A Sigh of Relief

With the final score of 26-14, the Philadelphia Eagles have moved on to meet their NFC Eastern rivals in the divisional playoffs, the New York Giants. Even though the Eagles was the odds favorite going into the game, they didn't stake a high claim on that during the game in my opinion. As one Eagle fan to another, I only have this to say. For one, no complaints really, because honestly a win is a win. Don't matter if we won by a field goal or gave them a Cowboys mauling style attack of 30+ points. My only concern is how we'll fair against the Giants, next week and most likely in my opinion the Carolina Panthers, which will be a great game and Superbowl worthy testing for the Eagles. Now, in the game, the Vikings definitely stated fairly why they have the number 1 rank in rushing defense. Their defense was amazingly talented and truely worked the Eagles offense, both on the line and on the players, Westbrook and DeSean Jackson. The Eagles offensively were saved in the beginning by the Eagles defense and the huge assist by Asante Samuel for the interception for a touchdown early in the game which gave us a 16 to 7 lead over the Vikings. Because until the last final moments of a defensive war between the two, the Eagles couldn't manage to score 1 touchdown on offense until Brian Westbrook caught a screenpass with the best blocking to assist him in his 71 yrd touchdown in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter to bring the game to 23-14. But the Vikings had managed to push Adrian Peterson into the endzone on two runs, the first for a big 40yrd run in the second. So as the Eagles drives ended with punts, and two turnovers, one fumble and one interception on a forced pass in my opinion, the Eagles leave me in worry if they can handle the Giants. In the Eagles first meeting with the Giants, in my opinion was the start of their downfall in the season which lead to the loss and heart shattering tie to the Bengals. Even though Ironically enough the tie ended up being their saving grace and at the same time noose around their necks, it ended up being more of a blessing than a curse. But in their first meeting, the game to me was more crucial than most probably think because had the Eagles won that game, they would have been in the number one spot at that time in the NFC East and would have more adrenaline to go off after the win to upset the former World Champions. But they unfortunately choked and fell apart. When they met again, they had been revived so to speak by McNabb's benching highlight moment and were able to change their offense plans to incorporate more runs which have made them more effective in their games. So as I think to myself, what are serious needed improvements. TO STAY CALM IN A CRISIS!! The number one thing that makes McNabb fall apart is when something goes wrong and they need a quick touchdown, in like less than 2 mins. Sometimes one. It is during these times, that they always fall short. Like in the redskins game. Came down to one play and one long bomb to the endzone and Reggie Brown just happened to be an inch off the mark of crossing the endzone. Or even in this game in the last seconds of the first half, where previously when the Vikings had just scored their second touchdown, to make the game 16-14 with about 1:56 left. And while on the drive, McNabb notices the defense hasnt finished lining up, and instead of taking the easy completion with the rightside slant coming to the middle on a 3rd and 1, he tries to go deep to Kevin Curtis and ends up overthrowing it into the hands of the Vikings cornerback for the interception, when the Eagles had one time out. So even though we got the ball back, after the Vikings drainned the clock to about 36 secs, we still came up short when Westbrook was able to convert a 3rd down but fell short of the out of bounds line to drain the clock out to prevent a possible 50+ yrd field goal attempt. But with all the hurdles on offense, defense did fantastically well, all things considering, as well as the offense. Truely this Eagle team is strong and a good team, always been a Superbowl team in my opinion, but the verdict is still out with the Giants and the winner of the Panthers and Cardinals. But the true test to see if the Eagles are capable is if they win over the Giants and face the Panthers. Only time will tell but for now, I can sigh with relief that they didn't mess up and played the game, as well as stuck to the plan on offense to end up winning the Wild Card game.