Final
Eagles drub Browns to keep playoff hopes alive
Dec 16, 2008 - 6:54 AM By Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing WriterPHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Eagles sputtered in the red zone, but fortunately they were playing an opponent with a woeful offense.
Donovan McNabb completed 26 of 25 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, while Asante Samuel returned an interception 50 yards for another TD as the Eagles eventually coasted to a 30-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Monday night.
David Akers added three field goals for Philadelphia (8-5-1), which posted its third straight win.
"We're excited about where we are at," McNabb said. "We'll enjoy this win and we just need to move on to the next game,"
Cleveland (4-10) lost for the fourth consecutive time and managed just a 27-yard field goal by Phil Dawson for its only points on offense. Brandon McDonald returned a Kevin Kolb interception 24 yards in the fourth quarter for the Browns only touchdown.
"Our guys tried, but I don't think we have enough ammunition to match up with (Philadelphia)," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "Offensively, we tried to be competitive, but we couldn't score any points and that had a major impact in the game."
The Browns have gone 16 quarters without an offensive touchdown.
The Eagles had no problem marching down the field on their opening possession, going 64 yards in eight plays which McNabb capped with a 14-yard TD pass to Kevin Curtis and a quick 7-0 lead.
After Dawson answered with his field goal, McNabb again drove Philadelphia deep into Cleveland territory, but the drive stalled at the 6 and Akers came on to make it, 10-3, with a 24-yard FG.
On their next trip into the red zone, the Eagles tried a gimmick play which backfired as DeSean Jackson took a direct snap but his pass attempt was intercepted in end zone by Sean Jones.
But the Browns returned the favor as Samuel intercepted a pass from Ken Dorsey at midfield and returned it all the way to increase Philadelphia's margin to 17-3.
"I play with a lot of confidence and I just try to go out there and use my instincts," Samuel said. "I kind of read it, went for the ball and I turned around. The ball was there and I got it and took it to the house."
"I can't tell you exactly what happened," Dorsey said. "I threw it, he picked it. That's something that cannot happen."
The Eagles wasted one more chance before halftime and were fortunate not to get burned. McNabb underthrew a fade to Hank Baskett and was intercepted in the end zone by McDonald, who returned it 98 yards to the Philadelphia 7 on the final play of the first half.
Basically, (the Eagles) had a fade route that they tried to throw and I knew it was coming," McDonald said. "I was able to get in good position to make a play. I just didn't have enough gas in the tank to get into the end zone."
It did not affect anything but the final score as Akers kicked two field goals and McNabb threw a 10-yard TD pass to Greg Lewis to make it 30-3.
"We do have some things we obviously can work on, in particular, in the red zone," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "You can't have the mistakes that we had there consistently. We've been doing pretty good there and tonight, we didn't do very well."
With the win, the Eagles remain very much in the NFC wildcard hunt. With a game at Washington and a home contest against Dallas remaining to close out the regular season, Philadelphia needs two more wins and a little help to return to the postseason.
Dallas, Atlanta and Tampa Bay are all 9-5 and also in the thick of the playoff chase.
"They understand what's at stake and you saw that in their effort
tonight," Reid said of his team. "They played a very aggressive game on both sides of the football and on special teams, too."
Dorsey finished an anemic 11-of-28 passing for 156 yards and two interceptions.
Philadelphia outgained Cleveland by a whopping 418-196 margin.
- NFL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLEVELAND 3 0 0 7 10
PHILADELPHIA 10 7 3 10 30 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: PHI - TD, KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM
DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK),
4:15. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards in
4:15. Key plays: McNabb 20-yard
pass to Avant on 3rd-and-5 to
Cleveland 39; Westb
Dec 15 11:30 PM
TD CLE BRANDON MCDONALD 23 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Browns 10, Eagles 30 4th - 9:11Dec 15 11:08 PM
TD CLE BRANDON MCDONALD 23 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Browns 10, Eagles 30 4th - 9:11Dec 15 11:08 PM- NFL
TD CLE
BRANDON MCDONALD 23 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN
(PHIL DAWSON KICK)
CLEVELAND 10
PHILADELPHIA 30 9:11 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Browns 10, Eagles 30 4th - 9:11Dec 15 11:08 PM
TD PHI GREG LEWIS 10 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 3, Eagles 30 4th - 11:14Dec 15 10:56 PM
TD PHI GREG LEWIS 10 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 3, Eagles 30 4th - 11:14Dec 15 10:56 PM
TD PHI GREG LEWIS 10 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 3, Eagles 30 4th - 11:14Dec 15 10:56 PM- NFL
TD PHI
GREG LEWIS 10 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB
(DAVID AKERS KICK)
CLEVELAND 3
PHILADELPHIA 30 11:14 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Browns 3, Eagles 30 4th - 11:14Dec 15 10:56 PM - NFL
FG PHI
DAVID AKERS 34 YD
CLEVELAND 3
PHILADELPHIA 23 14:52 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Browns 3, Eagles 23 4th - 14:52Dec 15 10:49 PM - NFL
END, 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLEVELAND 3 0 0 3
PHILADELPHIA 10 7 3 20 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: PHI - TD, KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM
DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK),
4:15. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards in
4:15. Key plays: McNabb 20-yard
pass to Avant on 3rd-and-5 to
Cleveland 39
Dec 15 10:43 PM - NFL
FG PHI
DAVID AKERS 34 YD
CLEVELAND 3
PHILADELPHIA 20 3:34 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Browns 3, Eagles 20 3rd - 3:34Dec 15 10:30 PM - NFL
HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLEVELAND 3 0 3
PHILADELPHIA 10 7 17 HALFTIME
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: PHI - TD, KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM
DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK),
4:15. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards in
4:15. Key plays: McNabb 20-yard
pass to Avant on 3rd-and-5 to
Cleveland 39; We
Dec 15 9:53 PM
TD PHI ASANTE SAMUEL 50 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 3, Eagles 17 2nd - 4:45Dec 15 9:36 PM
TD PHI ASANTE SAMUEL 50 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 3, Eagles 17 2nd - 4:45Dec 15 9:36 PM- NFL
TD PHI
ASANTE SAMUEL 50 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN
(DAVID AKERS KICK)
CLEVELAND 3
PHILADELPHIA 17 4:45 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Browns 3, Eagles 17 2nd - 4:45Dec 15 9:36 PM - NFL
END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLEVELAND 3 3
PHILADELPHIA 10 10 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: PHI - TD, KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM
DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK),
4:15. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards in
4:15. Key plays: McNabb 20-yard
pass to Avant on 3rd-and-5 to
Cleveland 39
Dec 15 9:14 PM - NFL
FG PHI
DAVID AKERS 24 YD
CLEVELAND 3
PHILADELPHIA 10 0:49 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Browns 3, Eagles 10 1st - 0:49Dec 15 9:10 PM - NFL
FG CLE
PHIL DAWSON 27 YD
CLEVELAND 3
PHILADELPHIA 7 6:48 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Browns 3, Eagles 7 1st - 6:48Dec 15 8:57 PM
TD PHI KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 0, Eagles 7 1st - 10:45Dec 15 8:47 PM
TD PHI KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 0, Eagles 7 1st - 10:45Dec 15 8:47 PM
TD PHI KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK)
Browns 0, Eagles 7 1st - 10:45Dec 15 8:47 PM- NFL
TD PHI
KEVIN CURTIS 14 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB
(DAVID AKERS KICK)
CLEVELAND 0
PHILADELPHIA 7 10:45 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Browns 0, Eagles 7 1st - 10:45Dec 15 8:47 PM
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