GLENDALE, Ariz. -
Kevin Kolb got the best of his former team.
Michael Vick might be wishing he was still in Philadelphia the way the
Arizona Cardinals battered him around.
Kolb threw for 222 yards and two
touchdowns, James Sanders returned one of Vick's two first-half fumbles
93 yards for a touchdown and the Cardinals ran over the Eagles 27-6 on
Sunday for their best start in 38 years.
Kolb was sharp, hitting 17 of 24
passes, and Arizona (3-0) sacked Vick five times for its best start
since 1974, more than a dozen years before the team moved to the desert.
The Cardinals also have won seven straight home games, the
second-longest streak in franchise history.
Larry Fitzgerald was the guest
conductor for the fall opening of the Phoenix Symphony on Thursday and
kept the high notes going against the Eagles, catching nine passes for
114 yards and a touchdown while becoming the youngest player to reach
700 receptions.
Philadelphia (2-1) became the
first NFL team to open a season with two one-point wins. The Eagles
didn't give themselves a chance to rally for another victory, picked
apart by the quarterback they cast away and hounded by Arizona's
attacking defense.
The NFL's best offense the first
two games, the Eagles had three turnovers, running their season total
to 12, and labored all day against the scrappy Cardinals.
After three years of waiting behind Donovan McNabb, Kolb was pushed aside when Vick made his triumphant return to the NFL.
Even after being traded to Arizona and landing a huge contract extension, Kolb still had to fight for recognition.
He lost a tight preseason battle
with Skelton, but came off the bench in the opener against Seattle when
Skelton sprained his right ankle. Kolb took the Cardinals on the
winning drive and was steady enough last week to lead them to one of
their biggest road victories in recent years, 20-18 over the New England
Patriots.
Skelton returned to practice late this week, but was limited and ended up watching Sunday's game in street clothes.
Kolb, who missed last year's win
over the Eagles with a foot injury, made the most of his opportunity,
carving up Philadelphia's secondary with crisp passes.
He completed all three of his
throws on Arizona's opening drive to set up Jay Feely's 16th straight
field goal, from 47 yards. After the Cardinals recovered a fumble by
Eagles punt returner Damaris Johnson, Kolb threw an 8-yard touchdown
pass to Michael Floyd, who made his first NFL catch a memorable one by
juggling the ball through two Philadelphia defenders.
Kolb kept clicking in the second quarter, throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald that put the Cardinals up 17-0.
Arizona's offense bogged down in
the second half - 28 yards in the third quarter - but ground the game
away with a time-consuming, 13-play drive in the fourth quarter that
resulted in a 27-yard field goal by Feely for a 27-6 lead.
Vick, on the other hand, spent most of his day being chased or knocked down.
The Cardinals hit him hard twice
on Philadelphia's first series and linebacker Sam Acho caused him to
fumble with a hit early in the second quarter to end a drive into
Arizona's end of the field.
Vick finally got the Eagles going late in the first half, only to have it end in disaster.
Forced to throw it away on two
plays from Arizona's 1-yard line, he was blindsided by Kerry Rhodes on
third down and fumbled. Sanders scooped it up and raced up the sideline,
picking up a couple of blockers along the way to a 93-yard fumble
return for a touchdown that put Arizona up 24-0 at halftime.
The Eagles put up some yards in the second half, just not many points.
Philadelphia opened the third
quarter with two solid drives, but settled for a pair of field goals by
Alex Henery and never threatened Arizona's lead.
Vick had 217 yards on 17-of-37 passing after entering the game second in the NFL with 688 yards.
Fitzgerald needed two catches to
reach 700 and took care of it quickly, hitting the mark on a 4-yard
pass from Kolb in the first quarter. He reached the milestone in 29
years and 23 days, eclipsing Dallas tight end Jason Witten, who hit the
mark last week at 30 years and 133 days.
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