Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune pointed something out in his article Wednesday that I'm kicking myself for not including earlier in the week.

It focuses on the way the Eagles and Saints ended last weekend's game.

On the Birds' final offensive drive, which started with 47 seconds left, it appeared that things would play out the way we're used to in the NFL.

On three consecutive plays, New Orleans rushed four linemen as Kevin Kolb dropped back to pass. He found tight end Brent Celek for an 11-yard gain with seven seconds left. 

That's when Joe Buck announced "That should do it. ... And no, it won't do it because Philadelphia calls a timeout. Wow."

Most watching, including those in our chat, had the same reaction. A timeout with seven seconds left when you're down 21 points in Week 2? Why not just head to the locker room and start healing for Week 3?

But as we've seen with Andy Reid many times through the years, if he has a chance to get another offensive play in, he's probably going to go ahead and do it.

And so Kolb and company returned to the field for one more play. But this time, instead of just rushing four, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams brought two defensive backs from the left side on a blitz. They pressured Kolb and forced his third interception.

I love this kind of stuff. I have no problem with Reid calling timeout. If he wanted to get Kolb another play and maybe send a message to his players, that's fine with me.

At the same time, I have no problem with Williams sending blitzers. If the Eagles were trying to score, the Saints had every right to try and stop them. That's the way it works. Regardless of the circumstances.

It should be noted that on the Eagles' previous drive, when Kolb was pick-sixed by Darren Sharper, the Saints' defense was blitzing. That was with 1:10 left.

And even earlier in the fourth quarter (just over nine minutes left, Eagles trailing, 41-20), Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver said she heard Williams on the sideline telling the defense to finish strong. Per Oliver, Williams told his players that he wanted "to see Kevin Kolb punished."

Maybe this all amounts to nothing. Or maybe we reference this blog post in January when the Eagles and Saints are meeting in the playoffs. As we know, a lot can happen between now and then.

One other note that I could use some help from you all on. After Reid called the timeout, the camera shifted to the Saints' sideline. Drew Brees was talking to some assistants and players. At one point, he makes a gesture, pointing to his ring finger and says something, but I cannot make out the words. Too bad we don't have Jerry's girlfriend around to help us out (clip below). Brees' actions could be totally unrelated to the timeout. Or not. I have no idea. Just something to point out in case anyone has some insight.

Much more later today. We'll take a look at the Eagles from a national perspective after two weeks and get a visit from our friend Dave Staley of sportsbook.com. The Web site has yet to list a line or over/under for Sunday's game against the Saints.

After two weeks, the Eagles have accumulated 16 penalties for 121 yards.

Only seven NFL teams have been called for more.

Each week, we'll take a look at the Eagles' penalty breakdown for the season. What players are constantly costing the Eagles? Is it mainly the offense, defense or special teams? And so on.

This is the first time so I didn't get too in-depth. It's just meant to take a quick look at the penalties. If there is something more specific you'd like to see, e-mail me or comment below.

Here are the numbers after the first two weeks.

Number of penalties

Jason Peters - 2
DeSean Jackson - 2
Nick Cole - 2
Stacy Andrews - 2
Juqua Parker - 1
Quintin Demps - 1
Sean Jones - 1
Chris Clemons - 1
Joselio Hanson - 1
Leonard Weaver - 1
Tracy White - 1

Note: The Eagles' defense was called for an offsides in Week 1, but it was not attributed to any one player. Also, penalties that were declined were not included in the breakdown.

Penalty yards

D. Jackson - 20
Parker - 15
Demps - 15
Clemons - 11
Peters - 10
Andrews - 10
Cole - 10
Jones - 10
White - 6
Hanson - 5
Weaver - 3

By unit

Offense - 8 for 50
Defense - 2 for 21
Special teams - 6 for 50

The Eagles' defense had a rough time dealing with Drew Brees and the Saints' offense. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer)

Yesterday we went through the offense player-by-player.

Today, it's the defense.

