Rams dig huge hole, nearly rally vs. Eagles

~ St. Louis lost 34-28 after trailing by 27 points in the third quarter

PHILADELPHIA -- Austin Davis kept firing passes until he ran out of downs.

Davis threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns, nearly rallying the St. Louis Rams to a remarkable comeback before they fell short in a 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The Rams trailed 34-7 late in the third quarter, but Davis brought them back with three straight scores. His 5-yard pass to Brian Quick cut it to 34-28 with 4 minutes, 41 seconds left. The Rams (1-3) then had a chance for the win when they got the ball at their 7 with 1:47 left.

Davis threw a 43-yard pass to Quick on first down, but Philadelphia's defense finally made a stop. Davis was under pressure when he threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-13.

"I'm super disappointed," Davis said. "We were rolling. I had no doubts in my mind we were going to win."

Davis, who began the year as the No. 3 quarterback, was impressive in his first game since being elevated to starter for the rest of the season. He completed 29 of 49 passes and wasn't intercepted, but lost two fumbles on four sacks.

"Of the bright things to take away from this game, he is one of those," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said.

The Rams came out flat after a bye week that followed a loss to Dallas in which they wasted a 21-point lead. They look to build off a strong finish, however.

"I think we're a good football team," Davis said. "The record is what it is, but we're just a handful of plays away."

Nick Foles threw two touchdown passes, the defense and special teams each scored for the Eagles (4-1).

Philadelphia rebounded from a tough loss at San Francisco with a strong all-around performance until the fourth quarter. Chris Maragos returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, Cedric Thornton recovered a fumble for a score and nearly took another one the distance.

Foles tossed a 9-yard pass to Riley Cooper with 30 seconds left in the second quarter, ending a drought of 18 drives and 97:04 without an offensive TD. He connected with Jeremy Maclin on a 24-yard pass for a 34-7 lead in the third.

On St. Louis' first play of the second half, Trent Cole sacked Davis and forced a fumble that Thornton recovered in the end zone for a 27-7 lead. Later in the third quarter, Thornton picked up a fumble after Brandon Graham stripped Zac Stacy and rumbled 40 yards before he was dragged down from behind. That set up Foles' second TD pass.

LeSean McCoy, an All-Pro last year, had 81 yards rushing. He had 39 yards on 29 carries in the previous two games.

The Rams wouldn't go down easily. Benny Cunningham had a 14-yard TD run and Davis fired a 30-yard pass to Kenny Britt to cut it to 34-21 with 9:02 left. Then, a fumble by Foles led to another TD.

But Davis couldn't complete the comeback.

"This team likes to play. They always believe they have a chance," Fisher said.

The Eagles took a 7-0 lead when James Casey blocked a punt, Maragos scooped it up and ran 10 yards for a touchdown. It was the second straight game the Eagles blocked a punt for a score and the first time in team history they've had a TD on special teams in three consecutive games. Chris Polk returned a kickoff 102 yards in a win over Washington in Week 3.

The Eagles' first two drives stalled inside the 10. Cody Parkey kicked field goals of 26 and 27 yards.

After E.J. Gaines intercepted Foles' deep pass at the Rams 16, Davis led them on a long drive. He scrambled backward, avoided a pass rush and threw from the 25, an 8-yard TD pass to Quick in the back of the end zone to cut it to 13-7.

Noteworthy

* Fisher, who began his NFL coaching career under Buddy Ryan in Philadelphia in 1986, fell to 4-1 vs. the Eagles.

* Stacy left the game with a calf injury.