Eagle Eye Observations: Week 14

The Eagles played an absolute gem of a game on Sunday. I can’t remember seeing an Andy Reid team pound the rock 41 times versus anyone. Once again, Brian Westbrook was amazing. Am I the only one who thinks he’s making a late-season push for MVP? He’s been unstoppable the last two weeks. But Westbrook isn’t the only Eagle deserving of praise. Here’s some more good and bad (mostly good) observations from the Eagle Eye:

• Trent Cole is a complete defensive end. He didn’t register a sack but had five tackles, two for losses, and he blocked a field goal. Cole leads the NFL in tackles for loss. Impressive.

• The other Cole, Nick Cole, filled in nicely for Andrews/Jean-Gillis. After a rough first quarter, the reserve guard helped fuel a second half ground surge that put away Big Blue.

• L.J. Smith is officially out of witness protection. He caught 6 passes for 44 yards, three of which went for first downs. L.J. can make a difference if he puts forth the effort.

• DeSean Jackson played his worst game of the season. Zero catches and 2 runs for -9 yards. The Eagles will need him to be much better in the coming weeks.

• 331 total yards gained. 144 yards rushing. 12-18 on third downs. 34:54 time of possession. Can’t ask for much better than those numbers.

• 211 total yards allowed. 88 yards rushing. 3-11 on third downs, 0-3 on fourth downs. 8:08 time of possession in the second half. That’s how you shut-down the league’s highest scoring offense.

• 2 blocked field goals. One returned for a 71 yard touchdown. Terrible. The Eagles’ special teams continues to frustrate and confound. Luckily, they didn’t cost them a win, but down the road they might.

• Linebackers Stewart Bradley and Chris Gocong limited Giants tight end Kevin Boss to just one catch for five yards. This is the same guy who torched the Birds in Week 10 with six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.

• Forgive me for this next one, but I actually like math. The Eagles called 36 run plays. Of those, 28 were either to the middle or off guard runs. They gained 131 yards on those plays. The other eight runs were off tackle and end-arounds that netted -7 yards. I’m probably the one person who finds this interesting.

• More Westbrook. Brian surpassed Eagles great Harold Carmichael to become the franchise’s all-time leader in yards from scrimmage. Congratulations B-West!

• Did you notice Akeem Jordan’s chip on Giants receiver Sinorice Moss with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter to foil an Eli Manning fourth-and-one pass attempt? It totally blew-up the timing of the play and caused Eli to hold the ball longer than he wanted.

• Plaxico Burress’s replacement Domenik Hixon toasted Sheldon Brown early in the second quarter only to drop an Eli Manning deep throw. In my opinion, the biggest play of the game. If Hixon holds on the Giants take a 7-3 lead and who knows what happens after.

There you have it. Two spectacular wins in a row for the Birds. Is another December rally in effect? The reality is the Eagles could win out and still not make the playoffs. But there is much football left to be played. Next up, the Cleveland Browns on Monday night. Philly can ill afford a letdown.