Eagles coach Andy Reid said Brian Westbrook suffered his second concussion on a screen pass early in the third quarter Sunday, when sandwiched between teammate Jason Avant and Chargers safety Eric Weddle. On replays, it seems that Westbrook trips over blocker Stacy Andrews, who lunges at Weddle and misses. Westbrook then collides helmet-to-helmet with Weddle.

Reid said Westbrook was not knocked unconscious, as he was when his helmet hit London Fletcher's knee at Washington Oct.26, but Westbrook was "foggy," and there was a "sense there's something wrong here."

Reid said it was too early to say whether Westbrook will be able to play again this season.

"That's the last thing on my mind right now," Reid said. "Football now for Brian Westbrook is not the important thing."

Reid defended the team's handling of Westbrook's initial concussion, emphasizing that the Eagles followed the advice of experts (though he did not identify the experts, and the Eagles have made available only head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder, who did not speak today).

"We took every precautionary measure we could before, and it happened again," Reid said.

He also said the team was not looking at adding a running back. “I’ll look at it as we go," Reid said. "We’ve got some good young guys here who can play. I’m not at that point right now.”

Reid indicated the Eagles expect to get left tackle Jason Peters (ankle) back for the Chicago game. There was no update on corner Sheldon Brown, having an MRI today after suffering a hamstring injury. Reid called safety/kick returner Quintin Demps' injury a high ankle sprain, which sounds ominous. Weakside linebacker Akeem Jordan is making progress recovering from his knee injury, Reid said.

Peters had said Friday that he expected to play. As to what happened over the weekend, Reid said: "“He has some swelling in there and we weren’t able to get all the swelling out. He didn’t feel comfortable in the pregame part of it that he could feel he could go.”

Reid reiterated his displeasure with the three early trips to the red zone that resulted in field goals, with the Eagles' nine penalties, and with his defense's inability to get off the field with enough time left to give the offense a good last shot at tying or winning.

“We needed to make some plays there," Reid said of his team's play on the Chargers' last drive. "There were a couple of key third-down situations. The one that jumps out is third-and-6 on about the 40-yard line. You have to be able to get off the field in those situations, whether it’s the coaches’ responsibility or the players’ responsibility of execution … You have to be able to execute in those situations. Those are key situations in a big game.

Poll: Where does Brian Westbrook rank among Eagles running backs all-time? (1521 votes)

5 TALKING POINTS

1. Westbrook’s future. After missing two games with a concussion, Brian Westbrook returned to the lineup Sunday and suffered yet another concussion. It’s uncertain at this point whether he’ll play again this season.

2. The red-zone woes. The Eagles converted just 2 of 5 red-zone trips into touchdowns against the Chargers, settling for field goals the first three times they got inside the 20. They had a first-and-goal at the 1 and couldn’t punch it in, and had a first-and-goal at the 9 and couldn’t score.

3. The Chargers’ last drive. The Eagles’ defense needed to stop the Chargers and get the ball back to their offense in the fourth quarter. But the Chargers converted two third-downs and kicked a field goal with 30 seconds left.

4. Donovan’s big day. McNabb’s 450 passing yards were the second most of his career. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 271 yards in the second half as the Eagles climbed back into the game.

5. The penalties. Once again, the Eagles kept the zebras busy. They committed 9 penalties for 70 yards, many of them costly. Through nine games, they’ve committed 67 penalties.

5 NUMBERS TO PONDER

1. DeSean Jackson, who had a career-high 8 receptions, had 16 passes targeted for him. He had had more than five passes thrown in his way in just one of the Eagles’ previous five games.

2. The Eagles had 9- and 12-play touchdown drives against the Chargers. They were only the Eagles’ fourth and fifth TD drives of the season of seven or more plays.

3. The Eagles lost the time-of-possession battle Sunday for the seventh time in nine games and the sixth game in a row. The only two games in which they finished with the time-of-possession advantage were Carolina in Week 1 and Kansas City in Week 3.

4. The Eagles’ 26 first downs were a season-high. It was only the third time this season they’ve had more than 17 in a game.

5. Chargers tight end Antonio Gates had seven catches for 78 yards against the Eagles. For the season, opposing tight ends have 53 receptions for 616 yards and 5 touchdowns against the Eagles.

LT SPREE

LaDainian Tomlinson showed he was back, at least for one game, with his 96 yards on 24 carries. His two rushing touchdowns were as many as the Eagles had given up in their previous six games.

