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Nightmare continues for Eagles

Oct 9, 2011 - 10:22 PM Orchard Park, NY (Sports Network) - Michael Vick threw four interceptions, Jason Avant gave the ball away twice and the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't even stand still to earn one last chance to end their losing streak.

Mistake-prone and undisciplined, this may have been the worst loss yet.

Fred Jackson rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown, and the Buffalo Bills scored 17 points off five turnovers Sunday to beat the Eagles, 31-24, extending Philadelphia's losing streak to four games.

The Eagles continued having trouble getting out of their own way.

Two of Vick's interceptions led to Buffalo touchdowns in the first half, including one that was returned 31 yards by linebacker Nick Barnett for a score.

His last pick was more like a fumble, coming when Avant had the ball ripped from his hands by Drayton Florence as the Eagles were driving in Bills territory with less than two minutes remaining.

Barnett snatched it out of the air, giving the Bills possession with 1:49 left.

Lining up for a 4th-and-1, Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick used a hard count to draw Juqua Parker over the line, a neutral zone infraction that gave the Bills a first down to end the game.

On the sideline, Eagles head coach Andy Reid threw his hands on top of his head in disbelief.

Indeed, it's hard to imagine things getting worse for the team predicted to be the class of the NFC East.

The Eagles (1-4) look like the division ne'er-do-well instead.

"There's nobody to blame but me," Reid said. "I start with me and I take full responsibility for it."

But, said Vick, "there's not much the coaches can do."

"At some point we just have to wait and see if things turn around," he said. "Only time will tell."

Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick and the Bills (4-1) kept their surprising start on track despite giving up 10 unanswered points to allow the previously fourth quarter-challenged Eagles to sniff a comeback.

"We think we've got a great team and we try to show that every Sunday," said Fitzpatrick. "And again today it was a team victory, especially all of the turnovers."

Fitzpatrick was 21-of-27 for 193 yards and a six-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson. He was also intercepted late in the second quarter, but the Eagles threw away potential points by calling a play that didn't work instead of kicking a field goal at the end of the half.

Lost in the mess, Vick became the NFL's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks, breaking the record of former Eagles great Randall Cunningham with a run in the third quarter.

Vick, who passed for 315 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 90 yards on five carries. It gave him 4,948 yards rushing in nine NFL seasons, passing Cunningham's record of 4,928 yards.

Avant had a career game with nine catches for 139 yards, but his fumble after a 35-yard catch in the third quarter led to Rian Lindell's 25-yard field goal for a 31-14 Bills lead.

"There's a lot of different moving parts," Vick said, "but the one thing you gotta remember is to protect that football. ... It's just part of being a football player."

The Eagles -- after being outscored 36-0 in the fourth quarter in three bad losses to the Falcons, Giants and 49ers -- showed life. DeSean Jackson caught a 31-yard touchdown pass and Alex Henery kicked a 35-yard field goal to make it 31-24 before the comeback eventually fizzled.

The game started almost as poorly as it ended for the Eagles.

On the first drive, they converted a 4th-and-1 try on Avant's eight-yard catch, but Vick's next pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Reggie Corner near midfield.

The Bills gave the ball to Jackson on five straight plays before Fitzpatrick hit Donald Jones with an 18-yard pass, setting up Jackson's five-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead.

Vick was hit from behind and intercepted by George Wilson on the ensuing possession. But Buffalo punted and the Eagles tied the game on Vick's 100th career touchdown pass, a two-yard throw to Jeremy Maclin in the middle of the end zone.

Jackson turned a short reception into a 49-yard gain on Buffalo's ensuing drive, setting up Fitzpatrick's six-yard touchdown pass to Nelson for a 14-7 lead.

It was quickly 21-7. Vick's first pass was intercepted by Barnett, who had a clear path to the end zone for his 31-yard touchdown with 9:00 left in the first half.

Instead of trying a field goal, the Eagles called a pass play on 3rd-and-10 from the Buffalo 26 with seven seconds left before halftime and Vick threw out of bounds over the end zone as time expired.

The Bills then opened the third quarter with a bruising 80-yard drive capped by Brad Smith's five-yard touchdown run to make it 28-7. The Eagles replied with a five-play, 80-yard drive capped by LeSean McCoy's 10-yard touchdown run.

On the play that gave him the QB rushing record, Vick scrambled for 53 yards to set up McCoy's touchdown.

"We did a lot of things that were positive, put ourselves in position to score and make plays and at times we didn't," said Vick. "I give a lot of credit to [the Bills] for what they did."

Game Notes

McCoy rushed for 80 yards on 11 carries...Cunningham played 16 NFL seasons, most notably with the Eagles and Minnesota Vikings...The Bills snapped a two- game losing streak to the Eagles and evened the all-time series at 6-6...Jackson's 49-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter moved him past Travis Henry and into 10th place all time in Bills history for yards from scrimmage.