Cunningham’s Passing Offensive to Fans : Eagles: Despite quarterback’s slump, they beat Raiders on some big defensive plays.

As quarterback Randall Cunningham of the Philadelphia Eagles ran onto the field before Sunday’s game against the Raiders, an Eagle fan in a green jacket and hat extended his hand.

Cunningham gave the fan a high five, and a Veterans Stadium crowd of 64,019 fans gave Cunningham a loud ovation.

But the cheers turned to jeers for Cunningham, who suffered through an awful passing performance in the Eagles’ sloppy 10-7 victory over the Raiders.

Mired in a three-game passing slump, Cunningham completed eight of 20 passes for 64 yards. He completed only three of nine in the second half.

After passing for 401 yards in a 27-13 loss at Chicago four weeks ago, Cunningham has thrown for a total of 362 yards in his last three games, an average of 120.67 yards per game.

Asked if Cunningham is in a slump, Coach Buddy Ryan said: “I don’t know, you have to ask him.”

When Cunningham entered his postgame news conference, he was ready.

“I know what the first question is going to be,” Cunningham said, reading the reporters much better than the Raider defense.

“I’m not in a slump,” Cunningham said. “I didn’t make the big plays like I used to. I’m not making things happen and hitting the passes and making it look so good. But we still have a long season to go.”

As Cunningham’s statistics have decreased, the production of the Eagle offense has faltered. After averaging 33.67 points in its first three games, Philadelphia has averaged 14.75 points in its last four.

Is Ryan worried about his offense?

“As long as (the Raiders) only score seven I don’t care,” Ryan snapped.

Cunningham said he is not concerned about the dropoff.

‘I’m not really worried,” Cunningham said. “We’re just not in sync. When we play our type of football we’re going to explode again.”

Ted Plumb, Eagles’ offensive coordinator, said injuries to receivers Mike Quick and Keith Jackson have hurt Philadelphia’s passing success.

“Losing Quick and Jackson is a big factor, but you still have to overcome that, “ Plumb said. “I don’t think Randall’s in a slump. We simply have to execute better.”

While the Eagle offense has crashed, the defense has been superb, giving up only one touchdown in its last two games.

“Our defense is playing well and when they play like that they make it easier for us,” Cunningham said. “We always can’t win games on offense, the defense is going to have to win some games. And the defense has really taken over by making the big plays.”

Philadelphia’s blitzing defense made a lot of big plays against the Raiders.

Defensive tackle Mike Pitts and inside linebacker Seth Joyner had two sacks apiece as the Eagles chased Raider quarterback Jay Schroeder out of the game and harassed Steve Beuerlein, his replacement.

Joyner’s second sack secured the game for the Eagles. On third-and-six at the Eagle 16, Joyner dropped Beuerlein for an eight-yard loss. Jeff Jaeger missed a 42-yard field goal on the next play and the Eagles ran out the clock.

“Someone has to make the big play,” Joyner said. “ I always tell myself that any time we’re in a situation like that someone’s got to make the big play, why not me?

“I had already blown a big play when I dropped an interception and I figured it would be a perfect time to make up for that.”

After dropping four potential interceptions in the first half, the Eagle defense came up with two second-half interceptions to set up 10 points.

Cornerback Izel Jenkins intercepted Schroeder’s pass at the Raider 46 and returned it to the Raider 24 to set up Cunningham’s one-yard touchdown run.

“The defense has been dogged,” Jenkins said. “But we’re starting to show people how good we are.”

Middle linebacker Byron Evans intercepted a Beuerlein pass to set up Luis Zendejas’ 34-yard field goal.

Reggie White, the Eagles’ minister of defense, said he could see the fear in Schroeder’s eyes because of the intense pressure.

“I think we had him off his game,” White said of Schroeder, who completed only seven of 22 passes before he was benched. “He knew the type of pass rush we have and I think he was a little jittery. He was throwing some poor passes and we knew that sooner or later we’d get some interceptions. He threw a lot of balls away.

“There wasn’t much more difference after Beuerlein came in, but it seemed like he was a lot calmer.”

White wasn’t very calm after he said he was being held by the Raider offensive line in the first half. He threw his helmet down in frustration and drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I wouldn’t have threw my helmet down if I didn’t think I hadn’t been held,” White said. “I’ve seen guys throw their helmets down and they never threw flags for that. I didn’t understand why he threw a flag.

“It seemed like the referee was looking right at me while I was on the ground and I wondered why he didn’t call holding. And that’s why I threw my helmet down.”

White thinks the officials are protecting quarterbacks by overlooking flagrant holding.

“They’re trying to protect quarterbacks,” White said. “But these guys are men who chose to play this game and worked their way up in this profession just like I did. They’re getting special treatment.”