Michael Vick passed, ran and dazzled in an astonishing performance to propel the Philadelphia Eagles to a 59-28 rout of the Washington Redskins on Monday night.
Mesmerizing despite steady rain, Vick became the first NFL player to throw for at least 300 yards and rush for 50, while tossing four scores and rushing for two more in one game.
Vick threw three of his four touchdown passes and ran for both scores in the first two quarters alone, as the Eagles (6-3) exploded for a franchise record-tying 45 points in the first half and buried their NFC East Division opponents.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I felt it would be different this time and I knew I would be here for the long haul,” Vick told reporters, having sustained a rib injury in his previous game against the Redskins on Oct. 3.
“That’s what it’s about, stepping up when you’re on the big stage. We wanted to start fast and that’s what we did,” Vick said.
Vick finished a magical night having completed 20 of 28 passes for 333 yards and running for 80, as Philadelphia moved into a tie with the New York Giants atop the division.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Philadelphia compiled nearly 600 yards of offense and had a 45-14 lead over Washington at halftime.
Vick tossed his final score in the third quarter and defensive back Dimitri Patterson also intercepted Donovan McNabb and ran it back 40 yards for the Eagles’ final touchdown.
“It’s embarrassing,” Washington coach Mike Shanahan said, of his team’s performance. “I should have had [the team] better prepared than I did.”
Philadelphia wasted little time as Vick connected with DeSean Jackson for an 88-yard score on the first play from scrimmage.
Running back Jerome Harrison added a 50-yard TD run in the first quarter and the Eagles raced to a 35-0 advantage in the second.
Enjoying his first season as a starting quarterback since 2006, Vick is the NFL’s highest-rated quarterback and has yet to throw an interception or lose a fumble this season.
McNabb, playing in his first game since he was controversially benched toward the end of a loss to the Detroit Lions on Oct 31, threw two scores and three interceptions as the Redskins (4-5) lost for the third time in four games.
However, all was not bad news for McNabb, who agreed to a long-term contract extension with the Redskins, the team said on earlier on Monday.
Details of the deal were not disclosed, but several reports said the 33-year-old contract, traded to Washington during the offseason, agreed to a five-year extension that will keep him with the Redskins through the 2015 season.
Monday was McNabb’s second meeting against the franchise where he spent his first 11 years, leading the Eagles to five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl appearance, losing 24-21 to the New England Patriots.
A report on the NFL’s official Web site said McNabb’s new contract includes US$40 million guaranteed and could be worth up to US$88 million.
In eight games this season, McNabb has a 76 percent passer rating — his lowest since his rookie season in 1999 — and has thrown seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum on Sunday combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Team Shaq” cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game in San Francisco. Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded lineup coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s “Team Chuck.” Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting lineup that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden. Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when