That's what happened last week, when Donovan McNabb gathered the team after the Washington loss and everybody held hands - when they weren't pointing fingers - and sang campfire songs and pledged to stick together.

It shouldn't be necessary to motivate professional football players that way, but the Eagles are apparently an exception this year.

"A lot of things are necessary in this game," McNabb said yesterday. "If you're a professional player, it's your job to do, but sometimes you need a little kick or a little push. That's everyday life, not just sports. If someone comes up and tells you that you look great today, some people may like that. Some people may like it if you be up-front and tell them they stink. At least you know, so go get some deodorant or cologne and freshen things up."

Yesterday, the Eagles freshened their record with a very strange 40-26 win over the San Francisco 49ers, but in many ways there is still the odor of ultimate defeat about the team. If it takes a full-blown team meeting and a week of rah-rah to dispense with the 49ers, again, that's not a good sign.

McNabb hasn't called a lot of meetings in his tenure here. He believes in leading by example. But the situation was growing somewhat desperate, and the quarterback might not have that many seasons in which it will be his team to lead.

"We've been hot and cold, and we found ourselves at 2-3. That's kind of not this Philadelphia Eagles football team. We have a lot more talent than we've been showing," McNabb said. "Part of the meeting was that it all starts with the mind and how you feel mentally coming into this week, of having a winning attitude despite our record at that time."

Did it work? Did the pom-poms and the direct talk - telling some guys they look good and telling some guys they stink - and the confidence-building make the Eagles a different team than they were against the Redskins?

Well, that's one of those half-full, half-empty questions that depend entirely on how thirsty you happen to be.

Against Washington, the Eagles held a 14-0 lead early in the game but trailed by two points by the end of the third quarter.

The new, inspired Eagles also led the 49ers by double digits at windy Candlestick Park, building a 17-6 lead with five minutes left in the first half. And by the end of the third quarter . . . they trailed, 26-17.

It should be added that they trailed against a team that isn't very good. The 49ers played hard and went to school on the blocking schemes that sprung the Redskins' running game, but this San Francisco team will struggle to achieve a .500 record and far worse is a distinct possibility.

In the fourth quarter, the defense revived itself to win the game for the Eagles. After missing tackles and blowing coverages most of the afternoon, the defense went into panic mode, helped along by the gradual unraveling of Niners quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan, a nice, young man who has been with nine NFL organizations in his seven-year career.

Coach Andy Reid brushed off any notion that this was a fortunate win against an unworthy opponent. The fishing has been so bad this season he can't afford to throw back any wins, no matter how small.

"You see how this league is. Crazy games happen all over the place," Reid said. "You expect a dogfight every week with the parity the way it is in this game."

That will have to serve as the most ringing endorsement the coach could muster. Everybody's about the same in this league, and that includes us.

That wasn't the expectation six weeks ago, but things change.

The Eagles do have injury issues, but those weren't critical yesterday. Correll Buckhalter filled in very well for Brian Westbrook, the receivers were fine, and Max Jean-Gilles plugged the guard spot of Shawn Andrews. On defense, where there were no injuries, there weren't any excuses, either.

And still, they trailed by nine points going into the fourth quarter. Despite what should have been the urgency to win this game and not fall to 2-4, despite what McNabb described as a full week on his part of backslapping and cheerleading that he carried over to the sideline yesterday, despite all of that, they were losing.

But they won. Reid pointed out that a win is a win is a win, which he's been able to do only half the time this season, so perhaps he had the right.

"This game didn't show what we're able to do on the field, but showed the kind of team we have in terms of coming together and overcoming adversity," McNabb said.

It also showed how adept the team is at creating the adversity. Maybe with two weeks until the next game, some of the issues - run defense, consistent offense - will be examined and some solutions will be found. If not, well, there can always be another team meeting.

"It's a good thing we have a bye week," McNabb said.

We can all agree on that one.

Bob Ford: McNabb Passes Jaws

Donovan McNabb, with his 23-36 day for 278 yards and 2 TDs, became the Eagles' all-time leader in career passing yards, moving past Ron Jaworski. Here are the team's career leaders.

Quarterback           Years    Yards

2. Ron Jaworski             1977-86               26,963

3. Randall Cunningham       1985-95               22,877

4. Norm Snead             1964-70               15,672

5. Tommy Thompson         1941-50               10,240

6. Sonny Jurgensen         1957-63               9,639

7. Bobby Thomason         1952-57               8,124

8. Norm Van Brocklin         1958-60               7,497

9. Roman Gabriel            1973-77               7,221

10. Adrian Burk            1951-56               6,203

Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/bobford.