Chargers coach Norv Turner says he's never had any doubt. "You take that 20-yard run for touchdown in the second quarter," he said. "You look at what he did on that run. Now put it beside a run from four years ago and I defy you to tell me which is which."

UP NEXT

The Eagles return to Soldier Field next Sunday night to face the Bears.

That is the site of another recent Birds game marred by red-zone and short-yardage woes. Last September, the Eagles lost 24-20 when they had first-and-goal at the Bears’ 4 late in the game and could not score, including on three tries from the 1.

The Eagles are also now 0-7 on Sunday night games broadcast by NBC, including the loss against Dallas two weeks ago.

ODDS AND ENDS

* In case you were wondering,  Chargers receiver Legedu Naanee was not actually propsing to that cheerleader after his touchdown. (He incurred a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty.) Apparently, he barely even knows the woman, identifed as Nicole by teammates. He said it was a spontaneous tribute to his alma mater, Boise State. You might recall in 2007 a Boise State player proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on national television after scoring a TD in the Fiesta Bowl.

* Rookie wide receiver Brandon Gibson, traded to the Rams in the Will Witherspoon deal, saw his first extensive action because of injuries and caught seven passes for 93 yards in the Rams' 28-23 loss to New Orleans. Gibson was an Eagles' sixth-round pick.

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To read Domo's report card from the game, click here.

RUSHING OFFENSE
The Eagles only ran the ball 13 times, averaging just 2.2 yards. They were ineffective when they ran in the red zone and they were ineffective when they ran on third-and-short. Grade: F

PASSING OFFENSE
Donovan McNabb’s 450 passing yards were the second most of his career. But he was inconsistent in the red zone.
Grade: B

RUN DEFENSE
The Eagles became just the third team the Chargers managed to rush for 100-plus yards against. LaDainian Tomlinson, who had been averaging just 3.2 yards per carry, had a season-high 96 yards on 24 carries. Grade: C-minus

PASS DEFENSE
Philip Rivers had just five incompletions (25 attempts) against a patchwork back seven. The defense couldn’t get off the field in the fourth quarter, giving up two killer third-down completions that kept the ball away from Donovan McNabb and the offense. Grade: D

SPECIAL TEAMS: The return game was unproductive. The Eagles committed two penalties on first-half punt returns. Sav Rocca shanked a punt that set up the Chargers’ first touchdown and their kickoff-coverage unit gave up 24.5 yards per attempt to Darren Sproles. Grade: F

OVERALL
The Eagles’ red-zone impotence, particularly in goal-to situations, was inexcusable. The injury-ravaged defense took an early beating, but kept battling until the fourth quarter when it couldn’t get off the field. Grade: C-plus

To read our earlier post with Andy Reid's comments on the game and Brian Westbrook, click here.

To read Les Bowen's in-game report, click here.

Brian Westbrook ended the 31-23 loss to San Diego on the sideline with another concussion.

Westbrook had missed the last two games after suffering a concussion against Washington. Against the Chargers, he had six carries for 28 yards and caught two passes for 26 yards. His last carry came on the opening drive of the second half.

Coach Andy Reid said Westbrook "took a heck of a hit," leading to the concussion.

“We’ll just see how Brian does here," he said. "That’s a concern of everybody, us included and Brian.”

As for Westbrook's status, Reid said, "It’s too soon ... We’ll make sure we evaluate it, and take every step that we can to make sure that he’s OK. We did that the last time. We’re going to keep doing it ... I feel bad for Brian, something our docs are going to look at it and be on top of as soon as we get back."

He later said, "We’re going to do everything the right way, and take every precautionary measure to make sure Brian’s OK. In these types of situations, football is secondary. You have to look out for this kid for his future and make sure he is OK before he gets back out there.”

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As for the game, Reid best summed up the game this way: “We just came up stinking short.”

Other thoughts from Reid: “You can’t get in the red zone three times early and not be able to punch it in. That hurt us in the end. We had three opportunities early to do that.”

On the play selection: "We thought the things that we called were going to be effective. They worked in the second part, not in the first part. We did what we thought was best and came up short three times.”

On the Eagles cutting the lead and then seeing the Chargers score again: “We had the momentum swing in our direction and then we weren’t able to get off the field.”

