GREEN BAY, Wis. — A deflected pass that landed in DeSean Jackson’s hands. Two long touchdowns to Riley Cooper, one after a defensive back slipped to leave the Eagles the receiver wide open for a score.
Good things happen with Nick Foles at quarterback for the Eagles.
A week after tying the NFL record by passing for seven TDs, Foles connected for three long scores and Philadelphia pulled way for a 27-13 victory Sunday over the injury-ravaged Green Bay Packers.
“He has great poise,” Cooper said. “He’s going to sit in the pocket and kind of dissect the defense.”
Philadelphia’s 17-point third quarter handed Green Bay its first back-to-back home losses since 2008, Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the starter. It was the worst home loss for the Packers since falling 38-10 to the New York Jets on Dec. 3, 2006.
The Eagles improved to 5-5, with all their victories coming away from Philly. They won a test of attrition at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
The undermanned Packers (5-4) played most of the day with third-string quarterback Scott Tolzien. Rodgers is out with a left collarbone injury, and backup Seneca Wallace left after the first series with a groin injury.
Actually, Tolzien played well considering he was just signed off the practice squad this week. He finished 24 of 39 for 280 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
“We had a lot of tough situations today, no excuses,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I thought Scott Tolzien played as well as could be expected.”
Foles was better.
He finished 12 for 18 for 228 yards and the three scores — a 55-yarder to Jackson and touchdowns of 45 and 32 yards Cooper. Foles still hasn’t thrown an interception this season, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame has requested a game-worn jersey and cleats that Foles wore during his record-tying, seven-TD performance against Oakland.
It could be tough for Michael Vick to get his starting job back any time soon. He was inactive a second straight week with a hamstring injury.
LeSean McCoy finished with 155 yards on 25 carries, the second straight week that Green Bay’s run defense had allowed a 100-yard rusher. McCoy softened the Packers with runs of 9 and 25 yards on the Eagles’ first series of the second half before Foles found Cooper for the 45-yard score and a 17-3 lead.
When safeties creep into the box to stop the run, “you’ve got to be able to throw the ball over the top,” coach Chip Kelly said. “We’ve got some guys in DeSean and Coop that can go over the top that we believe in.”
The strong-armed Foles exposed Green Bay’s secondary in the second half. Cooper was wide open on both of his scores, rolling over the goal line on his 45-yarder after being untouched on the ground, then working his way free toward the left sideline after Morgan Burnett slipped for the 32-yard score to make it 27-10 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Whether it’s Lambeau or Oakland Coliseum, the Eagles succeed on the road (5-1). The only blemish was a 52-20 loss in Denver. They’re still squarely in the race in the mediocre NFC East.
“We’re not good at home and we’re good on the road. We better figure it out because we’re coming home,” Kelly said.
Tolzien, who played college ball at Wisconsin, seemed at ease. He zipped a 22-yard pass to Brandon Bostick with 3:22 left in the third quarter to cut the Eagles’ lead to 20-10. The Eagles answered on their next drive with the second of Cooper’s two scoring catches.
Tolzien’s biggest mistake came early in the second quarter, when he marched the Packers from their 18 into the red zone, only to be intercepted by Brandon Boykin in end zone on an underthrown ball to Jordy Nelson. At the time, the Eagles were only leading 7-0.
“We had an awesome opportunity there and got a good look with the play that we were running,” Tolzien said. “Looking back on the throw, I should have thrown more back pylon.”
Cooper finished with three catches for 102 yards, while Jackson had four catches for 80 yards. He caught his 27th career touchdown of 55 or more yards.
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