Eagles muff it in 16-13 loss to Packers

Is Jeremy Bloom's phone ringing?

J.R. Reed, replacing an ineffective Greg Lewis at punt returner, muffed a punt with a minute to play that set up rookie kicker Mason Crosby's 43-yard field goal and gave the host Green Bay Packers a 16-13 victory over the Eagles today at Lambeau Field.

Reed ran up through traffic on a short punt by Jon Ryan and inexplicably dove to try and field the ball. He never had a chance, and Green Bay's Jarrett Bush recovered at the Eagles 31-yard line. Three plays later, Crosby came on for the game-winner with two seconds remaining. It was Crosby's third field goal of the game.

The Eagles (0-1) battled back from an early 10-0 deficit to score 13 straight points and take a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter, but the offense was largely ineffective after that. The Packers (1-0) didn't do much more, but they got plenty of help from the Eagles' shaky special teams.

Lewis had a muffed punt of his own, which Green Bay recovered in the end zone for the game's first score, and averaged just one yard on four returns. That brought on Reed -- added to the roster after Bloom was cut in the preseason to return kickoffs -- with equally disasterous results.

"There are going to be some growing pains back there, we understand that," safety Brian Dawkins said. "But we have confidence in those guys when they go back there."

Bloom, the former Olympic skier the Eagles drafted in the fifth round in 2006, may not have shown the breakaway speed the Eagles hoped for during the preseason, but at least he caught the football.

Crosby drilled a 37-yard field as the Packers snapped a string of 13 straight points by the Eagles and pulled into a 13-13 tie with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.

Packers quarterback Brett Favre made two spectacular plays to avoid sacks during a 13-play, 51-yard drive that led to Crosby's second field goal. He flipped the ball to running back DeShawn Wynn as he was going down on a third-and-10 play, and Wynn scampered 18 yards for a first down. Two plays later, Favre made a six-yard pass to tight end Donald Lee as Juqua Thomas was pulling him down backwards behind the line of scrimmage.

"He's got a lot of moxie," Dawkins said. "Because Brett has been out there so long, he's going to take those chances. If there was a lesser quarterback out there, the game might have had a different outcome."

David Akers kicked a 47-yard field goal to give the Eagles their first lead, 13-10, with 8:20 left in the third quarter.

Akers came on after the Eagles' 10-play, 59-yard drive stalled at the Packers 29-yard line. Donovan McNabb hit Kevin Curtis for 16 yards to the Green Bay 34 and Brian Westbrook followed that with a five-yard run, but two incomplete passes brought on Akers for his second field goal. The biggest play of the drive was a 31-yard completion by McNabb to Jason Avant on a third-and-7 play from the Eagles 15-yard line.

McNabb, playing in his first real game since ACL surgery on his right knee less than 10 months ago, struggled at times. He finished the game 15-of-33 passing for 184 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He also had four carries for just nine yards and was sacked once. McNabb threw for just 73 yards in the second half, when he was 5-of-16 passing. He also had three passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

"There were too many mistakes in the running game as well as the passing game," McNabb said. "All of us ... have to go back to the drawing board, evaluate our situation, and move on."

Favre wasn't much better, completing 23-of-42 passes for 206 yards and an interception. He also lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter when Trent Cole hit him from behind and Jevon Kearse recovered at the Green Bay 38 with 4:18 to play, but the Eagles were unable to capitalize.

McNabb hit Avant for a nine-yard touchdown pass, pulling the Eagles into a 10-10 tie with 6:06 left in the second quarter.

Avant finished with three catches for 54 yards. Westbrook had 20 carries for 85 yards and caught six passes for 46 yards.

Avant's touchdown catch ended a nine-play, 67-yard drive. McNabb was 5-of-6 for 55 yards on the drive, including a 14-yard completion to Avant on a third-and-4 play at the Green Bay 45-yard line and a 16-yard gain on a pass to  Westbrook one play before finding Avant in the end zone.

Akers kicked a 33-yard field goal for the Eagles' first points of the 2007 season, pulling Philadelphia to within 10-3 early in the second quarter.

The kick, which came after a holding penalty negated Akers' 23-yard try a play earlier, capped a 13-play, 62-yard drive with 13:34 left in the second period as the Eagles finally got on the board after a mistake-filled first quarter.

Crosby hit a 53-yard field goal to give the Packers a 10-0 lead after a muffed punt by Lewis rolled all the way into the end zone and Green Bay's Tracy White recovered the ball for the game's first score.

Lewis, fielding the first punt in a real game in his NFL career, was hit by Jarrett Bush as the ball arrived. The ball popped loose at about the 20-yard line, but bounced, rolled and skidded into the end zone as players from both teams tried to recover it. A huge pile developed in the end zone and by the time the referees sorted things out, White had the ball and the Packers had the early lead despite failing to get a first down on their first possession.

Lewis took over punt return duties after Bloom was released in the preseason. Lewis practiced returning punts during the preseason, but had never done so in a game before today.

All the starters were on the field for the opener, but the Eagles didn't have much of a start.

Tight end L.J. Smith, listed as questionable on Saturday, started and was McNabb's target on the game's first play, an incomplete pass. Smith had two catches for 14 yards, both in the first half.

Pro Bowl tackle Shawn Andrews, who like Smith missed the entire preseason with an injury, also started for the Eagles.

That was just about the only good news on the first possession for the Eagles. McNabb got called for intentional grounding when a flea flicker on second down fooled no one, and three plays produced just two net yards.

McNabb was intercepted by linebacker Nick Barnett on the Eagles' second offensive series. McNabb tried to hit  Westbrook coming out of the backfield on a third-and-13 play, but Barnett help his ground and McNabb threw it right at him at the Eagles 36. Barnett returned the interception two yards to the 34 with 10:36 left in the first quarter.

The Packers again failed to move the ball, but Crosby's field goal gave them a 10-0 lead with 9:39 left in the first quarter.

There were two bright spots late in the first quarter. Sheldon Brown intercepted a Favre pass at the Philadelphia 20 with 4:48 left in the quarter, then McNabb found wide receiver Kevin Curtis down the right sideline for a 37-yard gain to the Packers 6 on the last play of the first quarter. Akers put the Eagles on the board four plays later. Curtis finished with two catches for 53 yards.

Omar Gaither, starting his first game at middle linebacker after Jeremiah Trotter was released, had two tackles and an assist. Chris Gocong also had two tackles and an assist in his first NFL start at the strong side linebacker, and Takeo Spikes had seven tackles and two assists in his first game at weak side linebacker for the Eagles.

Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard sprained his left knee on the final drive of the first half and did not return. Will James replaced Sheppard.