What happened?
The Eagles blew a 17 point lead in the second half, but managed to come back and win their sixth in a row with a late David Akers field goal. Oh, and Brian Dawkins came back to Philadelphia as a member of the Denver Broncos.
The Good:
He didn't have the best second half, but Donovan McNabb finished the game completing 20 of 35 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns. He also broke a 27 yard run late in the fourth quarter that turned field position around and allowed the Eagles to get into position to kick the game winning field goal.
Brent Celek was great in the first half, catching four passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Jeremy Maclin returned from his foot injury and had six catches for 92 yards, including a 27 yard catch on the final Philadelphia drive that put the Eagles in field goal range.
David Akers was three for three on field goal attempts, hitting the game winning kick with just seven seconds to play.
The Bad:
Brian Westbrook returned from his concussion issues, and led the Eagles in rushing yards, but he only had 36 on nine carries.
DeSean Jackson had an early touchdown, but was shut down in the second half. He finished the game with four catches for 33 yards.
The Ugly:
Did you see the way this team played in the second half? Aside from the last four minutes of the game, it was horrible.
Macho Harris was the worst offender, looking lost on defense and fumbling the ball twice, with one being recovered by the Broncos.
The Breakdown:
It's been a recurring theme during this six game winning streak, but I'm going to say it again tonight: it doesn't matter how it looks, a win is a win. For the first 30 minutes, this game certainly didn't look like it was going to be an ugly win for the Eagles, but a poor second half by the offense and defense let the Broncos back into the game. Only a great run by Donovan McNabb, a huge defensive stand deep in Denver territory and a great catch by Jeremy Maclin allowed the Eagles to pull this game out.
This game really was a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Eagles could do no wrong. Donovan McNabb looked sharp, hitting DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek with touchdown passes, and leading the Eagles on two other scoring drives to put the team up 20-7 at the half. Then, after a McNabb interception led to a Denver field goal, the Eagles answered with a six play, 80 yard drive that ended with McNabb's third touchdown pass of the game, this one to Jason Avant. After that though, most of the second half belonged to the Broncos. An Asante Samuel interception that was returned to midfield was called back to the Philadelphia one yard line thanks to a penalty on Macho Harris, and Philadelphia then called three straight passing plays from the one yard line. Denver responded to the poor play by driving 41 yards in five plays, and after Harris fumbled the ensuing kickoff back to the Broncos, this became a football game again.
Denver scored again to make the score 27-24, and with the Eagles unable to move the ball at all, it became obvious that this was now the Broncos' game to lose. When Matt Prater hit a field goal from 46 yards out, I think most people thought the game was going to Denver. Hell, I know I did. Luckily, Donovan McNabb still had a scramble in his legs, and his 27 yard run on a third down and 25 turned the field over, and the Eagles were able to take advantage. The defense forced a three and out, and Jeremy Maclin's 27 yard catch set up David Akers' 28 yard field goal. The Eagles stopped the Broncos on the ensuing kickoff, and just like that, they were 11-4.
This wasn't a perfectly played game, not by any means. The Eagles got the win, and that's what matters the most, but I still don't think that they played well at all in the second half. After the touchdown by Jason Avant, the Eagles went south, and fast. When a team is up 27-10 midway through the third quarter, you would expect the game to be over. Usually, the Eagles are able to put their foot right on their opponent's throat, but tonight, they couldn't do it. For whatever reason, they let the Broncos back into the game, and things snowballed from there. The defense couldn't make plays when they had to, the offense relied entirely on the passing game, and nothing went right.
The main culprit in this situation was Macho Harris. With Quintin Demps inactive today, the Eagles used Harris on kickoff returns, and things did not go well. He fumbled the ball twice in the second half, including one fumble following a Denver touchdown that allowed the Broncos to get the ball right back. Not only that, but his personal foul penalty on Asante Samuel's interception return helped push the ball back to the Philadelphia one yard line after Samuel returned the ball to midfield. Hopefully, Demps is back next week against Dallas, because I, and many other Eagles fans, don't want to see Harris on the field for anything in what could be the biggest game of the season.
Regardless of the mishaps in the second half, the Eagles still managed to pull off a win today. This was their sixth win in a row, and is the third time that Donovan McNabb has led either a come from behind or game winning drive in the fourth quarter during this streak. I'm not saying that these drives have been John Elway-esque, but that fact that they're happening after years of seeing this team fall short when the chips are down is a sight to behold. For the first time in his career, McNabb is surrounded by playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, and it's really showing late in the season. DeSean Jackson had a touchdown today, Brent Celek torched the Broncos in the first half, Jeremy Maclin had six catches for 92 yards, and Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy carried the load in the running game. Donovan became the first quarterback to throw for over 300 yards against the Denver defense this year, and the Broncos have played teams like New England, Indianapolis, Dallas, New York, San Diego and Pittsburgh. Those teams all have good, if not great, quarterbacks, and McNabb is the only one out of all of them to cross the 300 yard threshold. Just think about that for a second.
Again, today was not a pretty win, but the Eagles once again showed that they can win when the chips are down. This team has shown more heart than any Eagles team that I can honestly remember, and if they can continue to play on this level, they could make a deep run into the playoffs. The Saints are leaking after dropping back to back games at home, and the Vikings have enough problems with Brett Favre and Brad Childress right now. They've clinched a playoff spot, but that's all right now. At this point, the division looks like it's going to come down to next week's game in Dallas. It should be one hell of a game, and I'm looking forward to seeing the Eagles take the division in Jerry Jones' expensive as hell stadium.
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