On the comeback falling short: "We’re in a position to win the game when we were down by that much, that kind of rips your heart out. At the same time, the guys battled and put us back in the position to win that football game.”

“Our heart is broken, but they also have something they can take from this. There is some good things they can take out of it and some things these guys can learn from it. We will do that and then get better from it."

 

The Eagles are making this game interesting, Brent Celek just made it 28-23, but Brian Westbrook is standing on the sideline in a baseball cap. The press box announcement is that he has a concussion. That could overshadow whatever happens here.

Earlier: Five plays, 76 yards, Chargers 21-6. Eagles defense seems to have given up.

Linebackers all over the place, d-line can't tackle.

That might be all the blogging for a while.

Earlier: Jeremy Maclin pushoff killed the first drive of the second half. But good news -- Sheldon Brown is on the field, despite his hamstring injury, as the Chargers take the ball.

Earlier: Hey, another field goal! Three more of those, assuming the Chargers don't score again (and that surely won't happen), the Eagles are winning this here ballgame!

Truth is, the Birds' beleagured defense deserves better, but unless you define clutch red zone offense as grabbing your own throat, the Eagles haven't had any. The score should be tied, instead the Chargers are winning 14-6, after the Birds settled for David Akers chip shots instead of touchdowns on back-to-back drives. This last third down was my absolute favorite Donovan McNabb why-do-that? maneuver, the 2-yard dump to Brent Celek on third and goal from the 9. McNabb had all day to throw, yet the only possibility was a dump to a guy who had about a half dozen Chargers between him and the end zone? Really?

If you'd like a little more bad news, apparently Sheldon Brown, one of two corners left who have played siginificant minutes this season, has suffered a hamstring injury. No word on a possible return.

Earlier: Wouldn't you like to know if Eldra Buckley might have gotten in on third and goal from the 1? We in the press box sure would. Instead, we were treated to a Fox graphic explaining to us how the Eagles apparently didn't score last week in a similar situation. Who knew?

Of course, the three goal-line plays were the usual jumble of why-do-that? Especially the rollout incomplete pass to Brent Celek WHEN THERE SEEMED TO BE NO ONE LINED UP OVER THE CENTER AND DONOVAN MCNABB COULD HAVE WALKED INTO THE END ZONE.

So it's 14-3, and looking really bleak.

Earlier:So far, the offense has no traction whatsoever, and is giving the banged-up defense no help, on a day when it needed some. The Chargers have a 14-0 lead after a 10-play, 82-yard drive. First downs are 10-1, rushing yards are 59-2. We thought the Eagles needed to run the ball today to have a chance. You see how that's going.

Earlier: The Eagles' banged-up defense needed not to be put in tough spots against Phillip Rivers and the potent Chargers today. Then the Birds failed to get a first down on their initial series -- a slow-developing screen to Brent Celek never had a chance on third and 4 from the 11 -- and Sav Rocca shanked a 30-yard punt, and, well, the defense was in a tough spot.

The Chargers needed six plays to make it 7-0. They caught the Birds in a blitz on second and 10 from the 20 and Rivers hit fullback Mike Tolbert short over the middle, with nobody in his path to the end zone.

By the way, notice how well the Wildcat always seems to work AGAINST the Eagles?

Earlier: Well, despite his "I'm playing" declaration Friday after being listed as "questionable" for today, Eagles left tackle Jason Peters is inactive with an ankle injury. Todd Herremans is your left tackle, Nick Cole moves from right to left guard, and Stacy Andrews starts at right guard -- the alignment the Eagles used during the time Peters was out of last week's game getting his ankle X-rayed. Let's hope Stacy got some pointers last night from his brother Shawn, who Tweeted that he was visiting his teammates. And you thought the Big Kid wouldn't even know they were supposed to be out here!

Also out is safety Quintin Demps, another ankle sprain sufferer, who was scheduled to return kicks, in the wake of Ellis Hobbs' season-ending neck injury. No word on exactly what that means; the leading candidates to take over are a couple of rookies, Macho Harris and Jeremy Maclin.

Corner Jack Ikegwuonu, brought up from the practice squad last week, is inactive. Ditto o-lineman Mike McGlynn,running back P.J.Hill,  and the two guys we already knew were out, WR Kevin Curtis and weakside linebacker Akeem Jordan. Kevin Kolb is third quarterback.

