Donovan McNabb's assertion that this is a "must-win" game for the Eagles will rightfully get a lot of attention here in Philadelphia.

Out in Chicago, reporters had other things on their minds when McNabb spoke to them on a conference call.

McNabb, of course, is a Chicago native, and his homecomings often bring suggestions about the possibility of his finishing his career there, even with the Bears' acquisition of Jay Cutler.

"That will never stop,'' McNabb said with a laugh, according to the Chicago Tribune. "But Jay's going to be all right. It's still a long season ahead of us. I look for good things to happen over here in Philadelphia, and I'm sure he's looking for the same thing in Chicago.''

McNabb also was asked about his benching against Baltimore last year, in the context of the fate that Cutler might face. The Bears have lost four of their last five games.

"Nobody wants to be benched,'' McNabb said. "I'm sure you guys don't want to be pulled from writing your great articles that you guys write ... a suspension for a week or two. Then you'll probably be outside kicking old papers, sitting on the bench drinking coffee and feeling like nobody loves you.''

*

Meanwhile, cornerback Sheldon Brown, who left the San Diego loss with a strained hamstring, was a limited participant in yesterday's practice. Brown said he felt there was a "good chance" he will be able to continue his streak of 133 successive games played since entering the NFL in 2002. The outlook seemed less promising for weakside linebacker Akeem Jordan. Left tackle Jason Peters practiced and is on track to play in Chicago. 

*

From the Bears' side of the injury report, tight end Desmond Clark (neck), center Olin Kreutz (back) and safety Kevin Payne (back) did not participate in practice. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) and safety Al Afalava (shoulder) were limited participants.

*

To read our earlier report from Eagles' practice, click here.

Eagles coach Andy Reid said Brian Westbrook was undergoing testing in Pittsburgh for his concussions "as we speak" during his morning news conference. "We'll know more on him the next day or two," Reid said.

Reid said Westbrook "didn't seem rattled" when Reid spoke with him Monday. "He was in a good place."

In case there was any doubt, Westbrook will not play Sunday against Chicago.

Westbrook suffered his second concussion in three weeks when he was sandwiched on a screen pass against San Diego. He previously was concussed against Washington and then missed the next two games.

Reid mentioned fullback Leonard Weaver as part of the reason why he didn't feel he needed to make a roster move. The Eagles have rookie LeSean McCoy, Eldra Buckley and recently signed P.J. Hill behind Westbrook, although Hill has not been active since signing with the team.

Reid said McCoy has played better when he got more of the reps during the week in practice. That is the case this week.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said several players who are playing despite repeated concussions. "It's a scary decision you have to make; that's why you go see the specialist," he said.

"I look for him to be back," McNabb said, though "whatever decision Brian makes will be the best decision for him.

"It's out of Brian's hands, it's in God's hands."

In other injury news, Macho Harris is out today with an eye infection, although that is deemed to be not a big deal.

Sheldon Brown is "doing better" with his hamstring injury, Reid said, but he won't practice. 

Akeem Jordan (hyperextended knee) and Quintin Demps (high ankle sprain) also will not practice. Kevin Curtis, recovering from knee surgery, is out against Chicago.

Jason Peters will practice today after sitting out against the Chargers with an ankle injury. 
 

Prime time has not exactly been the right time for the Eagles, at least when it comes to Sunday nights.

The Birds are 0-7 on NBC since the network took over the Sunday night package. That includes the loss to the Cowboys two weeks ago.

On his radio show this week, Eagles coach Andy Reid discounted any tie-in to playing on Sunday nights, dismissing the trend and saying the team just had to worry about the next game.

But, on the other side of the field, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has been awful in the team’s three night games. In those three games, Cutler is 73-for-131 (.557 completion percentage) with three touchdowns and a whopping 11 interceptions. That includes the five against San Francisco last Thursday night. His prime-time passer rating is 49.3. In five day games, Cutler is 138-for-207, with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions for a passer rating of 92.8.

Other than Sunday nights, the Eagles have won in night games, including the win over Washington on Monday Night Football. At one point in the Andy Reid Era, night games were almost automatic W's.

The Birds won 10 straight night games from 2000 to the 2002 season, including a playoff game, and then won six of eight in 2003 and 2004. One of those losses was to Tampa Bay to open the Linc.

Since then, they are 5-14, including a playoff game, but have won three of four, including last season's Thanksgiving win over Arizona, a Monday night win over Cleveland and the Monday night win over Washington this season.

There is no way to know for sure if there is anything beyond the numbers here. One thought is that the networks are trying to put the best matchups in prime time, so the Eagles are playing the tougher games on their schedule in these situations. NFC East games have been a staple of the prime-time schedule.