Asante Samuel - A day to forget for Samuel. On TV, it was tough to tell what kind of defense the Eagles were in when Drew Brees hit Marques Colston on the opening touchdown, but he was the closest man to the Saints' WR. It looked like he thought he had safety help from Quintin Mikell. Samuel had a chance to bring down Reggie Bush for a loss on 2nd-and-1 in the first quarter but was the recipient of a stiff-arm. He was matched up one-on-one with Devery Henderson on a 3rd-and-12 in the second quarter and was nowhere near the receiver, who picked up 17 yards. Samuel also gave a big cushion to Colston on a 13-yard gain in the third quarter. If you re-watch the game, you'll notice that Samuel stayed in for the next play but then was replaced by Ellis Hobbs for the remainder of the series. He didn't appear to be injured. This was before he suffered the stinger. Was this Sean McDermott's way of sending a message to Samuel to not give up so much ground? Or was there another reason for his removal? Samuel did bring down TE David Thomas 1 yard short of the marker on third down later in the game. It wasn't exactly a textbook tackle, but it got the job done.

Sheldon Brown - Solid tackle on Colston down near the goal line to save a touchdown and force a Saints field goal. Brown was right on Henderson on a 3rd-and-11 play that went for 38 yards in the second half. I’m still trying to figure out how Brees fit the ball in that space. It looked like the Eagles played Brown at safety at times and had Mikell cover a Saints receiver or tight end. Also, did you notice who was one of the guys most excited for Kevin Kolb after his first touchdown pass? That's right. It was Brown pumping up the young QB on the sidelines.

Joselio Hanson - He brought Bush down for a loss of 4 in the second quarter on a run play. Hanson was right on Colston during his second touchdown, but the wide receiver just made a great play. Sometimes you have to give the opponent credit (only sometimes, though).

Quintin Mikell - As I mentioned above, Samuel was looking to him for help on Colston’s first touchdown. Against the run, Mikell pretty much played like a linebacker since the team's LBs were getting pushed around. He led the Eagles with 11 tackles. Mikell brought down Mike Bell for a loss on the Saints’ third drive. He lined up at cornerback a couple times, like in the second quarter when he found himself on Devery Henderson, who beat him for a 16-yard gain. Mikell missed a tackle on Bush on a 30-yard completion during the Saints’ scoring drive at the end of the first half. He was also unable to bring Bush down on his 19-yard TD run.

Macho Harris - Two games in, and we're not sure what the Eagles have in Harris. He hasn't made many plays, but he doesn't appear to have made many errors either. Harris flipped Jeremy Shockey 2 yards short of a first down to force a first-half punt. He missed a tackle on Heath Evans' TD in the third quarter, but then again, who didn't? Good hit by Harris on a checkdown pass to Evans late in the third quarter. It was initially ruled a fumble but then reversed, which was the right call.

Victor Abiamiri - The Saints ran at him all day. Abiamiri was fooled by a fake handoff on a 15-yard end around to Robert Meachem during the Saints’ first drive. Bell cut back for a 23-yard gain through a hole on the right side later in the game. And Bush gained 7 going right at him. Abiamiri got tossed aside on the third-quarter TD run by Bell and also on a 16-yard run by Bell in the fourth quarter. It seemed like the Saints had less success going at Abiamiri in the second half, but the Eagles' DE, who was likely not 100 percent, had a rough day.

Juqua Parker - He picked up a sack and forced a fumble late in the first half, but the Saints recovered. It really could have been a big play had the Eagles been able to come up with the ball.

Mike Patterson - As stated above, most of the Saints' successful running plays went right at Abiamiri. The tackles did not play as well as last week, but were not bad. Patterson made a nice play on a screen pass to Pierre Thomas, combining with Akeem Jordan to drop him for a 4-yard loss. He also did a nice job bringing down Bell near the line of scrimmage during last play of the third quarter.

Broderick Bunkley - He somehow went untouched on a 2nd-and-goal play, got in Brees’ face quickly and forced an incompletion in the third quarter. Bunkley was double-teamed on a 7-yard run by Bell, which went for a first down. And he got turned around on Bush’s 19-yard touchdown run.

Trevor Laws - He alternated series' with Bunkley early on. Laws' pressure up the middle helped Trent Cole pick up the Eagles’ first sack. Will be interesting to see how Sean McDermott rotates him in going forward.

Trent Cole - As usual, the energy was there from Cole, but the Saints did a good job of keeping him away from Brees. That included reserve left tackle Jermon Bushrod really competing. I thought Cole would eat him up, but it didn't happen. The Saints gave Bushrod help at times, and Brees was a master of getting rid of the ball quickly and feeling the pressure. Cole did sack Brees once during the Saints’ second offensive drive. And he was credited with a tackle for loss.

