The Tampa Bay Storm didn't want to risk injury to their starting quarterback, pulling Randy Hippeard after just one drive in Saturday's 41-28 loss at league-leading Philadelphia.
Backup Chris Bonner threw his first four AFL touchdowns in a decent performance, but it wasn't enough against a strong Philly defense. A week after setting the season low for points allowed in a 70-20 crushing of Baltimore, the Soul (13-1) almost did it again but Bonner hit Kendrick Ings for a score with :07 left.
Bonner's first pass, after the Storm fell behind 14-0, was a 41-yard TD to Justin Hilton and he produced a scoring drive on the next possession as well. But Philly scored with no time left in the first half for a 27-14 lead and the margin never got smaller.
Philly gave its QB Dan Raudabaugh the second half off.
The action gets back to meaningful next weekend when the Storm have a home playoff game for the first time in seven years, hosting Cleveland Monday night at 7 p.m.