Back In the Hunt

The Eagles 16-9 win over the Jets today was far from impressive, on the offensive side of the ball at least. But it was exactly what the team needed. 2-3 looks a whole lot better than 1-4.

There's not a whole lot to say about this one. I liked the way Westbrook ran the ball, especially the way he was punishing would-be tacklers. Vilma and Revis both wound up on their backsides courtesy of Westbrook. I thought the D was great. In the first half, Jones gashed them for nearly 100 yards, mostly on cutbacks, but they completely closed that door in the second half. The pass D looked great, but it's tough to tell if that was a result of Pennington's terrible arm or poor reads.

Andy and Marty did a much better job with their play calling. Westbrook, Buckhalter and Hunt combined for 148 yards on 26 carries. Yes, I did mention Tony Hunt's name, the Birds called on him to pick up two short first-down conversions early in the game, both times he powered his way past the sticks. Good to see.

In the passing game, Kevin Curtis scored the games only TD on a 77-yard strike early in the first quarter. The Jets brought a blitz, McNabb read it, hit Curtis on a quick slant, he broke one tackle and outran the Jets' D. Reggie Brown finally showed up for a game, finishing with 6 catches for 89 yards, including a couple of key third down conversions.

I don't think it's outrageous to say the Eagles should be 5-0 right now. They haven't played a team better than them yet. That being said, this season is a long way from over for the Birds. They sit at 2-3, still in last place in the East, but only 5 teams are ahead of them in the Wild Card standings: Washington (3-3), Giants (3-2), Detroit (3-2), Carolina (3-2) and Seattle (3-2).  They have 2 left against the Cowboys, 1 @ Chicago, 1 @ New England. Those are 4 tough games. The other 6 are against the Vikings, Giants, Redskins, Seahawks, Dolphins and Bills. yes, it's been a bad start, but both the Wild Card, and the division are still within reach. Keep Westbrook healthy, keep running the ball, and keep playing defense like we saw today and we'll be watching the Birds in the post season.

Player of The Game: Kevin Curtis, 5 catches, 121 yards and a TD.