Eagles Do Rush Job on Falcons

Ricky Watters ran over the Atlanta Falcons. He ran by them too.

Watters rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yarder, and Gary Anderson kicked four field goals as the Philadelphia Eagles defeated Atlanta, 33-18, Sunday night. Derrick Witherspoon sealed the victory with a 97-yard kickoff return.

Watters’ performance followed a 153-yard effort against Detroit as the Eagles (3-1) played a strong game on the heels of their embarrassing 39-13 loss at Green Bay in Week 2.

Watters’ first touchdown was on a two-yard run and his 56-yard score was the longest touchdown run of his career, giving the Eagles a 20-10 lead.

Anderson moved past George Blanda and into a tie with Atlanta’s Morten Andersen at No. 3 on the NFL’s career field-goal list. Andersen kicked one field goal for the Falcons, leaving him and the Philadelphia kicker with 337 each.

Atlanta (0-3) is a team in disarray. Quarterback Jeff George was benched in the third quarter, and later argued with Coach June Jones on the sideline. Backup Bobby Hebert, however, didn’t fare much better.

George completed 16 of 23 passes for 217 yards but had two interceptions to go with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Bert Emanuel. Hebert, who threw three interceptions, completed 17 of 26 passes for 149 yards, including a 12-yard scoring pass to Terance Mathis.

The victory helped the Eagles keep pace with Washington in first place of the NFC East, two games ahead of Dallas, Arizona and the New York Giants.

Atlanta is winless in its first three games for the first time since opening 0-5 in 1993. The Falcons also fell to 0-2 at home.