For the Eagles' sake, though, they hopefully can stop the trend and hope Cutler's trend continues, or the season could be slipping away.

UPDATED: The Eagles have issued a statement from head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder confirming an ESPN report that Brian Westbrook will see concussion specialists tomorrow in Pittsburgh. The statement read: “The Eagles have confirmed a report that RB Brian Westbrook will visit two concussion specialists on Wednesday, November 18 in Pittsburgh, PA. The Eagles will first have Westbrook consult with neuropsychologist Mark R. Lovell, PhD. Following that visit Westbrook and Lovell will consult with neurosurgeon Joseph Maroon, MD. Dr. Lovell has been consulting with the Eagles’ medical staff on Westbrook’s recovery from the first concussion during the past three weeks.”
 

EARLIER:

Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is scheduled to see a concussion specialist in Pittsburgh, possibly as soon as tomorrow, ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting.

A team spokesman has not returned a message from the Daily News. Westbrook's agent, Todd France, did not reply to an email earlier today seeking a comment on Westbrook's condition.

According to the report, Westbrook is to visit the same clinic and hospital that also was visited by Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Bill Romanowski. All retired because of concussions.

Westbrook suffered his second concussion in three weeks when he was sandwiched on a screen pass in the third quarter of the Eagles' loss to the Chargers on Sunday. He also sustained a concussion against Washington on Oct. 26 and sat out the next two games against the New York Giants and Dallas.

On Monday, Eagles coach Andy Reid said it was "too soon" to know whether Westbrook's season was over, but said the team planned to take every possible precautionary measure. "The number one thing is Brian’s health," Reid said. "You can put football aside and make sure that he’s taken care of here.”

*

To read Domo's Second Take from Sunday's game, click here.

Poll: Should Brian Westbrook retire? (4119 votes)

The Eagles are tops in the NFL in converting red-zone possessions into points, but 23d in the league in scoring touchdowns from inside the 20. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)

A closer look at Sunday’s 31-23 loss to the Chargers:

Afterthoughts

* Look for either Quintin Demps or Macho Harris to be the Eagles’ primary kickoff returner this week against the Bears rather than Jeremy Maclin. Harris had two returns for 27 and 30 yards against the Charger, giving the Eagles their two best drive-starts on six Charger kickoffs. Maclin averaged just 18 yards per return on four attempts. His timing with his blockers was off and he didn’t seem to have any feel for finding a crease in the Chargers’ coverage. Maclin also made a poor decision on a second-quarter punt return, foolishly fair-catching a 61-yard bomb by Mike Scifres at the six-yard line that almost certainly would’ve bounced into the end zone. In his defense, he was only returning kicks because of injuries to Ellis Hobbs and Demps and was only returning punts because of DeSean Jackson’s sore ankle.

* One of the most impressive streaks in pro football probably is going to come to an end Sunday. Cornerback Sheldon Brown has played in 133 straight games for the Eagles, which just happens to be every game the team has played since it drafted him out of the University of South Carolina in 2002. But unless he makes a miraculous recovery from what appears be a fairly serious hamstring injury, he’ll be on the sideline this week for the first time in his pro career. The difference between Brown and a paycheck-collector like left tackle Jason Peters, who chose not to play Sunday because his sprained ankle still was sore, was evident in the third quarter when the already injured Brown returned to the game and tried to play. Unfortunately for him, he ended up injuring the hamstring worse.

* Right guard Stacy Andrews is getting absolutely no explosion on his run-blocks. He also got beaten in pass-protection on the Eagles’ last scoring drive. McNabb threw the ball away just as he was about to get sacked by Andrews’ man.

* Even though his line did a good job of blocking for him Sunday, it’s clear McNabb has little faith in the unit right now. He unnecessarily hurried several throws Sunday mainly because he doesn’t trust his protection. Perfect example: early in the fourth quarter, he missed a wide-open Leonard Weaver at the goal line because he rushed the pass even though no one was getting pressure on him.

* DeSean Jackson has done a good job returning punts this season. But he needs to realize he’s not in the Pac-10 anymore and is not going to be able to beat everybody around the corner. He needs to cut it upfield more often rather than always looking for the big-kill on the perimeter.

* The Eagles committed nine penalties in the game, but the one that might’ve hurt them the most was the offsides call on cornerback Ramzee Robinson on a third-and-2 play at the Eagles' 25 late in the third quarter. The Eagles stopped Darren Sproles for a 1-yard loss on the play, which likely would’ve brought Nate Kaeding on to try a 44-yard field field goal.

* Instead, the Chargers got a first down and scored on the very next play when Asante Samuel temporarily went brain dead and left wide receiver Legedu Naanee wide-open in the end zone. Naanee caught an easy 20-yard touchdown pass from Rivers that gave the Chargers a 28-9 lead.

