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PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Philadelphia fans were chanting for Ricky Williams at the NFL draft. Maybe, they should have been screaming for Edgerrin James. James rushed for a season-high 152 yards and two touchdowns and Peyton Manning was his normal self as the Indianapolis Colts rolled to their sixth straight win, a 44-17 pounding of the Eagles. Taken with the fourth overall pick in the draft, James, who carried 22 times, had TD runs of one and 62 yards in the first quarter. He finished with 128 yards in the opening half and his final total easily surpassed his previous high of 118 against New England on September 19. James has 1,006 yards, the only back in the AFC to reach the 1,000-yard mark this season. It was James' fourth straight game with at least 100 yards and his seventh overall. He is the 10th rookie since 1970 with seven 100-yard games in his first season. James also had five catches for 35 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown in the third quarter. "The offensive line did a great job," James said. "Our offensive staff took advantage of every opportunity. We saw that they were doubling up on Marvin (Harrison). That just opened up the running game." Manning, the top overall pick last season, completed 16-of-26 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns. One of those TD passes was a career-long 80-yard bomb to rookie Terrence Wilkins in the third quarter. At the draft, Eagles fans were chomping at the bit to take Williams, who finished his college career at Texas with 6,279 yards rushing. But instead the club chose Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb with the second pick. McNabb had a forgettable second start, completing 19-of-36 passes for 165 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. McNabb fumbled twice inside his own 10 in the second quarter that led to a pair of field goals by Mike Vanderjagt. The rookie also lost a fumble in the third quarter. He talked about the comparison between himself and Manning in that Manning endured the same struggles in his rookie season. "The comparison with Manning definitely adds a little light at the end of the tunnel," McNabb said. "We both came in so-called franchise quarterbacks. Last year, (Manning) went 3-and-whatever and struggled early but as the season went by he continued to pick up his game and the team improved. Hopefully, it will change for our team also." "I certainly know what he's going through," commented Manning. "Although, I know last year nobody took it easy on me. It's part of the growing process and Donovan certainly is going to learn from this season." James' two touchdown runs and a five-yard TD pass from Manning to emerging star Marvin Harrison helped the Colts open an insurmountable 30-3 advantage at halftime. "We came in very excited and motivated for this game," Manning said. "Our defense created a lot of turnovers and we did a job of hitting some big plays, and run-blocking sprung Edgerrin a couple of times." It was a homecoming for Harrison, who was a three-time Maxwell Club Award winner as Philly's top player at Roman Catholic High School. He came into the contest leading the league in catches and yards and finished with four receptions for 49 yards. Indianapolis garnered a 258-40 edge in total yardage in the opening half. The Eagles did not get their initial first down of the game until there was 4 1/2 minutes left before halftime. The Colts (8-2), who are off to their best start 1977 when they won nine of their first 10 games under Ted Marchibroda, remained tied with Miami for first place in the AFC East. Miami beat New England today. "Well, it was one of those days where things went well for us right off the bat," Colts coach Jim Mora said. "We got turnovers early and got really good field position...we were able to make the most of it." One of the reasons the Eagles did not select Williams or James was because they had running back Duce Staley. He came into the game second in the NFL in rushing and had 78 yards on 16 attempts. "All in all, it was a pitiful game from our standpoint," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "I would like to compliment the Indianapolis Colts on the job they did. They're a fine football team, but we made them look better than they are." It was a disaster for the Eagles from the start. They held the Colts on the first possession of the game, but jumped offsides on 4th-and-4, enabling Indianapolis to keep the drive alive. Vanderjagt culminated that 11-play, 56-yard drive with a 45-yard field goal 4:14 into the contest. The Colts extended the lead with 2:40 to play in the period. Manning had runs of six and eight yards to along with a roughing penalty on cornerback Troy Vincent, setting the stage for James' first touchdown from one yard. James went much farther for his next score, going 62 yards untouched down the left sideline for a 17-0 cushion with 12 seconds left before the end of the opening quarter. He had 117 yards in the period. On the next play from scrimmage, defensive tackle Larry Chester hit McNabb, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by Ellis Johnson at the seven. The Colts had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Vanderjagt. It took just two more offensive plays before McNabb fumbled again. This time safety Jason Belser drilled the embattled quarterback and defensive end Malcolm Thomas recovered at the 10. Manning made them pay this time, finding Harrison wide open in the back of the end zone for a five-yard TD and a 27-0 bulge with 11:33 remaining before halftime. Staley accounted for 50 of 53 yards on the Eagles' next drive which resulted in a 48-yard field goal by Akers. Vanderjagt closed the first half with a 34-yard field goal as time expired. He has converted his last 12 field goal attempts. McNabb finished the opening half just 2-of-7 for nine yards. After the defense stymied the Eagles to start the second half, Indianapolis extened the lead when Manning found Wilkins right down the middle on its first offensive play. Following another McNabb fumble, Manning completed the Colts' scoring with a 17-yard toss to James that pushed the lead to 44-3 midway through the third quarter. James left after three quarters in favor of Keith Elias, who carried 11 times. It was the first time this season that a running back other than James got a carry. McNabb threw his first career touchdown, a six-yard pass to tight end Chad Lewis in the fourth and defensive tackle Brandon Whiting intercepted Steve Walsh and brought it back for a score later in the period. Walsh's appearance in the fourth quarter was the first time a another quarterback appeared for the Colts since Manning was drafted last season. Indianapolis outgained the Eagles, 455-214.
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