What happened?
A ten yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy put the Eagles on top late, and Sean Jones' interception of Jay Cutler in the final minute sealed the win for the Eagles on Sunday Night Football.
The Good:
Donovan McNabb was 23/32 for 244 yards and two touchdowns on the night.
LeSean McCoy carried the ball 20 times for 99 yards and had the game winning touchdown.
DeSean Jackson had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Though the defense only sacked Jay Cutler one time, they pressured him for most of the night.
The Bad:
However, that same defense also had problems in coverage at key moments, and the game wouldn't have been as close if they had played better.
The Eagles had three turnovers: an interception by McNabb, and fumbles by DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy.
The Eagles also had eight penalties called against them during the game.
Kahlil Bell, who is someone I've literally never heard of, took his first NFL carry for 72 yards, and finished the game with 84 yards on four carries.
The Ugly:
Honestly, nothing to see here. The Eagles had a come from behind win, on the road, on national television. Nothing ugly about it.
The Breakdown:
It took eight trips to Sunday Night Football, but the Eagles finally won a game in front of a national audience that wasn't played on Monday night. The defense had some issues tonight, and the offense had a few costly turnovers, but when the chips were down, the Eagles made the plays that they had to make, and this week they were able to finish a close game that they needed to keep their playoff hopes alive.
First of all, I want to give credit to Donovan McNabb for the way he played tonight. After two average games against the Cowboys and Chargers, McNabb came out tonight and looked like the quarterback that's guided the Eagles to five NFC Championship games. He missed on just nine passes on the night, and most of his throws were crisp and on target. He did make a mistake on an interception to Zack Bowman, but other than that, he was on for most of the game. What was even more impressive was the fact that he actually led a game winning drive late in the fourth quarter. It's been a while since I've seen one of those from him, but after the defense blocked a Robbie Gould field goal, McNabb moved the Eagles 62 yards on 11 plays, completing six of seven passes on the drive. It's the kind of drive that Eagles fans have been calling for all season, and might be one that's looked back upon at the end of the year that helped turn this season around. Number Five also had two touchdown passes on the night, including a 48 yard bomb to DeSean Jackson that put the Eagles ahead in the third quarter.
Without Brian Westbrook, the youth movement took hold on offense tonight, and for the most part, it looked good. DeSean Jackson had a good game, with 107 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Jeremy Maclin had six catches for 64 yards. LeSean McCoy was solid on the ground, picking up 99 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. McCoy needs to show a little more patience on some of his runs, but he showed a good burst and vision tonight, and that's going to be critical as the Eagles move into the home stretch of their season now. He also fumbled the ball once tonight, but it wasn't really something you could blame on him, as Charles Tillman just made a good play and knocked the ball loose. However, the same could not be said for Jackson, who had two fumbles in the game and lost one of them. Tillman knocked the ball away from Jackson inside Chicago territory, and while it was the first fumble that Jackson had lost in his career, he's got to be careful with the football in situations like that. As a speed receiver, opponents are going to try and knock the ball away from him as much as possible, and tonight, it almost cost the Eagles.
The one area that was a problem at times tonight was the defense of the Eagles. Jay Cutler didn't have the best night, completing just 24 of 43 passes for 171 yards, but the defense let the Bears into scoring position several times tonight. Fortunately, the Bears only managed to find the end zone once during the game, but the one touchdown did show the main issue with the defense right now. The defensive line is relatively solid, but injuries have taken their toll on the linebackers and secondary more than anyone thought was possible, and teams are taking advantage. Sheldon Brown played tonight with a hamstring problem, and Asante Samuel left the game with a stinger, while Will Witherspoon, Chris Gocong and Joe Mays started in the linebacker positions tonight. The secondary depth that was there just a few weeks ago is gone, and the linebackers are having issues covering the underneath routes and the tight ends on most teams. Greg Olsen had a quiet game, but Cutler's lone touchdown pass was to Kellen Davis, who had beaten Gocong in coverage. The Bears could have had touchdowns on at least three other plays where the coverage broke down, but Cutler overthrew his receivers. This week though, when the defense needed to make a stand, they did just that, with Sean Jones intercepting Cutler and giving the Eagles the win.
Aside from the turnovers and some shaky play on defense, the Eagles played well tonight. Donovan McNabb looked confident and moved the Eagles downfield for a go ahead touchdown with just over five minutes to play in the game, and LeSean McCoy was solid in place of Brian Westbrook. The defense had its issues in coverage, but they made the big play when they needed to, and in the end, the Eagles got the close win that they had been looking for over the last three weeks. They are still right in the heart of the playoff hunt at 6-4, and with Washington coming up next week at home, they should be looking at 7-4. Rest assured, the Redskins are a better team than the one the Eagles beat just a month ago in Washington, but I've got this odd feeling that the birds can pull this one out. What's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah...confidence. It's nice to feel like that after a close game.
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