Philadelphia – David Akers again fell to the ground, writhing in pain. This time, his teammates piled on and celebrated.
Fighting through a strained right hamstring that temporarily forced him to the bench, Akers made a 23-yard field goal with nine seconds left that lifted the Philadelphia Eagles to a 23-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
“You know it’s going to hurt for one second and then the game is over,” said Akers, a two-time Pro Bowl kicker. “My whole leg hurts right now.”
Donovan McNabb also played through pain, throwing for 365 yards and two touchdowns, even though chest and groin injuries limited his mobility and ability to pass.
Brian Westbrook caught a TD pass from McNabb, ran for a score and had 140 yards receiving. Terrell Owens had nine catches, including his 100th career touchdown.
“Donovan battled through like a warrior,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He came up with huge throws in the second half.”
After Kerry Collins threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Doug Gabriel to tie the game 20-20 with 2:17 left, McNabb drove the Eagles (2-1) down the field.
Westbrook caught passes of 13 and 17 yards, Greg Lewis made a 13-yard catch on a third-and-9 play and Owens had a 14-yard reception to set up Akers’ winning kick.
“We struggled there on offense. We ended up not taking advantage of a couple situations,” Raiders coach Norv Turner said.
Akers reinjured his hamstring on the opening kickoff, forcing linebacker Mark Simoneau to try one extra point – it was blocked – and third-string tight end Mike Bartrum had to kick off.
But Akers came back to make two extra points and the winning field goal in the second half.
“I can’t leave the team hanging, especially on kickoffs,” Akers said. “I never want anyone to think I’m trying to wimp out.”
Randy Moss had five catches for 86 yards, but didn’t score as Oakland fell to 0-3 for the first time since 1992. Moss had two receptions for 26 yards through the first three quarters.
“We showed a lot of heart. We showed a lot of character,” said Collins, who was 24-of-42 for 345 yards passing. “We should have won. But I don’t think our guys are going to go in the tank.”
A week after tying his career-best with five TD passes in a 42-3 rout of San Francisco, McNabb was out of sync early. Bothered by the injuries that have limited him in practice, McNabb couldn’t follow through on some passes, struggled to get up after a few hits and walked around gingerly.
But McNabb found his rhythm in the second half, and finished 30-of-52 with one interception.
“In the first half, I was rushing things, trying to get the ball out quicker and using my upper body,” McNabb said. “In the second half, I re-evaluated and said I have to use my legs.”
McNabb was examined for a sports hernia last week, but Reid said his injury is an abdominal strain.
It’s possible he could have more tests this week.
“If it’s a possibility that being out there, I can’t damage it any worse, then I’ll be out there,” McNabb said.
