Darren Sproles had two touchdowns and Mark Sanchez threw for two scores to help the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Carolina Panthers 45-21 on Monday.
Filling in for an injured Nick Foles, Sanchez had 332 yards passing in his first start since Dec. 30, 2012.
Sproles returned a punt 65 yards for a score and had an 8-yard touchdown run.
Photo: AFP
Bradley Fletcher returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown and Jordan Matthews had 138 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
The Eagles (7-2) stayed on top in the NFC East. They are trying to repeat as division champions without Foles, who broke his collarbone in a win at Houston last week.
The Panthers (3-6-1) hardly look like the team that won the NFC South last year. They have lost four in a row and already have allowed more points in 10 games than they did last year. Making things worse, Panthers defensive tackle Star Lotulelei was carted off the field late in the third quarter.
Cam Newton threw the first of three interceptions and DeAngelo Williams lost a fumble on Carolina’s first three plays from scrimmage. The turnovers led to 10 points for the Eagles.
Conor Barwin had 3.5 sacks and Brandon Graham had 1.5. Newton had never been sacked more than seven times in his career.
The game was in Philadelphia’s control when Newton threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to Kelvin Benjamin.
Casey Matthews, starting for injured linebacker DeMeco Ryans, forced Williams’ fumble and Cedric Thornton recovered at the Panthers 22.
Cody Parkey hit a 39-yarder to make it 3-0.
Cary Williams then intercepted Newton on Carolina’s next offensive play. It was the first pick by an Eagles cornerback this season.
Sanchez completed passes of 15 yards to Jeremy Maclin and 21 yards to Brent Celek to set up Sproles’ score. Sproles took a handoff and ran off the left side untouched.
The Panthers answered on their ensuing possession. Newton connected with Greg Olsen on a 38-yard pass and converted a pair of third-down passes to keep the drive going. Jonathan Stewart jumped over the top from the 1 to cut it to 10-7.
Sproles broke loose up the middle, deked punter Brad Nortman and cut to the right sideline on his way to his second punt return for a score this season and fourth in his career, giving the Eagles a 17-7 lead.
Fletcher stepped in front of a poor pass intended for Jason Avant and ran it back to put the Eagles up 31-7. The Eagles already have a franchise-record nine touchdowns on defense and special teams.
LeSean McCoy ran in from the 1 to make it 38-7. Matthews caught an 18-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Benjamin had touchdown catches of 21 and 40 yards.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and