Make it Five in a Row for the Birds

Mother Nature dumped 16 inches of snow on the Linc, delaying the start of their game against San Francisco by a couple of hours but it was not enough slow down the big play offense of the Eagles. Behind the arm of Donovan McNabb, they came away with a huge win over the 49ers to take their record to 10-4. It was Philadelphia's fifth win in a row that clinched at the very least a wildcard spot in the playoffs.

In the 27-13 victory, the Birds rolled up 422 yards of total offense as McNabb completed passes to eight different receivers including six receptions for 140 yards and one TD to WR DeSean Jackson. They got things started right away when Quentin Demps took the opening kickoff to midfield and five plays later McNabb hit Jackson for a 19 yard TD reception. San Francisco managed to score a field goal on their ensuing drive, but that is as close as it got.

Trailing 20-3 at the half, the 49er's tried to make things interesting by scoring 10 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter, but the Eagles were able to put the game away for good when LeSean McCoy scored on a two yard run with a little over 11 minutes left to play.

The most encouraging aspect of this game was the continued balance the Eagles have shown in their offensive attack. They ran the ball 33 times for 116 yards while throwing the ball 36 times for 306 yards. More importantly the offensive line did not give up a single sack, giving McNabb the time needed to pick the 49er's defense apart.

All in all this was a solid victory for the Eagles at a time of the year when they needed it the most. They could have played better, but in the end they did what they had to do to get a win over a team they were supposed to beat.

Next up for the Birds are the Denver Broncos who are coming off an ugly 20-19 loss to the Raiders. I'm sure that the home town crowd will give a warm reception to long time Eagle, Brian Dawkins who will be making his first return to the Linc after signing with Denver as a free agent this past off season, but as for the rest of Broncos let's hope the snow has melted by then to keep the snowballs from flying.