McNabb and Eagles Silence Critics...For Now

Thanksgiving 2008 – Three games on the schedule with three routs as the results. Of course, the first two games pitted two hapless teams against two juggernauts, so the results were predictable, but in the nightcap, the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles was a little less so. The Cardinals are on top of the NFC West thanks to both great play from quarterback Kurt Warner and the receiving duo of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald and the ineptitude of the rest of the division. The Eagles have been struggling this season, with quarterback Donovan McNabb under intense scrutiny after two sub-par weeks and getting benched in last week's loss at Baltimore. Western teams haven't played well when trekking across the country to come east and the Eagles were reeling, what would the result be? Knowing McNabb's history of having big games when faced with controversy, the ending to this game should have never been in doubt.

McNabb and the Eagles put together their first truly complete game since they bludgeoned the St. Louis Rams in the first game of the season and carved up the Cardinals for Thanksgiving, 48-20. For McNabb and his Eagles, it was redemption after two solid weeks of bad press and equally poor play. For the Eagles coach, Andy Reid, it was proof that what he has said all year is true, when the team is clicking on all cylinders, they are tough to beat. McNabb threw for four touchdowns, two of them to a rejuvenated Brian Westbrook, who also added two rushing touchdowns of his own, and looked like the McNabb of old. He was accurate and more importantly, he ran the ball when he had to, scrambling for much needed yards when the pass was not there. Westbrook, who has been ailing all season with ankle and rib injuries, also looked like he had a drink from the Fountain of Games Past and played one of his best games of the year. The defense for the Eagles did their part as well, intercepting Kurt Warner three times and forcing a fumble in the second quarter to keep the Cardinals on their heels. Although the traditionally blitzing defense of the Eagles had no sacks in the game, they kept constant pressure on Warner and stopped the Cardinals running game cold, transforming the NFC West leaders into a one-dimensional team on offense as they tried to play catch-up. What had been, prior to kickoff, a result in question, no longer was as the Eagles rolled to victory.

However, in the NFL, all victories are fleeting and now the Eagles have to look ahead to next week when they meet the NY Giants in a clash of NFC East rivals. The Giants have been cruising along at a great clip this season, their only loss so far coming from the Cleveland Browns. They've had a couple of close calls, but have managed to pull out each game on their road to repeating as Super Bowl champs. The Eagles will need to bottle this A-Game against the Cardinals and bring it with them up I-95 if they want to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But, on this Thanksgiving night, the Philadelphia Eagles showed that they are still a team to be reckoned with and the rest of the league should take notice and watch out.