Akeem Jordan - He had by far the best day of any Eagles linebacker. Jordan made an athletic interception in the third quarter, batting the ball to himself before coming down with it. He had a few nice plays against the run, finishing with nine tackles and three for loss. On the downside, Jordan missed a tackle on the Evans TD in the third quarter.

Chris Gocong - Tough to come up with much on Gocong, and that's a bad thing. He was rarely around the ball and really didn't make a play all day. On Bell's 23-yard run in the first quarter, he was blitzing, which opened up a huge hole. Only two tackles in the game.

Omar Gaither - He got pushed around on most of the Saints' effective run plays. Gaither was nowhere to be found on Bell’s 23-yard run in the first quarter. He just looked to be a step or two behind on several plays and performed poorly against the run.

Chris Clemons - We covered his special teams penalties earlier in the week. Clemons was absolutely mauled by right tackle Jonathan Stinchcomb during the Saints’ scoring drive at the end of the first half, but the refs completely missed what should have been a holding or illegal hands to the face penalty. Like his teammates, Clemons was unable to get to Brees all day.

Some other notes:

** The Eagles had only 10 players on the field during a 3rd-and-goal play in the first quarter. Hanson tried to call timeout but didn’t get the referees’ attention in time. The defense stopped New Orleans short of the end zone anyway.

** Defensive tackle Antonio Dixon got into the game in the third quarter.

** Jason Babin saw his first action as an Eagle in the fourth quarter.

View gallery

Last week, I re-watched the Eagles' win over the Panthers and wrote separate, player-by-player entries for both the offense and the defense.

Some of you seemed to enjoy the posts so I decided we'll do them every week.

The feature will be called Man up as we go man-by-man, dissecting how pretty much every active Eagles player performed in the previous week's game.

As you know by now, I am a blogger for the people so if you have suggestions, feedback, etc. for this feature, let me know.

By the way, I'll take the Colts (-3) over the Dolphins tonight.

On to the breakdown:

Kevin Kolb - Have to start with him, right? Overall, he had good spots and bad spots, but exceeded expectations. Let's start with the good. When the game was still in hand, Kolb did a good job of taking care of the ball. Two INTs came in the final 1:16. He displayed good toughness in the pocket. On a third down in the second quarter, Kolb absorbed a blow from blitzing DB Randall Gay but still delivered a strike to Jason Avant for a first down. He did the same thing when DE Will Smith was in his face, finding LeSean McCoy. Kolb's 71-yard pass to DeSean Jackson on the Eagles' first drive was pretty. On the final drive of the first half, he made quick decisions and good throws to set up a field goal. Now on to the bad. Late in the second quarter, bad decision on the 14th play of the Eagles' drive. He was looking in Celek's direction and should have been picked off by Anthony Hargrove. That would have been a devastating turnover, but Hargrove couldn't hang on. Kolb struggled throwing the slant, once missing Brian Westbrook and once missing Jackson. For his first start in the NFL, Kolb played well. Andy Reid is right to give him the start next week if Donovan McNabb can't go.

Leonard Weaver - He made a nice block to cut down Saints DE Charles Grant in the second quarter on a 16-yard run by Westbrook out of the Wildcat. Had an opportunity to make a nice TD reception on the pass from Westbrook, but the ball was behind him. Weaver still had a chance but couldn't reel it in.

Brian Westbrook - Rare for a guy to still be able to impress week after week at this point in his career. Westbrook left the game in the fourth quarter, and easily could have sat out, given the score. But he tried to test his ankle before eventually realizing he couldn't go. That's why he's probably the most respected guy on the team and an all-time Eagles great. As for his performance, Westbrook carried 13 times for 52 yards. As usual, he did a good job picking up the blitz on multiple occasions.

Winston Justice - He was a major bright spot on an otherwise dim day. By my count, Justice got significantly less help than a week ago. In the second half, particularly, he was on his own, mostly lined up with Grant. In the run game, Justice looked powerful on the Eagles' second drive, moving Saints defensive lineman Bobby McCray out of the way on a 6-yard Westbrook run. He created space for a 4-yard Westbrook run in the third quarter and a 6-yard gain by McCoy in the fourth. Good recognition and execution in picking up a blitzing Scott Fujita on a second-quarter completion to Jeremy Maclin. Even more encouraged by Justice than I was last week.