* With Westbrook out indefinitely, expect teams to blitz the Eagles more frequently to take advantage of LeSean McCoy’s inexperience as a blocker. It’s probably going to force Marty Mornhinweg and Andy Reid to use fewer three- and four-wide receiver sets or use fullback Leonard Weaver more often in one-back sets. McCoy’s inexperience in blitz-pickup reared its ugly head again late in the third quarter when he failed to pick up safety Paul Oliver, who came through clean on a perfectly-timed blitz and nailed McNabb for a nine-yard loss.

Did You Notice?

* The excellent job tackles Todd Herremans and Winston Justice did in pass-protection against Chargers linebackers Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips. Merriman and Phillips, who had combined for nine sacks in the previous three games, had no sacks and one collective hurry against the Eagles.

* Right end Trent Cole lined up much of the game on the left side, matched up against right tackle Jeromey Clary rather than on the right side against the Chargers’ best offensive lineman, Marcus McNeill. The strategy didn’t really work, though. For the first time all season, Cole didn’t have a sack or a hurry. In fact, he had just one tackle the entire game.

* Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott rotated the ends in his base package pretty liberally Sunday, replacing Cole and Juqua Parker with Jason Babin and Darren Howard.

* Chris Gocong, who not only was making his first start at middle linebacker for the first time since high school, but also was in an unfamiliar role replacing injured Akeem Jordan in the Eagles’ nickel package, was slow to read Legudu Naamee’s Wildcat run on a second-and-10 on the Chargers’ second possession. He got blocked inside by center Scott Mruczkowski, giving Naamee a seam on the left perimeter where he picked up 10 yards and the first down. Two plays later, Gocong got beat by fullback Mike Tolbert on a pass over the middle. Gocong thought Tolbert was going to take his route to the outside, but he cut inside. LaDainian Tomlinson’s three-yard second-quarter touchdown run also went through Gocong’s gap. Gocong also was one of several defenders who couldn’t get off blocks on Tomlinson’s 20-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. I would guess he’s looking forward to returning to the strong side once Jordan returns and Will Witherspoon moves back to the middle.

* Jason Avant’s failure to pick up safety Steve Gregory on that doomed end-around or double-reverse of whatever it was supposed to be on the Eagles’ second possession. Jeremy Maclin, who ended up with the ball on the first-down play, was tackled for a six-yard loss. Then, instead of trying to set up a makeable third-down situation, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg called for a low-percentage downfield pass to little-used Reggie Brown, who was well-covered.

* Speaking of Brown, he wasn’t little-used Sunday. According to our calculations, he was on the field for 20 of the Eagles’ 71 offensive snaps Sunday, and played pretty well. He had two receptions for 36 yards. Had another 25-yard reception that was negated by a holding penalty on Todd Herremans.

* McNabb had Brian Westbrook wide open – and I’m talking WIDE OPEN – not once but twice on their failed goal-to-go drive at the end of the first half, but never saw him. On the first play, McNabb threw a hurried off-his-back-foot pass to DeSean Jackson over the middle that landed at Jackson’s feet, even though the quarterback wasn’t under immediate duress. On third-and-goal, with Westbrook open on the left side again, McNabb threw a dump-off to the right side to tight end Brent Celek. The play gained just two yards.

* Westbrook did a nice job of picking up linebacker Brandon Siler on a blitz two plays before his concussion. But Siler ended up sacking McNabb anyway when the quarterback inadvertently tripped over him while he still was on the ground.

* Rookie linebacker Moise Fokou added to his penalty total Sunday, picking up a dumb penalty for an out-of-bounds hit on LaDainian Tomlinson. It wasn’t a malicious hit, but Tomlinson clearly was out of bounds. Fokou has commited four penalties in the last three games, including two on special teams.

* The Eagles’ unsuccessful blitz attempt on a first-down play at their 40-yard line midway through the third quarter. They sent safety Quintin Mikell and linebackers Moise Fokou and Chris Gocong after Rivers and had defensive end Trent Cole drop back into coverage. But no one picked up Antonio Gates, who took a dump-off from Rivers and gained 20 yards before he was brought down.

* Maclin, who had six receptions for 76 yards and a TD, added to his list of big blocks against the Chargers. He had a downfield block on Gregory on Jason Avant’s 58-yard catch and run in the third quarter that allowed Avant to get the final 10 yards.

* The incredible one-handed catch by Avant for a 21-yard gain and a first down on a third-and-19 at the end of the third quarter.

* The Chargers curiously rushed just three defenders on McNabb’s 5-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Maclin. Maclin still managed to get open when cornerback Antoine Cason, who was covering him, left him alone to go cover LeSean McCoy.

