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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, September 27, 2009

NFL: Vick does little in return, Eagles rout Chiefs, 34-14


ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles didn't need much from Michael Vick to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. They didn't need anything from Donovan McNabb or Brian Westbrook.

Getting significant contributions from their youngsters and backups, the Eagles routed the Chiefs 34-14 in Vick's return to the NFL on Sunday.

Kevin Kolb threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns, LeSean McCoy had 84 yards rushing and one TD, and DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek each had 100-plus yards receiving and one score for Philadelphia (2-1).

McNabb missed his second straight game with a broken rib. Westbrook sat out with a sore ankle. It was no problem against the Chiefs (0-3). Kolb, a third-year pro making his second career start, and McCoy, a rookie second-round pick, filled in nicely.

Meanwhile, Vick was mostly a decoy.

Playing his first regular-season game since Dec. 31, 2006 — 1,001 days ago — Vick ran once for 7 yards and threw two incomplete passes.

Vick, who served 18 months in prison on a federal dogfighting charge, didn't have to wait long to get on the field. He entered to a semi-standing ovation for the second play from scrimmage, was split wide as receiver and came around for a fake reverse.

Overall, Vick got in for 11 plays. He lined up at receiver once, took the snap in shotgun formation nine times and was directly under center once. Kolb was on the sideline for the 10 plays Vick was in at QB.

Vick was expected to run Philadelphia's version of the wildcat offense, but McCoy took most of those snaps.

With Vick on the field, the Eagles gained a net total of 30 yards. They got 390 without him. Or McNabb. Or Westbrook.

Matt Cassel threw for 90 yards and two TDs for Kansas City.

Jackson finished with a career-high 149 yards receiving, including a 64-yard TD. Celek had 104 yards on eight catches.

The normally pass-happy Eagles were more balanced during their first two scoring drives. After Kolb connected with Jason Avant for a 10-yard gain on third-and-6, three straight running plays moved the ball to the Chiefs 5.

Then Vick, who had a 7-yard run on his second snap, fired a pass out of bounds under heavy pressure and took a hard hit. McCoy took the next snap in the wildcat and ran in for his first career TD to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.

Kolb hit Jackson for 43 yards on the next possession to move the Eagles into Kansas City territory. Vick handed off to McCoy for an 11-yard run on his only play during the series. Kolb sneaked in from the 1 to put Philadelphia ahead 14-0.

The Chiefs took advantage of good field position after the Eagles failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at Kansas City's 44. With Vick watching from the sideline, Kolb rolled out and his pass was knocked down by Mike Vrabel.

Cassel's 13-yard TD pass to Mark Bradley cut it to 14-7.

But the Eagles answered on their first play after the kickoff. Jackson turned Kolb's short pass over the middle into a 64-yard TD to make it 21-7. The Jackson dove into the end zone and appeared to land awkwardly on his gimpy groin, but stayed in.

Kolb zipped a 35-yard TD pass to Celek midway through the fourth quarter to put the game way out of reach.

Kolb threw for 391 yards, two TDs and three interceptions in a 48-22 loss to New Orleans last week. Kolb completed 24 of 34 passes and had a QB rating of 120.6 against the Chiefs.