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Eagles better in red zone, beat Vikings

Oct 29, 2007 - 5:09 PM By Mike Weimerskirch PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - While not solved, the Philadelphia Eagles improved their red-zone woes.

Brian Westbrook scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, helping the Eagles to a 23-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Eagles now have eight red zone touchdowns this season - all coming against NFC North opponents. They entered with six TDs in just 20 trips inside the opposition's 20-yard line this season.

On Sunday, the Eagles made five trips to the red zone, managing a pair of TDs.

"We won the game, we scored in the red zone, and we're getting better," Westbrook said. "We did better, but we still need to work on some things."

"I'm not excited unless we score every opportunity we're in there," echoed Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Both scores came from Westbrook. The speedy running back had a 6-yard TD reception off a shovel pass with 5:46 left in the first half, capping a 12-play, 93-yard drive. His 1-yard run with 1:46 left in the half gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead.

"Coming in, we thought we could get (a TD) through the pass, but we were able to go back and get it in through the run," Westbrook said.

The second score by Westbrook was set up by Reno Mahe's 27-yard punt return. Westbrook rushed for just 46 yards on 21 carries. He added four catches for 46 yards.

When they were unable to punch the ball into the end zone, the Eagles (3-4) relied on the left leg of David Akers, who kicked field goals of 20, 27 and 25 yards. His final field goal provided a 23-16 with 5:09 remaining.

McNabb also had a productive afternoon, completing 23-of-36 passes for 333 yards and a TD.

His favorite target was Reggie Brown, who had eight receptions for 105 yards. Two of Brown's receptions were key third-down catches on Philadelphia's first touchdown drive.

"Our third-down percentage has been great," McNabb said. "If we can continue to keep the third down percentage high, and sustain drives, if we start to capitalize, things will work out well for us."

"(Donovan) seems a lot more comfortable now," Brown said. "He's starting to have fun and believe in himself as far as this year goes. The rest of us feed off of that."

Meanwhile, the Eagles defense held Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson to just 39 yards on 11 carries in the first half. Peterson, who entered the game as the league's leading rusher with 670 yards, finished with 70 on 20 carries.

"Every was in their holes, everybody was beating their blockers, and then the key is not missing tackles," Eagles defensive end Javon Kearse said. "If you miss tackles against a guy like (Peterson), it would have been very ugly."

Brooks Bollinger, the third quarterback on Minnesota's depth chart, attempted to rally the Vikings in the second half. Bollinger completed his first three passes, setting up a 32-yard Ryan Longwell field goal, which pulled the Vikings within 20-13 with 1:42 left in the third quarter.

"(Bollinger) definitely brought a spark," said Vikings wide receiver Bobby Wade, who had four catches for 53 yards. "He came out and threw it four times in a row, had four completions. He came in with no inhibitions."

Bollinger added two more completions for 27 yards on a 40-yard drive which Longwell capped with a 48-yard field goal with 8:53 left to make it 20-16.

But the Eagles answered with a nine-play, 66-yard drive, capped by Akers' 25-yard field goal.

"We need to limit the big plays and get off the field on third down in situations like that," Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said.

Vikings quarterback Kelly Holcomb left the game six minutes into the third quarter with a neck injury suffered while being sacked by defensive end Juqua Thomas.

Tarvaris Jackson, the Vikings' normal starter, was inactive with an injured index finger on his right hand.

Visanthe Shiancoe had a 9-yard TD reception in the first quarter for the Vikings (2-5), who lost for the fifth time in six games.