Even though I was
expecting an Eagles win today,
this one still shocked me.
It's safe to say Brian Westbrook is the best player on this team. It might be safe to say Brian Westbrook is the best running back in the history of this franchise. It's absolutely safe to say Brian Westbrook won this game by himself today. 20 rushes, 100 yards. 5 catches, 83 yards. Three touchdowns, including the game winner with a little over 3 minutes left in the fourth and the icing on the cake with a little over 2 minutes left.
Donovan McNabb's final line today is deceiving. His fumble in the fourth quarter should've cost the Eagles the game. He bounced at least 4 passes, by my count. Missed a couple of wide open receivers badly, and his touchdown to Reggie Brown was a badly thrown ball that Brown made an unbelievable adjustment on.
On the bright side, McNabb did look more mobile, and the defense came up HUGE in the fourth after a dismal effort throughout.
The Skins had 7 plays inside the five yard line when a touchdown would've sealed the game. The defense stood tall and held them to a field goal, setting up Westbrook's 58-yard TD for the win.
I'd say the early returns are positive for Quintin Mikkel at strong safety, he finished with 8 tackles. The defense also forced two turnovers, so good work there.
Here's the big picture: barring a fold of epic proportions against the 0-9 Dolphins at home next week, the Eagles will be 5-5 heading to New England for their medicine. The Skins play Dallas next week, so the Eagles could be out of the cellar in the NFC East very quickly. Of course, after that all bets are off, but I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.
Player of The Game: Brian Westbrook.
Do you mean you'll jump off that bridge when you get to it? haha
The Eagles got handed one today. This makes up for them handing the last game to Washington, so call it even. I agree with you that McNabb's bottom line was deceptive, but he looked more mobile in this game, and his legs actually redeemed the fact that he can't hold onto the ##$%
ball or find his receivers.
Here's a maddening scenario. The Eagles should be 5-5 when they play New England. By the looks of them (offensively, at least), they don't even belong on the same FIELD as New England this year. I still think they'll be lucky to be 9-7 by year's end.
But New England's winning streaks have been ended by some of the biggest stinkers in past years.... namely, the Bills and the Dolphins. With that in mind, the Eagles could sneak up on a clearly superior team.
I'm going out on a limb (or a bridge) and calling for New England to get what could possibly be their only loss of the year against the Eagles. I admire New England as a team. But I'd love to see the Eagles hand them a loss.
This is going to sound bad, but I think I'd be happy if the Eagles finished 7-9, as long as the last three wins came against the Pats, Cowboys and Giants. OK, maybe not happy, but at least less angry.
The Eagles are in serious trouble against the Pats, but we have a couple of weeks before we have to worry about that. First, the Dolphins.
Hey Brian, is Nora keeping you up at late hours?
No one in their right mind would expect the Eagles to beat the Pats. There are absolutely no expectations on the Eagles to do so. For that reason, I think the Eagles could do it.
I guess that means I've officially lost my mind. Being an Eagle/Phillies/Sixers/Flyers fan this long has finally cooked the grey matter.
By the same token, no one expects the Dolphins to beat the Eagles. I'll really be pissed if they lose to that pathetic bunch. You're right... they have to concentrate on the Dolphins first.