Eagles Try It Again and Win, 24-14 : They Run Over Cardinals for the Second Time in a Row

What worked for the Philadelphia Eagles five weeks ago against the St. Louis Cardinals worked again Sunday.

“Anytime you have a positive experience, you usually are looking to try it again,” said Coach Marion Campbell after the Eagles’ 24-14 victory. “We were up against a team with a lot of talent. We just decided to get back to good old-fashioned football and get after people.”

The Eagles, in repeating their earlier 30-7 success over the Cardinals, called again on Earnest Jackson.

Jackson ran for 162 yards and a touchdown, bettering his 103-yard output Oct. 13 against the same team. He carried the brunt of an attack that gained 176 yards on the ground.

“I was all banged up all day,” Jackson said. “I was just happy to get what I was getting.”

Jackson’s running and a flat second-half offensive performance by the Cardinals after they had overcome a two-touchdown Eagle lead left St. Louis Coach Jim Hanifan perplexed.

“I was proud of the way we came back,” Hanifan said. “We were down 14 points but came storming back.

“The problem was we stopped moving the ball. Why? I don’t know why.”

Jackson, who carried 34 times, ran 51 yards for a touchdown with 9:16 remaining after Paul McFadden’s 20-yard field early in the fourth quarter snapped a 14-14 tie as the Eagles improved to 6-5.

St. Louis (4-7) wasted a 179-yard rushing performance by Stump Mitchell, a career best for the Cardinals’ fifth-year running back.

Mitchell scored on plunges of three yards and one yard as the Cardinals overcame a 14-0 deficit in the first half.

Randall Cunningham took over for injured Ron Jaworski at quarterback for Philadelphia in the third quarter and steered the Eagles 49 yards to McFadden’s field goal near the start of the final period.

The next time Philadelphia had the ball, Jackson swept right end and broke two tackles before scoring.

The Eagles, while capitalizing on early breaks, bolted to their 14-0 lead in the opening 12 1/2 minutes.

Safety Wes Hopkins broke through from Philadelphia’s 36 to block a Carl Birdsong punt, setting up rookie Herman Hunter’s 38-yard halfback touchdown pass to Mike Quick one play later.

After St. Louis failed on fourth down late in the first quarter, Jaworski capped a 52-yard Eagle drive by passing five yards to Quick for Philadelphia’s second score.