Their season was only one quarter old and already the Eagles were rattled emotionally as quarterback Randall Cunningham left Lambeau Field with a serious knee injury.
But as word that Cunningham might be out for the season spread across the Philadelphia bench Sunday, panic didn't."It upset all of us. But everyone had the right reaction," first-year coach Rich Kotite said.
That reaction was to play even harder in the absence of Cunningham, a three-time Pro Bowl starter.
Veteran Jim McMahon took over at quarterback and threw two touchdown passes, and the Eagles defense took over the game as Philadelphia beat the Green Bay Packers 20-3.
"Randall's a close friend. You hate to see that happen," said Reggie White, who rushed the Packers relentlessly, making three sacks, forcing two fumbles and batting a pass that led to an interception.
"Right now we just have to go with it and depend on Jim," White said.
McMahon didn't play like a quarterback who'd thrown only 12 passes as Cunningham's backup last season. He looked more like the former Chicago Bear, who appeared in the 1986 Super Bowl and always had a knack for beating Green Bay.
"I did some pretty good things but I was really irritated with the interceptions I threw," McMahon said. "My confidence level has always been the same. When I'm in the game, I expect to make big plays. That's my job, why they brought me here."
McMahon completed 17 of 25 passes for 257 yards and hit Fred Barnett on a 75-yard touchdown pass to clinch the victory with 6:51 left.
"I have all the confidence in the world and so does this team," Kotite said. "We don't have any built-in excuses. We all live in the real world and we are just going to go on."
Cunningham was injured on the first play of the second quarter when he was tackled by Green Bay linebacker Bryce Paup. Cunningham, the league's top running quarterback, was in the pocket releasing a pass.
A preliminary diagnosis is that Cunningham suffered tears to the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee.
He was scheduled Monday for a magnetic resonance imaging test (MRI) to determine the extent of the injury and whether surgery will be needed.
"I feel terrible for him," Kotite said. "I can tell you that this won't be the end for Randall Cunningham, you can count on that."
There was no score when Cunningham left. Then the Eagles got two first-half field goals from Roger Ruzek and a 32-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Keith Byars, one that deflected off Green Bay's Chuck Cecil. The Eagles led 13-0 at halftime.
Philadelphia's defense stopped the Packers, holding quarterback Don Majkowski to six first-half completions in 21 attempts and 16-for-42 in the game.
The Eagles deflected 14 passes. They made three interceptions and recovered two fumbles in Majkowski's first regular-season game since he injured a shoulder last year and had rotator cuff surgery.
The Packers got a 62-yard punt return from Vai Sikahema to move to the Eagles' 4-yard line in the third quarter but had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Chris Jacke when three passing plays gained only one yards.