Eagles Notebook: Eagles' Parker expected a play

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - It wasn't the play that cost the Eagles the game. At that juncture, they would have needed a near-miracle to tie or win, even if they'd gotten the ball back on a Buffalo punt, down 31-24 with a minute and 23 seconds remaining and no timeouts left.

The Eagles had turned the ball over five times. As Andy Reid astutely noted afterward, you don't win in the NFL with five turnovers.

But this final embarrassment epitomized the careless, bumbling play that has dug a 1-4 crater for this talented Eagles team.

As Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick stood over center and called out signals, and then called out more signals, on fourth-and-inches from the Birds' 49, the oldest Eagle, 33-year-old defensive end Juqua Parker, lurched forward into Bills offensive lineman Andy Levitre. Whistles, flags, neutral-zone infraction, first down, game over.

Parker is not known for making mistakes. He was playing yesterday with a high ankle sprain suffered in the Atlanta game, playing mainly because Trent Cole (calf) was out, not because his ankle felt great.

"It hurts, but let me tell you . . . we didn't even know if he was going to be able to play today. He came out and he's a warrior," Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said. "One play doesn't lose a game. I have to do a better job in the first half."

It sure seemed that Fitzpatrick had no intention of really taking the snap, that he was trying to lure the Eagles offside, and maybe would have called timeout and gone off for the punter had the play clock wound down with no one jumping. But Parker jumped.

Parker said he thought the Bills were running a play, running to his side, once he saw someone go in motion.

"I just jumped offside," said Parker, who said Fitzpatrick gave him a double hard count.

"I thought they were about to run the ball that way. I was anxious," Parker said. "We worked on that, hard counts and all that, and he got me."

Parker said the Eagles' comeback yesterday showed they haven't given up, and that their season isn't over.

"I feel like we can turn this thing around and our team feels like we can turn it around," he said.

The Eagles thought they could throw the ball into the end zone, and still have time afterward to kick a field goal, with 8 seconds left in the first half and no timeouts remaining, third-and-10 from the Buffalo 26. They were mistaken. Though there seemed to be a second left when Michael Vick's throwaway thudded against something beyond the end zone, the clock operator ran it down to zeroes, and the officials trotted down the tunnel. There is no provision for coaches to challenge the running of the clock.

"I thought we could get one more play and have some time," Andy Reid said. "I thought we were pretty close on the clock there. We needed to get a score, and I thought we could get that taken care of."

Eagles first-round draft choice Danny Watkins saw his first action, starting at right guard. The Bills got a lot of pressure in the first half, much of it through blitzing; it was hard to sort out exactly who was to blame. In the second half, the Eagles' offensive line settled down pretty well.

Watkins and King Dunlap, making his first start of the season with left tackle Jason Peters (hamstring) sidelined, took back-to-back penalties in the fourth quarter, the Eagles going from second-and-goal at the Buffalo 6 to second-and-goal at the 26, before Alex Henery eventually hit a 35-yard field goal for the final points of the game.

Watkins' penalty for illegal hands to the face negated a Vick touchdown dash that would have brought the Birds within three.

"When you know what you're doing, it's a lot easier, that's for sure," said Watkins, who had a rough preseason as he transitioned from college tackle to pro guard.

Watkins said the Eagles will "have to press forward and make the best of it."

Asked about all the tackles the Eagles missed early, safety Jarrad Page, a prime offender, said: "That's not scheme, that's just the players. There's nothing you can say about Juan [Castillo] for that" . . . Michael Vick threw his 100th career touchdown pass and surpassed Randall Cunningham as the all-time leading rusher among NFL quarterbacks. Vick now has 4,948 career rushing yards. But he also threw four interceptions in a game for the first time in his career . . . Safety Nate Allen had 10 solo tackles.