I woke up with a strange feeling before this one, wondering if this would be the last start for Donovan McNabb in an Eagles’ uniform - or at least the last full game he’d play. Afterall, with a loss to the Saints it would surely be possible that Kevin Kolb could see significant action in the final game of the season.

Early on you could tell that this one would be different. On the Eagles’ third play of the game McNabb faked a handoff to Westbrook on a third-and-one and was off to the races. Forty yards downfield, #5 was chased down by Josh Bullocks and he fumbled the ball. In past games the ball would have ended up in the hands of the opposition but in this one Kevin Curtis sprinted towards the end zone and fell on the ball for an Eagles’ TD.

The story on that play, in this game and since 1999 was Donovan McNabb. To see him run like that now thirteen months removed from ACL surgery took you right back to the days where McNabb was a threat to run on every play. The 40-yard run was his longest since 2002, in his third of five straight Pro Bowl seasons.

Aaron Stecker scored twice to give the Saints a 14-7 lead in the first but the Eagles answered quickly. Following a third down penalty, McNabb hit Brown for 10, Curtis for 19 (after a short Westbrook run) and then Buckhalter scored from 20 yards out on a nice run.

After the Eagles’ D held for the first time in the game, McNabb went to work again, hitting Tight End Brent Celek for 29 yards. Westbrook gained 25 on the ground on the next two plays and McNabb then took advantage of Mike McKenzie’s absence (he was out with a strained knee) and found Reggie Brown for 31 yards for the TD.

The teams exchanged field goals in the second (Akers from 24 and Gramatica from 55 - tying his career high) and the score at the half was 24-17.

The next two drives would ultimately be the difference in the game. New Orleans started from the 21-yard line and went right down the field. When Drew Brees hit David Patten right down to the goal line, the Saints were poised to tie the game. But once again the Eagles’ defence made a statement with a goal line stand, stopping three straight running plays - led by rookie Stewart Bradley who was in on two of those stops.

McNabb and the Eagles took over at their own two, and proceeded to move slowly and methodically down the field - 15 plays, 98 yards, 7:01 and three of three on third down. McNabb hit four receivers on the drive - Avant, Curtis, Brown and lastly Greg Lewis for the TD.

With a 31-17 lead the Eagles’ D kept the Saints out of the end zone for the rest of the game, allowing just two Gramatica field goals and McNabb capped off the game with his third TD - this one to Kevin Curtis - after some strong running from Westbrook.

The game officially came to a close when Sheldon Brown hit Billy Miller and the ball popped up in the air and was caught by a diving Stewart Bradley.

Key Stats:

McNabb - 24/35, 263 yards, 3 TD, 119.1 rating

Westbrook - 17 rushes, 100 yards
Buckhalter - 4 rushes, 37 yards
McNabb - 4 rushes, 37 yards

Curtis - 6 receptions, 78 yards, TD (Curtis became the 11th Eagle in team history to go over 1,000 yards in a season)
Brown - 6 receptions, 73 yards, TD
Avant - 4 receptions, 35 yards
Celek - 2 receptions, 35 yards
Lewis - 2 receptions, 25 yards, TD

Third down efficiency: 8 for 13 (62%)

Total yards: 435

Red Zone efficiency: 2 for 3 (67%)

Injuries:

Brian Dawkins has an MRI scheduled for tomorrow to examine his foot. Omar Gaither left the game with a quad contusion.

Game Balls:

Offense - Donovan McNabb (300 yards in the air and on the ground)
Defense - Stewart Bradley (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception)

Postgame Quotes (from PhiladelphiaEagles.com):

“It gives you, at least, a positive (going into next year). Every year is different. It gives you a positive atmosphere around the office. We’ve got good character in the locker room, good coaches.” - Andy Reid

“It’s good that now we are clicking out there and I hope we can use this winning feeling into next year. I had a lot of time to throw and make plays and today we made plays to win. Winning on the road in this league is always tough and we’ve proved the last two weeks that we are a winning team.” - Donovan McNabb

“We have a team here that should be in the playoffs. We haven’t played like that, but today we did. And when you learn how to finish the season like we have in the past, we will return to the postseason. I hope we are like Green Bay last year when they finished strong last season and look where they are today. This is something to look forward to.” - Brian Westbrook

“I thought he (McNabb) was going to take it to the house. I was blocking my man on the play and then I saw the ball pop up. And then it seemed a bunch of guys were all right there and the ball moved at the same time. I jumped in to get on it (the ball) and then it squirted away. I was just trying to make a play and just got lucky!” - Kevin Curtis

Maybe in the big picture this game won’t have changed anything. The wheels were set in motion at the draft and there may be too much between McNabb and the Eagles to get things right.

But for one Sunday it was a throwback to the way we were.

And it was great.

Danny - dtolensky@hotmail.com

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