Allen’s Fumble Sends Eagles to Overtime Win

It was the kind of game the Raiders usually win and the Philadelphia Eagles usually lose because the Raiders have been winners and the Eagles losers in recent years.

But, in a weird ending to a very weird game, the underdog Eagles came away with the victory.

Quarterback Randall Cunningham scored on a one-yard sneak with 8:07 elapsed in overtime Sunday to give the Eagles a shocking 33-27 triumph over the Raiders.

Two plays earlier, with the Raiders at the Philadelphia 16-yard line and apparently on the verge of winning, Marcus Allen fumbled and safety Andre Waters scooped the ball up and raced 81 yards to the Los Angeles four.

“It was the sweetest victory by far in my NFL career,” said Waters, a three-year veteran from Cheyney (Pa.) University, who joined the Eagles as a free agent in 1984. “Coach (Buddy) Ryan is responsible for that. He keeps telling us we have to take the ball away when the game is on the line.”

The loss severely jeopardizes the playoff chances of the Raiders, who are 8-5 and trail AFC West-leading Denver by two games with three games left to play.

The win broke a four-game losing streak for the Eagles, who have a 4-9 record.

“This is probably the greatest win we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Ryan, the former defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears who is in his first season as the Eagles’ head coach. “I like the way we fought them tooth and nail. That’s the kind of team I want.

“We tried to give it away a few times and the officials tried to take it away about a thousand times.”

The Raiders had an excellent chance to win before Allen fumbled.

Los Angeles had gotten the ball at the Philadelphia 42-yard line when Bill Pickel recorded the 10th Raider sack of Cunningham and caused a fumble, which teammate Howie Long recovered.

Jim Plunkett threw a 27-yard pass to Allen on a third-and-20 play to put the ball at the Eagles’ 20. Allen ran for 4 yards before losing the ball on the next play.

Waters caught it on a bounce and appeared on his way to a game-winning touchdown, but he was run down by Dokie Williams at the Los Angeles four. Cunningham ran for 3 yards before scoring the game-winner.

“There’s no question it was my fault on the play,” Allen said. “It was just a simple lead play. I was reaching for the ball and didn’t take it the proper way. As a result of that, I lost the ball.

“It was a tough game. We could have beaten this team, and we just didn’t do it.”

Cunningham completed 22 of 39 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns, all to Mike Quick. He was intercepted once.

“Randall Cunningham is just unbelievable,” cornerback Lester Hayes of the Raiders said of the elusive Philadelphia quarterback. “He must shower in Vaseline. There’s only one Cunningham in the entire NFL and he really gives the Eagles’ offense life.”

A 27-yard field goal by Chris Bahr of the Raiders with 11 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 27-all and forced the overtime.

Raider Coach Tom Flores said he was going to have Bahr kick a field goal on the play after Allen fumbled.

“We were going to kick it on third down,” he said. “We were going for field position on second down.

“We did not play a real good game. We had our opportunities and let them slip away. We were not consistent enough. At the end, we had our opportunity to win and it was just one of those wild and crazy things that’s happening this season.”

Plunkett hit 16 of 42 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jessie Hester. He was intercepted twice and sacked six times.

The Raiders sent the game into overtime after Cunningham, with his team protecting a 27-24 lead, inexplicably threw a pass on a first-and-10 play from the Eagles’ 48-yard line and 1:54 left in regulation.

The ball was deflected and then intercepted by Hayes, who returned it 7 yards to the Los Angeles 45. The Raiders then drove to the Eagles’ eight before Bahr’s game-tying field goal.

Cunningham’s touchdown passes to Quick were for 62, 5 and 10 yards. The 10-yard scoring play came with 11:35 to go in the fourth quarter and gave the Eagles their 27-24 lead.

Plunkett’s touchdown passes to Hester were for 49 and 81 yards, both in the third period.

The other touchdowns came on punt returns, a 70-yard return by Fulton Walker of the Raiders after just 3:26 of play, and one that covered 76 yards by Gregg Garrity of the Eagles with three minutes left in the opening period.

Only three times previously had both teams gotten touchdowns on punt returns in an NFL game.

Matt Millen blocked Paul McFadden’s conversion after Garrity’s touchdown.

The game’s other points came on a 38-yard field goal by Bahr in the second period.

Quick finished with eight receptions for 145 yards. Hester had four catches for 193 yards.

Philadelphia had lost its four previous games by a total of only 12 points.

Cunningham has been sacked 29 times in the Eagles’ last three games. Philadelphia quarterbacks have been sacked an NFL-record 83 times this season.

Plunkett suffered both of his interceptions in the fourth quarter.

The first was by Evan Cooper on the first play after Philadelphia had taken its 27-24 lead. The Eagles drove from their 28-yard line to the Raider 27 after the interception, but McFadden missed a 45-yard field goal with 4:35 remaining.

The second was by Waters at the Philadelphia 18-yard line with 2:54 to go. The Raiders had moved from their 27-yard line to the Philadelphia 24 following McFadden’s missed field goal.

It was exactly a minute later that Cunningham threw his only interception, on the first-down play. That occurred immediately after Cunningham threw a 30-yard pass to Anthony Toney to give the Eagles a first down and, apparently, clinch the victory.

The game, first between the Raiders and Eagles since Jan. 25, 1981 when the Raiders won a 27-10 decision in the Super Bowl, was played before a crowd of 53,338 at the Coliseum.