This was exactly the kind of game the Eagles always used to lose.
All the telltale signs where there. In the first half, after the Eagles struck for a quick TD on their first possession, and then found themselves in position for the kill shot.
Three different times they drove inside the Colts’ 10-yard line, and three different times they had to settle for a David Akers field goal.
So instead of putting 28 points on the board, they only had 16. As it turns out, that was one less than the Colts had at halftime, thanks to a 17-point second period by Peyton Manning.
You just had the sickening feeling that all those wasted trips into the red zone were going to come back to haunt the Birds.
Then there were the crucial penalties that seemed to consistently go against them. And yes, that includes calls on the hit that left Colts wide receiver Austin Collie motionless on the Linc turf, and a critical roughing the quarterback call against Trent Cole when his hand swiped across the back of Manning’s helment at he slapped at the ball. The call kept a Colts drive alive on what would have been a fumble and Eagles recovery.
As it turned out, the Colts scored and had the ball back in Manning’s hands, driving for a possible winning field goal.
The Eagles overcame all these odds and posted a 26-24 win over the Colts that managed to keep Andy Reid’s pristine record in the week after the bye intact. The coach has now won 12 straight after the team’s week off.
But this win belongs to the Eagles’ much-maligned defense, in particular Asante Samuel, who again got the better of his old nemesis Manning, and even more importantly quarterback Michael Vick.
Vick is now the unquestioned leader of this team. Yes, I am well aware that a lot of people simply will never accept Vick as the Eagles starting quarterback.
Better get used to it. The Eagles very easily could have lost their game yesterday. It would have been a devastating loss, and it was one that I firmly believe they would not have won with Donovan McNabb as their QB, let alone their leader.
Speaking of Donovan, you can start banging the drums now. The Eagles and Redskins meet up on Monday night. It will be the first game back for McNabb since his benching by coach Mike Shanahan. The nation will be talking about it all week.
It was McNabb who decided to throw a little gas on the fire after the ‘Skins’ early-season win over the Birds at the Linc, mocking the Eagles organization as having made a mistake when they released him.
Something to ponder about that game. Just as the Eagles don’t win yesterday’s game without Vick at the helm, I’m not sure they lose to McNabb and the Redskins if Vick does not get hurt in the second quarter.
I don’t think either Vick or the Eagles have forgotten that.
All the telltale signs where there. In the first half, after the Eagles struck for a quick TD on their first possession, and then found themselves in position for the kill shot.
Three different times they drove inside the Colts’ 10-yard line, and three different times they had to settle for a David Akers field goal.
So instead of putting 28 points on the board, they only had 16. As it turns out, that was one less than the Colts had at halftime, thanks to a 17-point second period by Peyton Manning.
You just had the sickening feeling that all those wasted trips into the red zone were going to come back to haunt the Birds.
Then there were the crucial penalties that seemed to consistently go against them. And yes, that includes calls on the hit that left Colts wide receiver Austin Collie motionless on the Linc turf, and a critical roughing the quarterback call against Trent Cole when his hand swiped across the back of Manning’s helment at he slapped at the ball. The call kept a Colts drive alive on what would have been a fumble and Eagles recovery.
As it turned out, the Colts scored and had the ball back in Manning’s hands, driving for a possible winning field goal.
The Eagles overcame all these odds and posted a 26-24 win over the Colts that managed to keep Andy Reid’s pristine record in the week after the bye intact. The coach has now won 12 straight after the team’s week off.
But this win belongs to the Eagles’ much-maligned defense, in particular Asante Samuel, who again got the better of his old nemesis Manning, and even more importantly quarterback Michael Vick.
Vick is now the unquestioned leader of this team. Yes, I am well aware that a lot of people simply will never accept Vick as the Eagles starting quarterback.
Better get used to it. The Eagles very easily could have lost their game yesterday. It would have been a devastating loss, and it was one that I firmly believe they would not have won with Donovan McNabb as their QB, let alone their leader.
Speaking of Donovan, you can start banging the drums now. The Eagles and Redskins meet up on Monday night. It will be the first game back for McNabb since his benching by coach Mike Shanahan. The nation will be talking about it all week.
It was McNabb who decided to throw a little gas on the fire after the ‘Skins’ early-season win over the Birds at the Linc, mocking the Eagles organization as having made a mistake when they released him.
Something to ponder about that game. Just as the Eagles don’t win yesterday’s game without Vick at the helm, I’m not sure they lose to McNabb and the Redskins if Vick does not get hurt in the second quarter.
I don’t think either Vick or the Eagles have forgotten that.
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