Lots of Eagles fans made the trip and got tickets, it would seem, from the boisterous chanting during warmups. Traveling to California must have loosened their inhibitions -- usually they're such a circumspect bunch.

Stay tuned for more.

The Eagles return to the West Coast to face the San Diego Chargers. Les Bowen will be blogging live from Qualcomm Stadium, but we get the morning started with our staff picks, key matchups and some other notes:

STAFF PICKS

Les Bowen: Chargers, 27-23 (More on Les' selection, by clicking here)

Ed Barkowitz: Chargers, 27-19

Bill Conlin: Chargers, 21-20

Paul Domowitch: Chargers, 31-20

Marcus Hayes: Chargers, 28-20

Mike Kern: Chargers, 27-20

Vegas Vic: Eagles, 23-19 (For Vic's Week 10 selections, click here)

DOMO'S KEY MATCHUPS

1. Eagles WRs DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin vs. Chargers CBs Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer: Jackson and Maclin need to be factors for the Eagles to win. Cromartie and Jammer can be exploited if Donovan McNabb has time to throw deep. Advantage: Eagles

2. Eagles OTs Jason Peters and Winston Justice vs. Chargers OLBs Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips: Merriman and Phillips have combined for seven sacks in the last two games. Peters is playing on a bad ankle and Justice is unreliable. Advantage: Chargers

3. Eagles CBs Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown vs. Chargers WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd: Samuel and Brown have combined for nine interceptions this season, but are going to have problems dealing with Jackson's and Floyd's size. Both are 6-5. Advantage: Chargers
 

NOTES

* Despite being listed as questionable, Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman assured reporters that he will play today. “Questionable?” a surprised Merriman said. “That's what they list me? No, they didn't.”

* Based on his Twitter page, Shawn Andrews was in San Diego on Saturday, visiting with his teammates. Andrews, out for the season on injured reserve, has been in Los Angeles doing rehab work on his back.

* The Eagles are second in the league in takeaways with 22, but they have turned those 22 turnovers into only 69 points. The New Orleans Saints have a league-high 24 takeaways, which they have turned into 93 points. The Giants are second in points off takeaways with 78 on 17. Green Bay has 68 points on 18 takeaways. 

* This will be the Eagles' first trip to the West Coast since the debacle in Oakland. "Our last trip didn’t go so well," safety Quintin Mikell said. "That was a long trip back from Oakland after a loss, so I think everybody is a lot more focused this time and we know what’s at stake.”

* Another stat of note: During their three-game winning streak, the Chargers have recorded 15 sacks, including seven by Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips.

Terrell Owens was looking for someone to play Santa Claus at his Catch-A-Dream Foundation 81 Family Fun Day this holiday season. Owens put out the call via Twitter -- and then he had an idea.

Owens then joked: "I'm thinking of asking Coach Reid 2 play my santa claus, my fmr coach of the eagles! He seems 2 b a logical choice, gotta check his sked!..."

No word on whether Big Red can make it.

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The Eagles will have some shuffling to do on the defensive line as well as at linebacker Sunday.

Defensive end Victor Abiamiri is listed as questionable, though Abiamiri probably isn’t going to dress ahead of productive Jason Babin.

Abiamiri’s status might hinge on how comfortable the coaches would be sitting, say defensive tackle Trevor Laws, figuring Abiamiri can play inside in passing situations.

*

Kevin Curtis was seen in the NovaCare Complex weight room Friday. Curtis had been in Utah following knee surgery. The Eagles do not let injured players speak to the media.

*

Chargers coach Norv Turner, on Shawne Merriman, who has missed the last two days of practice with a sore foot: "I think he's all right. I think he's just a little bit sore, and it's probably good for him to not work."

Unless he bumps his head on an overhead bin during the flight to San Diego today, Eagles running back Brian Westbrook will play Sunday against the Chargers, Westbrook's first action since suffering a scary concussion Oct. 26 at Washington.

Eagles coach Andy Reid, asked how Westbrook was listed after Friday's practice, said: "Playing. Probable."

Will Westbrook carry a normal workload?

"He'll continue to rotate (with rookie LeSean McCoy) and we'll just see how he does," Reid said. "I'm not going to just throw him in for the whole game. LeSean has done a nice job when he's been called on, so that gives us some flexibility."

Westbrook declined to speak with reporters. He left the locker room wearing a large ice bag on his battle-scarred left knee, a usual precaution after two days of indoor practice, with a long flight looming. Apparently, the ankle swelling that bothered Westbrook last week has not returned.

