Angry Birds
Cards scorch Eagles,
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Kolb got a little revenge on the Eagles Sunday.
Managing the game like the quarterback the Eagles envisioned, Kolb threw for 222 yards, two touchdowns and a stunning 127.4 passer rating to spark the Arizona Cardinals to a 27-6 rout at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Eagles lost for the fourth time in their last five games with the Cardinals, including the playoffs. It was their third straight loss on the road.
The Cardinals are 3-0 for the first time since 1974. Since the NFL went to the 16-game schedule, a shade over 75 percent of the teams starting 3-0 made the playoffs.
Michael Vick completed just 17 of 37 passes for 217 yards. He also fumbled the ball away twice, once of which was returned for a touchdown.
It was all over but the math in the first half when, with six seconds remaining, Andy Reid decided it was better for his team to play aggressive than take the field goal.
On third-and-goal at the one-yard line of the Cardinals, Vick dropped back but never saw safety Kerry Rhodes, who leveled him and sent the ball bouncing toward what locals call The 101.
Safety James Sanders picked the ball up and with a caravan of blockers, rolled 93 yards for a score giving the Cardinals a 24-0 bulge.
Believe it or not Reid briefly considered kicking the field goal that would have left the Eagles trailing by just 17-3.
Trent Cole added an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the PAT.
But the damage was done.
Vick fumbled twice, rookie punt returner Damaris Johnson once giving the Eagles 12 turnovers on the season.
The Cardinals made a couple of plays on their first series but Trent Cole and Jason Babin came off the edges to sack Kolb on third-and-10, and Feely booted a 47-yard field goal to open the scoring.
Kolb completed all three pass attempts for 42 yards. The Eagles limited the Cardinals to just two rushing yards on three attempts on the first series.
Kolb slowly gained confidence while the Cardinals got Fitzgerald involved. The Eagles helped their opponent out, Johnson fumbling away the ball at the 38-yard line of the Eagles during a 12yard punt return.
Eight plays later, Kolb fired a ball off the chest of linebacker DeMeco Ryan and Dominique RodgersCromartie watched rookie Michael Floyd haul in the miss for an eight-yard score and a 10-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter.
Vick lost his first fumble after driving the ball to the 36-yard line of the Cardinals in the second quarter.
The Cardinals later pinned the Eagles at their six-yard line, forcing Chas Henry to punt out of his own end zone. Henry narrowly avoided having the punt blocked, and the Cardinals broke the game open on Fitzgerald’s 37-yard scoring reception that left Eagles defensive backs bickering on the sideline.
With Nnamdi Asomugha the closest Eagle, Fitzgerald made a diving catch at the two-yard line and literally rolled the rest of the way to boost the Cardinals to a 17-0 lead.
Safety Nate Allen glared at Asomugha, who, when he reached the sideline got an earful from the other safety, Kurt Coleman.
Meanwhile Vick was throwing the ball to Brent Celek in spots where the tight end almost got KOd. Celek two huge shots, the second of which required sideline testing from head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder.
But Celek hung in and Vick marched the Eagles down the field late in the first half, connecting with Johnson for 26 yards and taking off on a 20-yard run.
Vick fired a 14-yard pass to Jackson, who, expecting a big hit at the one-yard line balled into the fetal position. Had he just fallen forward it would have been a score. Instead the Eagles had first and goal at the one.
Two passes and one attempted pass later, James Sanders picked up a Vick fumble and coasted 93 yards down the sideline for the 24-0 bulge.
Naturally Reid and the Eagles hit the field running in the second half, McCoy and Brown running early and often. And Reid decided to kick a couple of field goals in the third quarter.
The Eagles kept handing the ball off in a hurry up offense that had them driving again in the fourth quarter. They dodged a bullet with 11:54 remaining when Bryce Brown fumbled inside the 35-yard line, as Ken Whisenhunt didn’t throw the challenge flag soon enough.
But Whisenhunt interrupted the Eagles’ momentum challenging a three-yard reception by Celek. The call was reversed for an incomplete pass.
Then Vick, sacked five times, tried to throw the ball under more duress and was flagged for intentional grounding. Vick didn’t get the ball back to the line of scrimmage, and the penalty pushed the Eagles out of field goal range.
The Cardinals hadn’t done anything offensively in the second half until Ryan Williams, on third-and-17, burst 25 yards for a first down.
The Cardinals eventually ran the clock out.