Eagles WR Jackson celebrates prematurely

Sep 16, 2008 - 6:21 AM IRVING, Texas (Ticker) -- Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson was a bit too quick to celebrate an apparent touchdown during Monday's 41-37 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

After reeling in what he thought to be a 61-yard scoring strike from Donovan McNabb in the second quarter, Jackson let the ball go before he crossed the goal line.

The Cowboys challenged the play and the subsequent reviews substantiated their claim.

The ball was ruled dead on the field of play, so the Eagles were given the football and Brian Westbrook promptly scored on the next play to give the Eagles a 27-21 lead.

"I felt when I caught the ball, it was a deep pass and thought I was in the end zone," Jackson said. "But I learned from that and just keep going. The biggest thing was Westbrook got in there and scored for us.

"It wasn't like it was a turnover or anything like that, but definitely, I learned from it. It was just one of those things, I was overexcited, just young and trying to have fun is the

biggest thing. I'm kind of mad at myself because I could have had a touchdown, but I just kept playing."

Jackson finished with six catches for 110 yards and became only the second player in NFL history to record over 100 receiving yards in his first two games. Philadelphia's Don Looney accomplished the feat in 1940.

One of the team's two second-round picks in April's NFL draft, Jackson scored 29 touchdowns in 36 games as a wide receiver and return specialist at California.

The 5-10, 175-pound Jackson set a Pac-10 Conference record with six career punt returns for touchdowns, two shy of the NCAA all-time record.

The 49th overall pick, Jackson had 65 receptions for 762 yards and six touchdowns last season. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark as a sophomore and caught 22 TD passes in three seasons at Cal.

Jackson's 16.7 return average is the second highest in Pac-10 history.