Best Catch

Jason Avant’s leaping, acrobatic one-handed grab for a 21-yard gain on a third-and-19 pass from McNabb at the end of the third quarter. It was one of Avant’s career-high eight catches. Six of those eight grabs went for first downs. For the season, all but seven of his 23 catches have been for first downs.

McNabb’s Best Pass

Fourth-and-4 at the San Diego 28 with 8:34 left in the fourth quarter. With Chargers defensive tackle Alphonso Boone in his face, he drills a strike to tight end Brent Celek for a 17-yard gain and a first down to keep the drive alive.

Just Wondering

If McNabb hadn’t hit Celek for a six-yard touchdown on a third-and-5 play from the San Diego 6 with 7:13 left in the game and the Eagles trailing, 28-16, would Andy Reid have sent out David Akers rather than go for it?

By the Numbers

* Three of the Eagles’ nine penalties Sunday were against their special teams units, bringing to 17 the total number of special teams penalties through nine games. The Eagles have committed 67 penalties overall. The three penalties on the special teams units were the second most of the season. They had five in the Eagles’ Week 2 loss to the Saints.

* McNabb’s fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Maclin and Celek were his first fourth-quarter TD throws of the season.

* The Eagles ran 43 of their 71 offensive plays Sunday out of three-wide receiver sets, either with one back and one tight (most of the time) or two backs. They used a four-wide receiver set 11 times and zero- (twice), one- or two-wide sets 17 times.

Reno Mahe won't be home for Thanksgiving this year. While others are eating turkey and watching football, he'll be in American Samoa, helping victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the island in late September.

The 29-year-old former Eagles running back/punt returner said he got involved when Gabe Reid, a former tight end with the Bears, asked for help in collecting clothing for the victims.

The pair have Samoan roots, are both Mormons, were teammates at Brigham Young and are in business together.

Mahe said he thought the NFL might like to get involved, in part because of the lengthy list of players with Samoan backgrounds. According to several Web sites, there are currently 28 Samoans playing in the league.

Mahe called Eagles coach Andy Reid, who called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who called Mahe. The result?

The NFL and the NFL Players Association are contributing $50,000 to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts and sending Mahe and Gabe Reid along goodwill ambassadors.

"It [the tsunami] was getting a lot of attention early," Mahe told the Daily News yesterday. "Then it just died out in the media. But there is still a need there. We're going over there to help . . . to say thank you to the Red Cross and FEMA workers. We'll be there for 9 days."

While at BYU, Mahe said he always regretted choosing football over participating in a 2-year service mission, which, while not required, is customary among young Mormons.

Might this, in some small way, make up for that?

"Yeah, in some way. But 9 days won't replace 2 years," Mahe said. "It's going to take me the rest of my life to pay that back."

Mahe, who played for the Eagles from 2003-08 and led the league in punt returning in 2005, said he still has fond memories of Philadelphia.

Perhaps with Brian Westbrook out with a concussion, he'd like to come back and help out?

"I don't think so," he said with a laugh. "Unless they're going to give me a really sweet signing bonus."

-- Tom Mahon

*

Surprising decision to dress corner Ramzee Robinson, an Eagle for five days who couldn’t possibly know the defense, ahead of Jack Ikegwuonu, who’s been practicing all season and studying the scheme for a year and a half.

This can’t say good things about Ikegwuonu’s progress, as he tries to strengthen the leg muscles around his devastating 2008 knee injury.

It’ll be interesting to see if Ikegwuonu has a role this week, should Sheldon Brown be sidelined by his hamstring injury.

I was thinking that since Quintin Demps apparently was close to being able to go at San Diego, maybe he’ll play in the dime or something at Chicago, but when Andy Reid used the term “high ankle sprain” yesterday in describing Demps’ injury, well, that didn’t sound good. Study hard, Ramzee.

-- Les Bowen

*

The desperation is evident in Chicago. The Bears have lost four of their last five and had a 75-minute practice Monday after taking three days off following a loss to San Francisco on Thursday night. In a different situation, the players might have been off yesterday as well.

''When I say the wall is on our back, that's what that means,'' defensive tackle Tommie Harris said, according to the Chicago Tribune. ''We have to win out. We have no room to get any more losses. If you lose again, you're going to be hoping that another team loses for you to get in. You don't want to be in that position. We were in that position last year. It's basically in our hands right now.''

On the injury front, strong safety Al Afalava (right shoulder) practiced and so did cornerback Zack Bowman, who left the 49ers game with an abdominal injury.

Left tackle Orlando Pace practiced even though he said Thursday he believed he suffered a concussion.

''I don't know [if I had a concussion],'' Pace told the Tribune. ''I'm going to take my test right now. I felt pretty good, and we didn't have any contact, either.''

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.

*

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.