Seahawks Win Battle of Birds : They Beat Eagles to Snap Four-Game Losing Streak, 24-20

The Seattle Seahawks ended a four-game losing streak with a 24-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, but it took two big plays by their special teams to do it.

“We finally made a couple of big plays when we had to have them,” Seahawk Coach Chuck Knox said.

On a day when the Seahawks’ offense continued to struggle, rookie punt returner Bobby Joe Edmonds and a couple of special teams veterans, Kerry Justin and Eric Lane, made major contributions.

Seattle scored two touchdowns in a 62-second span at the end of the first half for a 21-6 halftime lead and held on to win despite two touchdown passes from Randall Cunningham to Kenny Jackson in the second half.

“It takes big plays to win any game,” said Justin, who blocked a John Teltschik punt that Lane returned 12 yards for a touchdown with 1:13 left in the first half.

“Once I got to the outside and got a couple of blocks, I felt pretty comfortable that I would score,” said Edmonds, the NFL’s leading punt returner, who ran back a Teltschik punt 75 yards for a score with 11 seconds left in the half.

“We figured out a good way to lose one,” Eagle Coach Buddy Ryan said.

The Seahawks (6-6) only got 10 points out of their offense, including a field goal in the second half.

It was the fourth consecutive loss and sixth defeat in seven weeks for the Eagles (3-9), who bounced back strongly with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham to Jackson in the third quarter and a nine-yard scoring pass from Cunningham to Jackson with 8:18 left in the game.

After the second Cunningham-to-Jackson touchdown pass cut the gap to 21-20, the Seahawks marched 53 yards in 15 plays before Norm Johnson kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:52 left.

Ryan was upset at his defense for allowing the Johnson field goal.

“Our defense had an opportunity to take the ball away and keep them from kicking that field goal,” he said. “That’s not good defensive football.”

Philadelphia set a league record for sacks allowed in a season at 73 as Cunningham was sacked 9 times, a Seattle club record.

Cunningham was sacked 10 times last weekend in a loss to Detroit and he sarcastically applauded his offensive line for its work in the Seahawks’ game.

“It (the sack total) went down,” he said. “It’s better than last week.”

The Seahawks’ lone offensive touchdown came on a a 72-yard pass from Dave Krieg to Daryl Turner in the first quarter.

Philadelphia’s Paul McFadden booted field goals of 35 and 32 yards in the first half.

After Johnson’s late field goal, the Eagles drove from their own 20 to their 47, where Seattle’s Fredd Young made his third sack of the game.