 6 on FG attempts this season, including two from longer than 50 yards.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2003, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
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10-06-2003 04:55 PM
