OAKLAND, Calif. — Louis Murphy sprinted upfield and laid out a defender with a punishing block. Not satisfied, he caught up to the play again and delivered a second block that allowed Zach Miller to cruise into the end zone on an 86-yard catch-and-run.
Miller scored the only touchdown of the game, Justin Fargas helped control the clock by rushing for 87 physical yards and Oakland’s defense harassed Donovan McNabb all day in a 13-9 victory over the Eagles yesterday.
“We went out and threw a fight on somebody and said, ‘Enough. Let’s play,’ ” coach Tom Cable said. “That’s all you can say. There’s no magic words or anything like that.”
It was a major turnaround from the last three weeks when the Raiders (2-4) lost by at least 20 points.
The key yesterday was the Oakland defense. Coordinator John Marshall mixed in more zone coverages and blitzes than usual to combat a high-powered Philadelphia offense that was averaging the second-most points in the league.
The Eagles abandoned the run early, only had Michael Vick on the field for two plays, allowed six sacks and were the first team in three years to fail to score a touchdown against the Raiders.
“They were able to get home and hit our quarterback,” coach Andy Reid said. “When we did have opportunities we didn’t take advantage of opportunities.”