Eagles thump Redskins

LANDOVER, Md. -- On an odd night -- when the field was cleared because of pepper spray -- Steve Spurrier's offense didn't score a single point.

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The coach's Monday night NFL debut turned into his worst loss in more than six years as both of his quarterbacks sputtered in the Washington Redskins' 37-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The bad night for the Redskins turned bizarre in the fourth quarter when the smell of pepper spray used by police to break up a fight the stands spread to the Eagles bench. At least one player vomited, but the spray soon dissipated and play resumed after an eight-minute delay.

The Eagles beat Spurrier at his own game. They went long on their first play and stayed aggressive, keeping the Redskins' defense off guard with a mixture of formations.

''We got clobbered,'' Spurrier said. ''We never could go anywhere. They beat us every which way.''

Donovan McNabb threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, completing 26 of 38 passes for 292 yards. He also ran for 36 yards on five carries.

It was a change of pace from last week, when the Eagles built a 24-10 lead and blew it by going conservative in the second half in a 27-24 loss to Tennessee.

''We started fast and we finished strong, which is something we had to do after last week's extravaganza,'' Philadelphia coach Andy Reid said.

The Redskins' best field position to start a drive was their own 29, and they never got beyond Philadelphia's 35. Washington's only score came on Jacquez Green's 90-yard punt return in the second quarter.

It was Spurrier's worst defeat as a coach since Florida's 62-24 loss to Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, 1996. He had only one other loss by 30 or more points with the Gators: 45-3 at Tennessee in 1990.

''I've had my butt kicked before,'' Spurrier said, ''so we're not going to be shell-shocked. Sometimes it helps to lose.''

It didn't matter who the quarterback was. Danny Wuerffel played the second half after Shane Matthews had his non-throwing shoulder bruised late in the first half. Matthews was 10-of-22 for 62 yards and an interception, while Wuerffel was 6-of-9 for 57 yards with one interception and four sacks.

Spurrier said Matthews will start next week's game at San Francisco, but his quarterbacks' performances were so weak that he hinted he might rush first-round draft pick Patrick Ramsey along.

''We may practice Patrick up a little bit,'' Spurrier said. ''We'll see how close he is to being ready.''

The result creates a four-way tie in the NFC East. All four teams are 1-1.

Spurrier showed a range of emotions, from wiping away tears following a moment of silence for Johnny Unitas to lots of face-rubbing and head-scratching and even duck-like lip-pursing as the offense went awry. For the record, he wasn't wearing his trademark visor because it was a night game.

The Redskins opened in the no-huddle offense for the second consecutive week, but every play in the opening drive was either a run or a short pass to a running back. Matthews was completely out of sync, and the offense didn't cross midfield until the final drive of the half.

Spurrier went for it on fourth down twice, once on fourth-and-1 from his own 38. Stephen Davis ran for 10 yards on the play, but Matthews was intercepted by Troy Vincent three plays later.

The sure sign that things weren't going right: Spurrier gave cornerback Champ Bailey his first offensive touch since 2000 on a pitch reverse, but Bailey fumbled after a hit by Carlos Emmons. The Eagles converted the turnover into a field goal.

The Eagles, meanwhile, were an offensive thing of beauty on the first drive. James Thrash got cornerback Fred Smoot completely lost on the first play and caught a pass for a 33-yard gain. Todd Pinkston caught a 26-yarder over Darrell Green, and McNabb capped the six-play, 80-yard drive by scrambling outside of Pro Bowl linebackers LaVar Arrington, Jeremiah Trotter and Jessie Armstead for eight yards into the end zone.

On the second drive, McNabb rolled out and suckered Armstead into leaving Duce Staley alone for a 22-yard reception. The Redskins eventually forced the Eagles to kick a field goal, but Arrington jumped offside on the attempt to give the Eagles a first-and-goal that McNabb converted into a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Jeff Thomason.