Reid reported that left tackle Jason Peters did not practice today and is listed as "questionable" with an ankle sprain. Reid wanted to keep his options open, as to whether Todd Herremans would slide over from left guard, or Herremans would stay put and King Dunlap would play for Peters. It would seem to be a moot point, though, since Peters looked affronted when a reporter informed him he was "questionable."

"I'm playing," Peters said.

Reid said Quintin Demps (ankle) practiced for the first time this week and is on schedule to return kicks at San Diego. Demps, the Eagles' regular kick returner last season, will replace Ellis Hobbs, out for the season after suffering a neck injury last Sunday against Dallas.

On the San Diego side of things, linebacker Shawne Merriman missed his second consecutive day of practice with a sore foot and is listed as questionable. Linebacker Shaun Phillips (ankle) practiced for the first time this week and is also questionable, although he is expected to play. Tight end Antonio Gates (foot) and running back LaDainian Tomlinson (hip) both practiced and are listed as probable.

To see our earlier post comparing the two starting quarterbacks, click here.

The big showdown among quarterbacks as far as Chargers fans are concerned was last week when San Diego beat Eli Manning and the Giants. Manning spurned San Diego when he was drafted and forced a trade that netted Philip Rivers. "You knew it was there," Rivers said of the link between he and Manning.

The quarterback matchup this week is no less intriguing, as Rivers and the Chargers face Donovan McNabb and the Eagles. One answered questions this week about a fourth-quarter comeback and throwing a touchdown pass to beat the Giants. The other answered questions about the team's poor record when trailing in the fourth quarter. (The Eagles are 0-2 when trailing after three quarters this season and 5-1 when leading after three.)

Here is McNabb on the lack of fourth-quarterback comebacks: “I think a lot of that is kind of overblown. There is a lot that goes into fourth-quarter comebacks. It could be catches, it could be doing the right things running the ball, it could be special teams picking up yards or special teams stopping them from getting good field position, it could be the defense stopping them. It’s not just driving down and scoring, because if they get the ball they can do the same. [There] is a lot [that goes] into that.”

Here is Rivers on the Chargers' putting together a late game-winning drive (Rivers has engineered 11 game-winning TD drives in the fourth quarter in his career): "This goes two ways. If we don’t win that game, it goes, ‘Chargers can’t run the ball. They can’t finish big games. They can’t beat good teams.’ And then all of a sudden it’s reversed. And we played the same game except for eight plays. I don’t get caught up in it either way. Huge win, but we’re one game better and we’ve got a long way to go. This is a big emotional win that can keep us ascending towards where we want to go."

Late-game heroics notwithstanding, who has the edge at QB this week, according to Domo's Scouting Report?

Eagles: Donovan McNabb’s been all over the map this season. He’s had two games with 140-plus passer ratings (wins over Bucs and Giants) and two with sub-70 ratings (losses to Raiders and Cowboys). He’s 29th in the league in fourth-quarter passing, with a 51.6 completion percentage and a 5.13 yards-per-attempt average.

Chargers: With an unproductive ground game that is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry, Chargers have become a throwing team, and Phillip Rivers has responded. He’s thrown 11 TD passes and just three INTs in the last five games. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. His receivers know that if they get open, he’ll get the ball to them.

Edge: Chargers

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We have talked much about the Eagles' injury issues this week, but the Chargers have a few as well.

Linebacker Shawne Merriman missed his second consecutive day of practice with soreness in his foot. The injury has been bothering him for a few weeks. He also did not practice last Friday but still played against the Giants.

Linebacker Shaun Phillips also missed his second day of practice with an ankle injury, but is expected to play. Defensive lineman Ogemdi Nwagbuo and linebacker Jyles Tucker missed practice with ankle injuries. Nwagbuo has been nursing his ankle through every week to get ready to play Sundays. Tucker will likely miss this week.

Center Nick Hardwick, trying to recover from ankle surgery, will not play. He was unable to finish practice Wednesday and will try again next week.

Tight end Antonio Gates (foot) and running back LaDainian Tomlinson returned to practice Thursday after missing Wednesday's session.

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Be sure to check our our new feature as Eagles right tackle Winston Justice provides his insights exclusively to Daily News readers. Here is his first column.

To see what we'll be watching in Sunday's game, click here.