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Sputtering Eagles score late, beat Chiefs 20-17

Aug 28, 2010 - 4:51 AM By DOUG TUCKER AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- This was one of those preseason games that sent both teams home with plenty to work on.

Mike Kafka's 18-yard pass to Riley Cooper in the closing seconds boosted the Philadelphia Eagles past Kansas City 20-17 on Friday night, making Todd Haley 0-7 in preseason games as the Chiefs' head coach.

But the quarterback picked to replace Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb sputtered much of the night. And the Chiefs' first five possessions produced a lost fumble, an interception, two three-and-outs and one first down.

"That wasn't quite as sharp as we'd like it, that's for sure," said Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb. "There are a lot of details we need to clean up so there needs to be some special attention to it starting with myself."

Kolb was 11 for 25 for 103 yards. He got sacked four times and threw an interception and had a rating of just 39.2 - not exactly reminiscent of McNabb, the departed six-time Pro Bowler.

"Everybody had a little piece of that pie there," said coach Andy Reid. "We will all learn some things from it and do better the next time."

Chiefs rookie linebacker Cameron Sheffield was immobilized and had to be taken away on a cart after a helmet-to-helmet tackle on Mike Bell left him motionless on the field. Haley declined to discuss Sheffield's status but one player said he was moving.

It's the second straight week the Chiefs have had a player removed like that on a cart. Last week it was cornerback Maurice Leggett, whose injuries are now said not to be career-threatening.

"Our thoughts, prayers are with Cameron Sheffield," said Haley. "That's two of those situations in two weeks. Right now I don't have any information I feel comfortable in giving because again, there's a lot of people out there that are family and friends of Cameron's. I don't want to say anything that ends up being wrong."

Reid said wide receiver DeSean Jackson had a neck strain and was taken out "for precautionary measures." He also said defensive end Trent Cole had a sprained ankle and would have an MRI Sunday morning.

In addition, Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles did not come back onto the field after seeming to hurt his shoulder or arm near the half. The Chiefs had no comment on him.

Kafka, a rookie out of Northwestern, led the Philadelphia reserves on an 8-play, 80-yard drive against the Chiefs backups to pull out the win. Cooper, a rookie receiver out of Florida, made a nice catch of the perfectly thrown pass into the end zone.

"It was good to finish the game like we did," said Reid. "It was good for the two's to get in there and do what they did. We have plenty of work to do with the ones but there were some good things."

The Chiefs got two sacks apiece from linebackers Demorrio Williams and Andy Studebaker, who's been battling veteran Mike Vrabel for a chance to start.

"I didn't feel like myself at the start off," said Williams. "But once it got kind of leveled off, I feel like I played pretty good. Their first drive, they hit us for a touchdown. I'm a run-stopping guy, and by them doing that, I put that on myself."

Charles fumbled on the Chiefs' first play and Cole recovered on the Chiefs' 22. On the second play, LeSean McCoy went up the middle for the touchdown. That would be the Eagles' last TD until the final minutes of the game.

The Eagles (2-1) and Chiefs (0-3) both played most of their starters well into the third quarter. The Chiefs will have one more chance, against Green Bay next week, to give Haley a preseason victory before heading into a regular season

"We knew that was a good, fast, physical team for a long time and we'd have our work cut out for us and we needed to start fast, match or exceed their tempo and physicality," said Haley. "I don't know that it could start a lot worse than it did, both offensively and defensively. But I think what I feel good about now is this group of players starting with the defense, they slugged it out."

KC appeared to be stopped on its sixth possession but a delay-of-game penalty kept the offense on the field and Matt Cassel wound up hitting Dwayne Bowe with a 4-yard scoring pass. Thomas Jones scored on an 11-yard run in the third period. Cassel was 14 for 23 for 85 yards.

Kolb, pressured out of the pocket, made an off-balance and ill-advised throw down the field in the third quarter. The ball hung up and rookie safety Kendrick Lewis made a leaping interception and returned the ball 26 yards to the 26, setting up Jones' TD.