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Feeley struggles in loss to Seahawks

Dec 2, 2007 - 11:36 PM By Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- For the second straight week, A.J. Feeley dug himself and the Philadelphia Eagles a hole from which they could not recover.

Feeley endured an awful game as the Eagles dropped a 28-24 decision to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Feeley, starting for the second straight week in place of the injured Donovan McNabb, threw four interceptions - two in the first quarter to linebacker Lofa Tatupu which set up touchdowns.

"Feeley's a gunslinger, he'll take his chances," Tatupu said. "The West Coast (offense) is built on timing."

"Those are throws that (Feeley) would like to have back," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "You have to know where (Tatupu) is at."

Tatupu also sealed things with his third interception with 14 seconds remaining.

"As fate would have it, I ended up in the throwing lane," Tatupu said. "We had the primary (receiver) double covered. Thank God I didn't drop the ball."

Tatupu finished with a game-high 11 tackles.

"The Eagles clearly won the field position battle during the day," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "But Lofa Tatupu had one of the great games I've ever seen a linebacker have - (eleven) tackles, three interceptions. Unbelievable."

What made Tatupu's performance more remarkable was the fact that he did not practice last week due to a strained oblique muscle.

"I said (to Tatupu) 'I think you're our leading receiver today,'" Holmgren said. "He said `Can I take another week off?' I said no. I love you and thank you for the win, but you're practicing next week."

Brian Westbrook put the Eagles in position for the win, returning a punt 64 yards to the Seahawks 14 with 80 seconds remaining. But on third down, Feeley made an ill-advised throw over the middle and into the waiting arms of Tatupu.

"(Tatupu) does have great instincts," Holmgren said. "He has great ball skills. He can catch the ball. He was a former quarterback in his younger days. He's very athletic. Plus, he's a tough guy in there. He can make those plays that a lot of guys can't."

Feeley completed 19-of-42 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown. He has been intercepted seven times in two starts.

"It's tough to swallow," Feeley said. "Second week in a row. It's not a good feeling and it's on my back.

"It's going to eat at me for a while. If I don't play next week and Donovan comes back, it's going to motivate the heck out of me, I'll tell you that much."

In last week's 31-28 loss at New England, Feeley threw an interception on the third play of the game which was returned for a touchdown by Asanti Samuel. Feeley eventually recovered from that miscue and played well, nearly leading the Eagles to a monumental upset.

In this one, Feeley was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage by Tatupu, who returned the pick 38 yards to the Philadelphia 18-yard line.

"They thought they had a mismatch on a shorter linebacker with (tight end) L.J. Smith," said Tatupu, who is listed at 6-feet tall. "I stayed with him. I had help over the top, so I knew I could be aggressive on it. When I turned in, the ball was right there."

Four plays later, Shaun Alexander scored on a 2-yard run to give Seattle a 7-0 lead.

Also like last week, Feeley shook off the pick and led a scoring drive on the ensuing possession that was capped by Correll Buckhalter's 30-yard TD run to tie it at 7-7.

However, Seattle was handed another scoring opportunity when Tatupu again intercepted Feeley and broke off a 49-yard return inside Philadelphia territory.

"(Feeley) tried to force it in there," Tatupu said. "That was his primary read and I just sat on it."

Three plays later, Matt Hasselbeck found Bobby Engram for a 12-yard touchdown, giving the Seahawks a 14-7 lead.

David Akers booted a 31-yard field goal later in the first quarter to cut the deficit to 14-10.

Seattle took a 21-10 lead early in the quarter on a 43-yard TD pass from Hasselbeck to Nate Burleson. The drive was set up by Burleson's 36-yard punt return.

Hasselbeck completed 19-of-34 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.

"We were as focused on this game as any game we've been in," Hasselbeck said. "We knew that it was gonna be a tough game."

Feeley answered with a 24-yard scoring strike to Kevin Curtis that pulled Philadelphia within 21-17.

The Eagles had an excellent chance to take the lead right before halftime when a pass interference call gave them a 1st-and-goal at the Seahawks 1.

But Seattle held on downs by twice stopping Westbrook for no gain on third and fourth down.

"It really was huge," Holmgren said. "As it turns out, it may have been the game. We're not the biggest defense in the world, but we have a knack for hitting the gaps."

Westbrook gave Philadelphia its first lead, 24-21, early in the third quarter with a 29-yard TD run.

But Maurice Morris scored on a 45-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, giving the Seahawks a 28-24 lead.

"We called the play to the left side and the fullback did a great job of blocking," Morris said. "The line also blocked great and I just needed to make one guy miss and I was off to the races."

Returning after missing the last three games with a knee injury, Alexander rushed for 65 yards on 20 carries.

"I thought Shaun did OK coming back," Holmgren said. "For his first game back after not playing in the last month, I thought he ran pretty good."

Seattle (8-4) won its fourth straight game to take firm control of the NFC West.

Westbrook rushed for 93 yards and had seven catches for 46 yards for the fading Eagles (5-7), whose playoff hopes took another hit. Philadelphia fell to 2-4 at home.

"It was a disappointing game," Reid said. "There were way too many turnovers."