Here are some news and notes from the Eagles' 38-3 win over the St. Louis Rams ...
Opening Day Dominance ... The Eagles 38-3 win over the Rams was their largest margin of victory on opening day in team history. Their previous best was a 38-7 triumph vs. the New York Giants in 1964 ... The 3 points allowed by the Eagles was their lowest total since permitting 3 in the 1991 opener at Green Bay ... The Eagles offense racked up 522 total net yards, the highest opening day total in team history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They broke the previous mark of 454 set on 9/12/04 vs. NY Giants. It was also the highest opening-day total in the NFL since Dallas recorded 541 yards on 9/12/99 at Washington ... The Eagles also scored a TD on the opening possession of the season for the first time since 9/3/00 vs. Dallas.
Eagles Receivers Hit The Trifecta ... With DeSean Jackson (6-106), Greg Lewis (5-104), and Hank Baskett (2-102) each topping the 100-yard receiving plateau vs. the Rams, the Eagles became the first NFL team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, to do so since Kansas City's Derrick Alexander (9-139), Tony Gonzalez (9-134), and Sylvester Morris (6-102) hit that trifecta in a 49-31 loss at Oakland on 11/5/00. The last time three Eagles receivers recorded 100-yards-or-more in the same game was on 12/18/60, when Timmy Brown (5-128), Tommy McDonald (2-116), and Pete Retzlaff (5-110) did so in a 38-28 victory at Washington.
DeSean's DeLectable DeBut ... According to the Elias Sports Bureau, DeSean Jackson's 203 all-purpose yards (106 rec. yds. & 97 punt ret. yds.) were the most ever for an Eagles rookie in his debut. Ken Keller posted the team's previous high of 192 at Los Angeles on 9/30/56 ... Among Eagles rookie receivers on opening day, Jackson's 106 receiving yards were the second-highest total in team history behind Don Looney, who holds the record with 115 yards on 8 receptions on 9/15/40 at Green Bay ... Jackson became the 4th Eagles rookie to start on opening day under Andy Reid, joining RG Shawn Andrews (2004), RT John Welbourn (1999), and DT Corey Simon (2000).
Donovan's Day ... With 3 TD passes against the Rams, QB Donovan McNabb is one shy of tying Ron Jaworski for the all-time franchise mark of 175 ... McNabb's 361 passing yards were his most on opening day, topping his previous best of 330 set on 9/12/04 vs. NY Giants.
Throw It In The Baskett ... WR Hank Baskett's 90-yard TD grab from McNabb was the longest of his career and tied for the 7th-longest pass play in team history. He now owns three of the top 10 longest plays in team history (89, 87, and 90-yard TDs). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player to have 3 TD catches of 87 yards-or-more was 49ers WR John Taylor (97, 92, and 95 yards), who achieved that feat between 1989 and 1991.
3rd-down Shut Down ... The Eagles defense did not allow a third-down conversion today to the Rams in 11 opportunities. It was their best output in that category since December 21, 2002, when the Cowboys went 0-12 vs. the Eagles at Texas Stadium.
The Book On 'Brook ... RB Brian Westbrook scored both a rushing TD and receiving TD in the same game for the 9th time in his career. The Eagles are 9-0 in those games. Only Marshall Faulk (15) has registered more such games since 1970 ... With 91 rushing yards, Westbrook moved past Duce Staley (4,807) and into 3rd place in team history with 4,876 career yards. With 21 touches, he also moved past Steve Van Buren (1,365) and into 3rd place in team history with 1,382 career touches.
Birdseed ... With 8 points, K David Akers (905) surpassed the 900-point mark with the Eagles. He also passed LB William Thomas and moved into 11th place in team history with 141 games played. S Brian Dawkins began play in his 13th season, tying him for 2nd place in team history with Harold Carmichael, Bucko Kilroy and Vic Sears. He trails only Chuck Bednarik (14 seasons). T Jon Runyan played in his 129th consecutive game as an Eagle, tying him for 6th place in team history with LB Frank LeMaster ... The 8 first downs permitted by the Eagles were the fewest allowed by the team since 9/18/05 vs. San Francisco, when they allowed 8 first downs in a 42-3 victory ... The Eagles held Rams RB Steven Jackson to 40 yards rushing on 14 attempts. It was Jackson's lowest rushing output with 10-or-more attempts since 12/24/05, when he rushed for 28 yards on 16 attempts vs. San Francisco.
QB Donovan McNabb - McNabb's 361 passing yards was the most ever on opening day for him. He completed 64 percent of his passes (21-of-33) and threw three touchdowns for a QB rating of 131.0. McNabb was especially sharp early as he connected on 8 of his first 10 passes and led the Eagles to a touchdown on each of their first two drives.
The Offensive Line - They kept Donovan McNabb clean by not surrendering a single sack. They also paved the way for Brian Westbrook, who gained 91 yards on 19 carries (4.8 yards per carry) and scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).
Big-Play Trio - Wide receivers DeSean Baskett, Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis all had 100 yards receiving to become the first Eagles trio to do so in the same game since Dec. 18, 1960 (Timmy Brown, Tommy McDonald and Pete Retzlaff).
WR/PR DeSean Jackson - The first rookie wide receiver to start a season opener since 1990 (Calvin Williams) and the fourth rookie to start a season opener in the Andy Reid era left the fans breathless. Jackson caught the first pass of the Eagles' season, an amazing 47-yard grab over Tye Hill, and never stopped. He finished with a game-high 6 catches for 106 yards. He also had 8 punt returns for 97 yards.
WR Hank Baskett - When Baskett scores, it had to have been a big play. Baskett's fourth-career touchdown was a career-long 90-yard grab - the seventh-longest pass play in Eagles history. Baskett's first two scores, both of which came in 2006 as a rookie, went for 87 yards and 89 yards, respectively. Baskett finished with 2 catches for 102 yards to record his third-career 100-yard game.
WR Greg Lewis - Lewis' 16-yard grab with 2:00 remaining put him over the 100-yard mark to become the third Eagle to do so on the day. He had 5 catches for 104 yards.
WR Jason Avant - Two third-down receptions led to the Eagles' second score, a 5-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb to L.J. Smith to put the Eagles ahead 14-0.
TE L.J. Smith - His 16th career regular season touchdown came in the red zone, a 5-yard grab. All 16 of his touchdowns have come in the red zone.
FB Tony Hunt - In his debut as the starting fullback, Hunt scored from 1-yard out to put the Eagles up 28-0 in the third quarter.
The Eagles' 'D' - All-Pro running back Steven Jackson was held to 40 yards rushing on 14 carries. Quarterback Marc Bulger had a measly 158 passing yards. Last, but not least. the Rams failed to convert a single third down (0-for-11).
LB Stewart Bradley - In his debut as the starting MIKE linebacker, Bradley was tied for a team-high 9 tackles, including two for a loss. He also had a sack and a pass deflection.
CB Asante Samuel - In his debut in Midnight Green, Samuel had three pass breakups. Two of those breakups could have been intercepted.
DE Darren Howard - Split a sack with Mike Patterson and pressured quarterback Marc Bulger on a number of other occasions.
DT Dan Klecko - Also making his Eagles debut, Klecko recorded a sack.
S Quintin Demps - Twice downed a Sav Rocca punt inside the 5-yard line. On the first one, he jumped into the end zone and flipped the ball out to save the touchback.
