The Philadelphia Eagles were under siege Thanksgiving week. They had followed a home loss to the New York Giants with a tie against lowly Cincinnati and a bludgeoning by Baltimore to fall into the NFC East cellar at 5-5-1.
In the loss to the Ravens, coach Andy Reid benched Donovan McNabb, his starting quarterback throughout almost all of their decade together.
“For me to be used as the guy to motivate other guys, I really don’t think that was needed,” said McNabb, who had committed seven turnovers in the six quarters prior to his benching.
Sports talk radio in Philadelphia called for both McNabb and Reid to be hauled out of town.
“That wasn’t the reason behind sitting him down,” Reid said when asked if he tried to motivate McNabb. “It was [just] something that I felt needed to be done.”
Needed or not, the Eagles have been a different team since McNabb returned to the lineup Thanksgiving night at home against Arizona. McNabb passed for 260 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-20 rout of the Cardinals. The next week, running back Brian Westbrook produced 203 yards and two touchdowns on 39 touches as the Eagles beat the Giants 20-14. And on Monday, Philadelphia’s NFC-leading defense led the way in a 30-10 pasting of Cleveland.
“You can do a couple of things once you’re challenged,” seven-time Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins said. “You can agree with those people, cower down and not step up, [or] you can step up to meet the challenge head on. [Donovan] stepped up and met the challenge head-on. As teammates, that’s what we expected from him. We had his back and we still have his back.”
So the Eagles come to Landover on Sunday in the NFC playoff race at 8-5-1. If Philadelphia beats the Redskins and finishes the season by beating Dallas (9-5) at home while Tampa Bay or Atlanta (both 9-5) loses one of its final two games, the Eagles will advance to the playoffs for the seventh time in the Reid-McNabb partnership.
“He’s playing as well as he’s ever played,” Reid said of McNabb, who has completed 69.2 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and one interception since the benching. “It’s a tribute to him and the guys around him. They’ve all stepped their game up a little bit.”
That’s what the Eagles have almost always done at crucial points in the Reid-McNabb era. Just 34-34 before its bye week in the past 10 seasons, Philadelphia is 62-27-1 afterward. This year, those numbers are 3-3 and 5-2-1.
Only New England, which has won three Super Bowls since the 2000 season, has played better in November and December this decade than Philadelphia (51-22-1). If the Eagles defeat the Redskins and Cowboys, they’ll finish with at least three straight victories for a third straight year.
“If you’re close around Thanksgiving, you stand a chance,” Reid said. “I don’t know why we’ve finished the way we have the last couple years. And this season’s not over yet.”
Westbrook said finishing 5-0 wouldn’t be satisfying if the Eagles missed the postseason. And Reid said he hasn’t taken any satisfaction from quieting his critics.
“I don’t get into that,” Reid said. “If you get too sensitive in this business, you’re going to be in trouble.”
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