OAKLAND -- Nick Foles continued his bounce back in a huge way in the second quarter as he threw three more touchdown passes to give the Eagles a 28-13 lead over the Raiders at the halftime intermission.
The Eagles scores a touchdown on their first four drives of the game as Foles finished the first half 15-of-19 for 260 yards with four touchdowns for a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating.
Foles connected twice with Riley Cooper for scoring strikes - one from 17 yards and the other from 63 yards - and the third went to rookie tight end Zach Ertz for his first-career touchdown.
On the second play of the quarter, Cooper beat rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden in one-on-one coverage for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 14-3 edge. The Eagles defense got Foles the ball back thanks to a sack by safety Earl Wolff and a 32-yard punt return by DeSean Jackson.
It just took one more play for Foles to connect with Cooper again as once again the wide receiver beat the rookie cornerback for a 63-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 21-3 lead. Cooper finished the first half with 122 yards on three catches and the two touchdowns.
The Raiders answered back with an 8-yard touchdown run by running back Rashad Jennings. The key play was a 35-yard scramble by quarterback Terrelle Pryor one play earlier. Pryor took off when he was flushed out of the pocket on a blitz by linebacker Mychal Kendricks.
Any momentum generated by the Raiders was killed when Foles hit Jackson for a 17-yard gain on third-and-16. Foles and Jackson connected again for a 20-yard gain as the quarterback bought time in the pocket with his legs. A tight end screen to Brent Celek netted 24 yards and Foles notched his fourth touchdown pass of the half with a 15-yard pass into the back, right corner of the end zone for Ertz, the Stanford alum and California native.
The Raiders ended the first half with a 40-yard drive in nine plays which resulted in a 53-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski with just three seconds remaining.
EAGLES STATS:
QB: Foles - 15-of-19 for 260 yards, 4 TDs, 158.3 QB Rating
RB: Brown - 4 carries, 51 yards, 12.8 avg.
WR: Cooper - 3 rec., 122 yards, 2 TDs
DEF: Ryans - 8 tackles
RAIDERS STATS:QB: Pryor -12-of-21 for 167 yards, 82.8 QB Rating
RB: Pryor - 7 carries, 65 yards, 9.3 avg.
WR: Streater - 4 rec., 80 yards
DEF: Burnett - 6 tackles
