Cunningham Returns to Form With Bang : Eagles: Philadelphia quarterback, ineffective as team lost its first two games, scrambles his way to victory over the Rams.

Sure, all-pro tight end Keith Jackson is back from his holdout, and five-time Pro Bowl receiver Mike Quick has returned to form after surgery on both knees. But the biggest factor in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 27-21 victory over the Rams was the return of Randall Cunningham.

And you thought he never left.

Well, Eagle fans have spent two worrisome weeks pondering what had happened to their main man with all the moves, their master of the momentous, their savior of third and long. In Philadelphia’s two defeats this season, Cunningham the Magnificent was missing in action. He had thrown only two touchdown passes and tossed five interceptions as the Eagles staggered to an 0-2 start.

As of Sunday, however, he’s back. Simply ask Ram Coach John Robinson.

“Randall Cunningham was magnificent,” he said. “He had a great game, one of the great games I remember him playing. Those big plays were our undoing.”

Cunningham’s statistics Sunday were impressive--he completed 18 of 29 passes for 248 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and he rushed seven times for 44 yards--but numbers don’t tell the whole story when you’re rating the performance of this scrambling man.

It’s not so much that Cunningham made some big plays Sunday; it’s when he made them. Consider:

--With the Rams leading 14-10 in the waning seconds of the first half, Cunningham drops back to pass and then takes off around right end. Twenty-seven yards later, cornerback Bobby Humphery drags him down.

Two plays after that, Cunningham fires a strike to rookie Calvin Williams in the end zone. In less than a minute of playing time, Cunningham has given the Eagles more than a 17-14 halftime lead. He provided a struggling team with what defensive end Reggie White says was a huge boost of confidence. “That was the turning point of the game,” White said.

--On third and nine from the Ram 25, Cunningham circled out of a collapsing pocket and found Jackson open over the middle for a 16-yard gain. The Eagles eventually settled for a field goal and a 20-14 advantage.

--Late in the third quarter, Ram linebacker Kevin Greene appears finally to have Cunningham corraled. But the elusive Eagle quarterback ducks under the charging Greene, manages to keep his feet and scrambles free. He hooks up with Jackson again for a 28-yard gain.

--On the Eagles’ final possession, a 14-play drive that ran out the clock, Cunningham scrambled for a first down on third and four; threw a 33-yard strike to Fred Barnett, and then sprinted eight yards up the middle on a quarterback draw on a third-and-two play.

“Randall’s a scrambler,” Quick said. “We always have a better offense when he’s running around back there with the ball.”

Some wondered if the bent toward high drama had vanished from the Eagle offense when first-year offensive coordinator Rich Kotite installed a new system this spring. Cunningham was clearly less than pleased with the new scheme and was reluctant to embrace it.

“That was in March,” Kotite said. “Randall’s been doing fine all season. He has a fine grasp of the system. He’s fantastic and he’s getting better and better.

“He likes what we’re doing because we’re an offense that will keep people off balance. It’s the same face, we’re just changing the makeup.”

This makeover may have been a success as far as Kotite and Coach Buddy Ryan were concerned, but Cunningham was still very happy when Ryan told him it was OK to improvise when he felt the need, just like in the old days.

And he certainly was delighted to oblige. He likes his new, longer leash just fine.

“Both Buddy and Rich told me before the game, ‘Don’t sit back there and hold the ball anymore,’ ” Cunningham said. “I was just trying to be the system quarterback they wanted me to be, so I said, ‘Fine, thanks for letting me be myself.’ And then we went ahead and did what we had to do.

“(Scrambling) just opens things up. I didn’t run too much until the second half, but it’s just natural.”

Cunningham did what comes naturally and undid the Rams’ defense in the process. When it comes to dismantling even a finely tuned defensive scheme, Cunningham on the run is a one-man wrecking crew.

“Randall ran the ball at the right times today, which we wanted him to do,” Ryan said.

“When he runs like that, it really wears down the defensive linemen. That kills you when you coach defense. He did a great job today.”

Cunningham, a sometimes moody and always intense player, was also comforted by the fact that some of his favorite faces had returned to the huddle.

“It was like having our old team back,” he beamed.

“Keith was back, even (receiver) Kenny Jackson is back. We had to click together sooner or later and we did this game.

“When you win a game, you’ve got to celebrate, but we’re not going to celebrate too long.”

Indeed, one victory is only a first step. But you can bet some folks in Philadelphia were toasting The Return of Randall late into the night Sunday.