By David Kinney
Associated Press
Sunday, September 12, 1999; 5:34 p.m. EDT

PHILADELPHIA – Jake Plummer is up to his old tricks.

After staking the Philadelphia Eagles to a 21-point lead in the first quarter, the comeback artist led the Arizona Cardinals to a 25-24 victory on Chris Jacke's 31-yard field goal as time ran out Sunday.

Plummer, nursing a sprained thumb on his throwing hand and doubtful to play, was 25-of-49 for 274 yards and a touchdown. After throwing three interceptions in the first half, he led the Cardinals to two TDs and two field goals in the second half.

Arizona snapped its seven-game losing streak in season-openers and dealt a devastating blow to a team already picked to be the NFL's worst.

The Cardinals missed key players from last season to free agency, injuries and contract disputes, but got breaks this week when Plummer decided to play and Rob Moore signed a last-minute deal. Moore had three catches for 77 yards and a TD.

Adrian Murrell led the Cardinals with 53 yards on 24 carries and 47 yards on five catches.

Arizona's final break came when Kwamie Lassiter picked off Doug Pederson at the Cardinals' 25 and returned it to the Philadelphia 43 with 1:49 left.

Plummer hit Michael Pittman for a 13-yard gain, then put the Cardinals on the 4-yard line with a 17-yard run on a bootleg a few plays later. After Arizona ran the clock down to 4 seconds, Jacke kicked the game-winner.

Plummer has now led Arizona to 10 comeback wins in 26 games, many of the victories coming in the closing seconds. With their quarterback leading the way, the Cardinals made the playoffs last season for the first time in 16 years.

In the first quarter, it looked as if Plummer should have stayed on the sideline. His scattershot passes turned into three interceptions, and the Eagles led 24-6 at the half.

He settled down in the third quarter and got hot in the fourth.

With Arizona trailing 25-15 and less than five minutes left, Plummer capitalized on a third-down roughing-the-passer penalty on Al Harris and hit Moore for a 47-yard gain up the middle. Two plays later, he found Moore for a diving 20-yard touchdown with 4:03 left, and Arizona trailed 24-22.

Pederson was 12-of-25 for 91 yards and two TDs. Duce Staley led Philadelphia with 103 yards rushing and a TD. He also had 19 yards receiving and caught a touchdown pass.

The Eagles, thanks to a ferocious defense, appeared to have the game in hand after a sloppy first half featuring seven turnovers – four in a 3:29 period in the first quarter.

Philadelphia, which has lost four straight to Arizona under Plummer, had a 7-0 lead when Pederson threw an interception to Aeneas Williams. Four plays later, Joe Makovicka coughed it up at the Cardinals 31. Three plays later, Staley returned the favor with a fumble at the 27.

On the next play, Harris picked off Plummer and returned the ball to the Arizona 6.

After that bumbling series, the Eagles finally punched it in. Pederson found Staley at the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown to take a 14-0 lead.

Another three plays, and Plummer threw his second interception. Brian Dawkins returned it to the Cardinals 11, Pederson hit Luther Broughton for a 10-yard TD and the Eagles led 21-0 after the first quarter.

Plummer was 2-of-9 for 15 yards and two interceptions in the quarter. But he led a 13-play, 59-yard drive at the start of the second half to pull Arizona within 24-12. Mario Bates ran the ball in from the 1 with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, a 14-play, 80-yard drive led to Jacke's 32-yard field goal to pull Arizona within 24-15. Jacke also kicked field goals of 31 and 25 yards in the first half.