Donovan McNabb spent the better part of last week telling everyone who would listen that last nights Eagles/Bears game was a much needed win for the Eagles.  He was right mainly because if the Eagles fell to 5-5 they would be tied with the Bears and the Bears would hold the first tie breaker advantage.  After watching yesterday unfold with the Giants winning in overtime and the Cowboys escaping with a less than impressive 7-6 win over the Redskins last night’s “must win” mantra was even more truth than fiction.

The Eagles looked unstoppable for their first couple of drives, scoring ten quick points despite sputtering out in the red zone on their first possesion.  Unfortunately they weren’t able to put away a weaker opponent and somehow the Bears and their lackluster offense managed to put up twelve straight points for a 12-10 lead early through the third quarter.   McNabb and the Eagles finally broke through later in the third on a 48 yard touchdown strike to DeShawn Jackson to regain the lead at 17-12.   At that point you had to think that was going to do it as the Bears just had nothing on offense, but somehow the Bears marched down the field culminating in a Cutler to Davis touchdown in the right corner of the end zone, a similar pass that eluded Olsen earlier in the game.  The touchdown and two point conversion pass to Forte gave the Bears a 20-17 lead and going into the fourth quarter you had to begin to think “here we go again” as the Eagles were 5-28 since 2004 in games they trailed in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles got the momentum back when they blocked Robbie Gould’s 48 yard attempt that would’ve given the Bears a 23-17 lead, and McNabb led the offense down the field, converting a key third down on a beautiful pass to Jackson in the middle to keep the drive alive.   LeSean McCoy, who had fumbled away the ball earlier in the quarter when Charles Tillman came in and swatted the ball out of his hands, one of three forced fumbles on the night for Tillman, took the ball to the house for a ten yard touchdown run and a 24-20 Eagles lead.  The Eagles got the ball back one more time but were unable to convert on a third down that would’ve ended the game, but Jay Cutler took care of that as his attempted pass was tipped by Tracy White into the hands of Sean Jones for the interception that sealed the victory for the Eagles.

This was a game the Eagles clearly should’ve dominated against an opponent that quite frankly offensively couldn’t get out of their own way for most of the first half.  The Bears red zone offense made the Eagles troubles look very minimal.   Had the Eagles played a different opponent last night they might not have come away with a win, but such is life in today’s NFL.  The Cowboys got just as lucky yesterday, coming away with a very last minute 7-6 win against a just as hapless Redsins team that the Eagles get to face next week.  In the NFL, a win is a win, especially on the road.   The Eagles are still not as good a team as the Vikings or Saints at this point, but they just might be good enough to overtake the Cowboys for the NFC East if they can get their defense healthy.   Sheldon Brown is playing with a bad hamstring, and Asante Samuel had to leave the game with a stinger.  On offense, their line is finally healthy and the did a nice job pass protecting for McNabb.  With Westbrook all but lost for the season they are very thin at running back and will have to rely on rookie “Shady” McCoy pretty heavily down the stretch.   The Eagles are already relying on young players in Maclin and Jackson at wide receiver and Celek at tight end.

McNabb had an excellent game, going 23 for 32 for 244 yards, a touchdown and interception.  Jackson caught 8 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.  McCoy, starting for Westbrook, ran the ball 20 times for 99 yards and a touchdown.  Michael Vick even turned in a nice play, running for 35 yards on a third and short in the first quarter.

At 6-4, the Eagles are tied with the Giants and stand a game behind the division leading Cowboys, both of whom the Eagles have to play down the stretch, both games coming on the road.   The Eagles stand as the first Wild Card right now thanks to a better conference record (5-2) than the Packers.   The Eagles control their own destiny and can still win the division but cannot afford any kind of letdown.   The Redskins come to the Linc next Sunday and the Eagles must play like they did at the beginning and end of last night’s game for all 60 minutes if the expect to move to 7-4 next weekend.  For now, the Eagles avoided a 5-5 record after ten games, matching last season when at 5-5-1 the Eagles won four of their last five combined with some help on the season’s final day got them into the playoffs when most thought their season was over.  They might not get as lucky this year if they don’t take care of their own business down the stretch.