Another Westbrook TD, on a 2-yard screen, on third-and-goal, made it 21-0 in the second quarter.
The Cards got back in the game at 21-7 with some help from Al Riveron's officiating crew. Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald from 1 yard out, 2 plays after Hanson broke up a third-down pass to Anquan Boldin but was called for holding. Replays did not show Hanson holding. Previously in the drive, the Eagles lost a challenge of a call on a 25-yard catch, Riveron announcing that the ball hitting the ground didn't matter because the receiver didn't lose control of it.
The Eagles drove again just before the half, a 42-yard David Akers field goal making it 24-7 and giving Akers 1,000 career points. On the next-to-last play of the drive, Jean-Gilles suffered a broken ankle when hit from behind by Chike Okeafor, who was diving at a scrambling McNabb.
The halftime numbers were the sort Eagles fans hadn't seen in more than a month. McNabb was 15-for-19 for 112 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 126.3 passer rating. Westbrook had 76 yards on 14 carries. The Eagles had converted four of five third downs. The Cards had rushed for only 15 yards on eight carries.
A miscue on a punt - it seemed to hit Jason Avant's foot, then Jackson tried to fall on it and couldn't corral the ball - set the Cards up for a score that made it 31-13 in the third, the two-point coversion pass failing. After a 41-yard Akers field goal, Arizona authored its first real drive of the night, drawing within 34-20 on a Fitzgerald TD pass.
But Boldin, who had a rough night, saw Brian Dawkins punch the ball out of his hands, Akeem Jordan recovered at the Cards' 19, and five plays later, Jackson caught a 5-yard TD pass from McNabb for a 41-20, fourth-quarter lead.
An 8-yard TD pass to Jason Avant made it 48-20 with 5:19 left.
Birdseed
After
DeSean Jackson's touchdown, the 175-pound wide receiver chest-bumped
Andy Reid. "I thought a moth hit me," Reid said . . .
Brian Dawkins' interception was his 34th, tying him for the franchise lead with
Eric Allen and
Bill Bradley . . . Brian Westbrook (22 carries for 110 yards) was the first player to run for 100 yards and score two touchdowns rushing and receiving since the Colts'
Lydell Mitchell, on Oct. 12, 1975, and the first Eagle to score four TDs in a game since
Irving Fryar in 1996 . . . The Eagles converted nine of their first 13 third-down opportunities . . . The 7-5 Cards have lost all four games in the Eastern time zone this season, at the Jets, at the Giants, at the Panthers and last night. They are 7-1 in the other time zones. Too bad the Super Bowl's in Tampa this season. *
For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.
