Eagles Get Drop on Chargers
LaDainian Tomlinson took a pitch, ran wide, saw Brian Dawkins coming at him full speed and dropped the ball.
That was just one example of how the San Diego Chargers beat themselves on Sunday.
Donovan McNabb passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns, and Dawkins returned Tomlinson’s fumble 49 yards for a touchdown, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 24-14 victory over the Chargers.
Doug Flutie threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns against the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense, but San Diego couldn’t overcome four turnovers and lost its sixth consecutive game after opening 5-2.
“A lot of times when you play good teams they cause you to make mistakes,” Charger Coach Mike Riley said.
“Their defense is darn good, the best we’ve seen.”
The NFC East-leading Eagles (8-4) won their second straight and fifth in six games, although they are only 3-4 at Veterans Stadium.
With the score tied, 7-7, in the first quarter, San Diego had a third and one at Philadelphia’s 38. Flutie pitched the ball to Tomlinson, but he never got complete control as he ran wide to his right, saw Dawkins coming and dropped it.
Dawkins scooped it up and outran Tomlinson and Flutie to the end zone for a 14-7 lead.
“If a guy is coming at you full speed, who are you going to look at?” Dawkins said. “A lot of times you are going to look at the guy.”
The Eagles let the Chargers hang around until the fourth quarter, but never trailed and finally beat an inferior opponent at home.
“We did OK, but we have plenty of room to improve on both sides of the ball,” Eagle Coach Andy Reid said.
McNabb’s one-yard touchdown pass to Chad Lewis gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead 4:11 into the game.
It was the first time this season Philadelphia scored on its opening possession.
McNabb was four for five for 66 yards on the drive, including completions of 28 yards to Duce Staley and 31 to James Thrash.
“Every week we want to start fast,” Thrash said. “Coach really emphasizes it.
“It felt good. Everything was clicking. It was exciting.”