NFL Recap (Philadelphia-Minnesota)
Posted: Mon September 29, 1997 at 3:38 a.m EDT
MINNESOTA 28, PHILADELPHIA 19
Brad Johnson threw for 221 yards and three touchdowns and
cornerback Dewayne Washington had a crucial interception late in
the fourth quarter as the Minnesota Vikings held on for a 28-19
victory over the feisty Philadelphia Eagles.
Johnson's 48-yard bomb to Jake Reed early in the first quarter
staked the Vikings (3-2) to a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter,
his 12-yard scoring strike to running back Robert Smith capped a
12-play drive that covered 87 yards.
Reed had six catches for 134 yards and broke a club record with
his fourth consecutive 100-yard receiving game. Smith, who
notched his third 100-yard rushing effort of the season with 125
yards on 22 carries, leads the NFC with 565 yards on the ground.
"He wears the defense down with three and four-yard runs, then
breaks one for 35 or 40 yards," Minnesota coach Dennis Green
said. "It's difficult to judge his speed with his stride."
Johnson, who completed 17-of-32 passes, put away the game in the
fourth quarter when he hooked up with Cris Carter for an 18-yard
TD that capped the scoring. It was the fifth touchdown catch of
the season for Carter, who later became just the eighth player
to record 700 receptions.
Trailing 28-19 in the final period, Ty Detmer drove the Eagles
to the Vikings 21-yard line. But on first down, Washington
stepped neatly in front of a pass at the 3 and returned it to
the 16, killing the rally. It was his second pickoff of the
game.
"This is the fastest game I've been in since I've been here,"
Washington said. "It was a playoff atmosphere and huge for our
confidence."
Detmer had possibly his best game of the season, completing
28-of-45 passes for 298 yards with two interceptions and a pair
of touchdowns.
The Eagles fell to 1-3 and were not on the same page. Detmer
argued loudly on the sidelines with running back Ricky Watters,
who had to be restrained by teammates from going after the
quarterback.
On the drive that preceded the argument, Watters leaped high for
a pass over the middle, but stretched only one hand towards the
ball. He was sitting quietly on the bench during the ensuing
punt when a yelling Detmer approached and knocked a drink out of
an assistant's hand and onto Watters, who rose and went back at
his quarterback.
"It was my fault, it was the heat of the moment," said Detmer.
"I got a little fired up but I apologized to him after the game.
We are a good solid team with great team unity, I take full
responsibilty for what happened."
Chris Boniol cut Philadelphia's deficit to 7-3 with a 47-yard
field goal iin the first quarter. They took a short-lived lead
in the second when Detmer found Irving Fryar in the end zone for
a a six-yard TD. Fryar reached the 100-yard receiving mark for
the 27th time in his career with nine catches for 120 yards. The
Vikings regained the lead on Johnson's 12-yard scoring pass to
Smith.
Boniol split the uprights from 26 yards out in the third quarter
to pull the Eagles within 14-13 but Minnesota countered when
Smith scampered home from 14 yards out. It was his third
rushing touchdown of the season.
Detmer moved the Eagles to within 21-19 with a third-quarter TD
pass to fullback Kevin Turner, who wrestled the ball away from a
defender and bulled his way in from the 2.
Minnesota held the Eagles to 100 rushing yards while sacking
Detmer five times.
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
|
