EAGLES NEWS

The Eagles traveled to Chicago tonight for a key game against the Bears. With losses in their last 2 games the Eagles had to win tonight to stay in the playoff picture. It wasn't pretty by any means, but with a little luck they were able to get the win they needed. The Birds really did play a sloppy game tonight, committing 10 penalties, and turning the ball over 3 times, yet they were still able to eke out the win, which tells you how poorly the Bears are playing right now. Jay Cutler had an especially terrible night, missing several wide open recievers, while throwing for just 171 yards and 1 TD. He was so bad that he made the banged up Eagle's defense look good, as they held Chicago to just 284 yards of offense and 1 TD, which is about as good a game as you could have hoped from them. While a bit sloppy, the Eagle's offense was solid tonight and for once somewhat balanced with Lesean McCoy rushing for 99 of the Eagle's 157 rushing yards , and a what turned out to be the game winning TD. Micheal Vick also had a 34 yard run, for his longest play as an Eagle thus far. Donovan Mcnabb meanwhile, threw for 244 yards and 2 TDs, including a 48 yarder to Desean Jackson. In fact Jackson caught most of Mcnabb's passes with 8 receptions for 107 yards and a TD. Jeremy Maclin, was also a key contributor with 6 catches for 64 yards. The Eagles came out firing early, using a no huddle offense to roll to scores on their first 2 offensive drives for a 10-0 lead. They cooled down in the 2nd quarter as Robbie Gould booted 3 field goals to cut it to 10-9 at the half. Gould hit his 4th field goal of the night early in the 3rd quarter to give Chicago their first lead at 12-10. A couple drives later Mcnabb hooked up with Jackon for a 46 yard TD pass and a 17-12 lead. Cutler and the Bears came right back on their ensuing drive, as Cutler hit a few open guys for a change in leading his team down the field before hooking up with Kellen Davis on a 15 yd TD pass for a 20-17 lead. On the next Eagle's possession MCcoy fumbled the ball away after a long run and it appeared as though Chicago was primed to score again and take hold of this tight game. Instead the Eagle's defense held, forcing another Gould field goal attempt. This time, undrafted rookie Antonio Dixon, bashed through the line and blocked it to keep the lead at 3 and shift the momentum back to the Birds. On the ensuing drive the Birds swiftly moved down the field until on first down from the 10 yard line, McCoy burst through the line and danced into the endzone for go ahead TD to make it 24-20 Birds. On their next possession the Eagles, still leading 24-20, could not run out the clock and seal victory, leaving Cutler with one more chance to lead his team to the win. Instead he was intercepted by Sean Jones to clinch the 24-20 Eagle's victory. I know it was not well played, but a win is a win and this one moves the Birds to 6-4 overall, currently good enough for the 6th and final NFC playoff spot.