Snatched away - Eagles fly off with Rams' faint hopes

Philadelphia uses third-string quarterback, tough defense to defeat Rams.

By Rob Maaddi ~ The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- Backed by a dominant defense, the Philadelphia Eagles proved they can win with their No. 3 quarterback. The St. Louis Rams still haven't won without theirs.

Bobby Taylor returned an interception of Kurt Warner 23 yards for a touchdown, and third-string quarterback A.J. Feeley did just enough to help Philadelphia beat the Rams 10-3 Sunday in a rematch of last season's NFC championship game.

The NFC East-leading Eagles (9-3) shut down St. Louis' once-potent offense, forcing five turnovers and sacking Warner eight times, including four by backup defensive end N.D. Kalu.

"When we go out and play and there's no letdown in any quarter, there's no team we can't beat," All-Pro safety Brian Dawkins said.

Feeley, starting his first game since his junior season at Oregon in 1999, completed 14 of 30 passes for 181 yards, and lost one fumble. He played because Donovan McNabb is out with a broken right ankle and Koy Detmer has a dislocated left elbow.

"It felt great. It's been a long time since I played a whole game," said Feeley, who started eight games his junior season, before getting hurt and losing his job to Joey Harrington.

Warner, the NFL MVP last season, was 20-for-42 for 218 yards and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble in the first quarter, and lost 9 yards when he dropped the ball on a pump fake.

The Rams (5-7), who beat the Eagles 29-24 in the conference title game 11 months ago, are 0-6 when Warner starts. They won five straight when No. 3 quarterback Marc Bulger stepped in after backup Jamie Martin went down in his first game playing for Warner, who broke his pinkie in Week 4.

"We made mistakes all across the board," said Warner, whose right hand was wrapped in ice after the game. "In the past, we've always been able to overcome it. For whatever reason this year, we haven't."

The Eagles took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Taylor stepped in front of a pass intended for Torry Holt and ran it back for a TD.

David Akers made a 31-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the first half. The Eagles had a first down at the St. Louis 12 after a 41-yard pass from Feeley to Todd Pinkston, but they had to settle for the field goal.

Jeff Wilkins' 22-yard kick cut it to 10-3 right before halftime.

St. Louis, which had the No. 3 offense in the NFL, finished with just 250 yards.

"Defensively, we knew we had to play well," Taylor said. "We had no injuries on defense. We had no excuses."

Marshall Faulk, who missed the last two games with a sprained right ankle and a strained tendon in his left foot, ran for 29 yards on nine carries. The Rams lost All-Pro tackle Orlando Pace in the first half because of a hamstring injury.

"We're trying to win," Rams coach Mike Martz repeated three times when asked why Faulk played even though he wasn't fully healthy.

Feeley didn't get much help from his receivers. Cecil Martin and Antonio Freeman dropped early throws, and Brian Westbrook dropped a long pass early in the second quarter. Freeman dropped one in the third quarter, and James Thrash couldn't hang onto another in the fourth. And Feeley had a 24-yard TD pass to Thrash nullified by a penalty on left tackle Tra Thomas.

"He played well, he was composed, he was into it," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

Feeley might be Philadelphia's starter for a few more games. McNabb could miss the rest of the regular season and possibly the playoffs. Detmer was expected to be out two-to-five weeks.

Philadelphia can clinch the division title with a win next week at Seattle and a loss by the New York Giants at Washington.

Warner returned last week and threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns, but the Rams lost to Washington 20-17. He had Isaac Bruce open in the end zone on third-and-10 in the third quarter, but underthrew and was intercepted by Troy Vincent.

Both teams traded fumbles on consecutive plays late in the second quarter. Rookie safety Michael Lewis forced a fumble by Holt that was recovered by Taylor at the Rams 29. Dorsey Levens gave it back on the next play when he was hit by Tommy Polley.

Notes: Notes: Taylor's TD was the second of his eight-year career. He returned an interception 18 yards for a score against the New York Giants on Oct. 3, 1999. ... Isaac Bruce got his 600th career reception on a 28-yard catch in the second quarter. ... Thomas, a Pro Bowl selection last season, had three penalties, including the one that voided the TD pass, and allowed one sack in the first half. ... Akers, an All-Pro last season, is 24-for-26.