Aching Akers Comes Through

David Akers again fell to the ground, writhing in pain. This time, his teammates piled on and celebrated.

Fighting through a strained right hamstring that temporarily forced him to the bench, Akers made a 23-yard field goal with nine seconds left to lift the Philadelphia Eagles to a 23-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

“You know it’s going to hurt for one second and then the game is over,” said Akers, a two-time Pro Bowl kicker. “My whole leg hurts right now.”

Donovan McNabb also played through pain, throwing for 365 yards and two touchdowns, even though chest and groin injuries limited his mobility and ability to pass.

Brian Westbrook caught a touchdown pass from McNabb, ran for a score and had 140 yards receiving. Terrell Owens had nine catches, including the 100th touchdown of his career.

“Donovan battled through like a warrior,” Eagle Coach Andy Reid said. “He came up with huge throws in the second half.”

After Kerry Collins threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Doug Gabriel to tie the score, 20-20, with 2:17 left, McNabb drove the Eagles (2-1) downfield.

Westbrook caught passes of 13 and 17 yards, Greg Lewis made a 13-yard catch on third and nine and Owens had a 14-yard reception to set up Akers’ kick.

“We struggled there on offense. We ended up not taking advantage of a couple situations,” Raider Coach Norv Turner said.

Akers re-injured his hamstring on the opening kickoff, forcing linebacker Mark Simoneau to try one extra point -- it was blocked -- and third-string tight end Mike Bartrum had to kick off.

But Akers came back to make two extra points and the winning field goal in the second half.

“I can’t leave the team hanging, especially on kickoffs,” Akers said. “I never want anyone to think I’m trying to wimp out.”

Randy Moss had five catches for 86 yards but didn’t score as Oakland fell to 0-3 for the first time since 1992. Moss had two receptions for 26 yards through the first three quarters.

A week after tying his career best with five touchdown passes in a 42-3 rout of San Francisco, McNabb was out of sync early. Bothered by the injuries that have limited him in practice, McNabb couldn’t follow through on some passes, struggled to get up after a few hits and walked around gingerly.

But he found his rhythm in the second half, and finished 30 for 52 with one interception.