Philadelphia: Mark Sanchez delivered a pair of touchdown passes in his first start at quarterback for Philadelphia and the defence did their part as the Eagles routed the Carolina Panthers 45-21 Monday.
Sanchez, who was starting in place of injured Nick Foles, was 20-of-37 for 332 yards for the first-place Eagles, who have won nine consecutive regular season home games.
Sanchez signed with Philadelphia in the off-season after coming off a rocky season with the New York Jets.
“It was incredible feeling just to get back on field after you miss a whole year like that,” Sanchez said.
Philadelphia’s defence made it a tough night for struggling Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, sacking him nine times and intercepting him three times. Newton also fumbled twice.
Darren Sproles had two touchdowns, one on the ground and another on a punt return to help Philadelphia win its second-straight game.
Eagles coach Chip Kelly said he is not surprised that the former Jets starting quarterback Sanchez was able to make his debut a successful one.
“He made some really good decisions,” said Kelly. “He missed a few too. But for his first game out, I thought he did a good job.”
Foles’ injury is not expected to require surgery but he could be sidelined from six-to-eight weeks.
“When you take a step back, you appreciate it so much and you miss it so much,” said Sanchez. “I told myself that if I ever got a chance again I was going to take advantage of it. This is a great system we have here and we have some great guys on the field and the coaches do a great job.”
Newton had a pair of touchdown passes to Kelvin Benjamin in the fourth quarter and finished the game 25-of-40 for 306 yards for the Panthers, who have dropped four straight since a tie against Cincinnati in week six of the season.
The Eagles home win streak is their longest in Philadelphia since an 11-game run from 1991-93.
The Eagles now have a commanding 6-2 advantage over the Panthers in career meetings but the Panthers had won their most recent contest 30-22 in 2012.