Max Jean-Gilles - He was probably the Eagles' best offensive lineman in the first half. Jean-Gilles delivered a punishing block on a 16-yard Wildcat run by Westbrook in the second quarter. When asked to get to the next level on a shovel pass, Jean-Gilles did a decent job, although he didn't look as athletic as some of the team's other linemen. MJG got beat once by Hargrove on a passing play in third quarter. And he looked like he released too early and got Kolb nailed on a screen attempt in the fourth. Jean-Gilles got beat by Hargrove again in the fourth quarter on a pass play where Kolb got rid of the ball just in time to avoid a sack.

Jamaal Jackson - Did a nice job early on in the run game, opening holes for Westbrook on a 4-yard gain and a 6-yard gain. Didn't perform as well on plays like screens that required more athleticism. There was also some miscommunication along the line (see below), some of which has to fall on the center, but more fairly is probably due to the lack of continuity.

Nick Cole - He did not play as well as Week 1. Cole did a good job early, opening a hole for a 7-yard run by Westbrook out of the Wildcat. But he was also whistled for a false start and completely whiffed on a block late in the second quarter as the Saints stuffed Westbrook for no gain.

Jason Peters - For the most part, a very solid performance. Peters did not let his man get anywhere near Kolb until the fourth quarter when he was beat badly by McCray, who picked up a blindside sack. Peters did not get to show the athleticism we saw in the run game against the Panthers, but he did open up a nice hole for Westbrook on a 7-yard run early on out of the Wildcat.

Brent Celek - Maybe someone on the Saints' defense made fun of him as a kid or stole his girlfriend in high school because Celek was playing like a man possessed. As a receiver, Celek caught eight balls for 104 yards. On 2nd-and-6 in the second quarter, he caught a pass from Kolb at the line of scrimmage, met Saints CB Jabari Greer 2 yards short of the first down and just battled his way to the marker. On 3rd-and-7 in the second quarter, he did the same thing, but this time to linebacker Scott Shanle (6-2, 245). Reid patted him on the backside after the play, and a pumped up Celek seemed unsure of what to do. He ended up delivering a rather tame first-down signal. Celek also did a better job as a blocker, specifically on a couple Wildcat runs by Westbrook and Jackson.

DeSean Jackson - Four catches for 101 yards and the big 71-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. Out of the Wildcat, Jackson had multiple plays where he simply beat the Saints defenders with his speed. Overall, three carries for 15 yards. Seems to really have a knack for getting to the first-down marker as a runner. On the downside, Jackson was whistled for a false start and made a bad decision fielding a punt inside the 5 at the end of the first half.

Jason Avant - Another good performance from the MTC favorite. Avant had seven catches for 79 yards. Great job on the touchdown to get his hands underneath the ball on the low throw. Had his usual big third-down catches, two by our count. And Avant did a nice job blocking on a Wildcat run by Jackson in the second quarter.

Kevin Curtis - It was tough to tell whether he dropped a pass in the first quarter or if CB Tracy Porter deflected it. Overall had three catches for 44 yards. Two of those came on the Eagles' final drive of the first half, which set up a field goal. For some reason the Eagles took a couple shots deep to him down the sideline, even though he didn't look like he could go full speed because of the injury and didn't get much separation.

Jeremy Maclin - Made his first career catch on the Eagles' first offensive play from scrimmage and had two overall for 12 yards. Also was involved in the Wildcat although he did not have any carries.

Other notes:

** Really liked seeing Kolb's teammates mob him after the early touchdown pass to Jackson. McNabb, Sheldon Brown, team trainer Rick Burkholder. Everyone was patting him on the helmet. That kind of thing is tough to fake. His teammates looked genuinely excited for him. A great sign for any young quarterback.

** As I mentioned above, some miscommunication along the offensive line, likely due to a lack of continuity. Roman Harper came up the middle untouched through the gap between Jackson and Cole to sack Kolb in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, Kolb felt immediate pressure from a blitzer who rushed through the gap between Peters and Cole.

** Overall the Eagles had success in the Wildcat, but one play to get rid of is the one where Maclin handed off to Westbrook, who pitched it to Kolb, who was then supposed to find a receiver. Takes way too long to develop and seems like a turnover waiting to happen.

Special teams played a major factor in the Eagles' 48-22 loss to the Saints Sunday.

To see just how many mistakes were made by this unit, I went back and re-watched every special teams play. Here's a rundown, error by error:

Mishap 1 - Sean Jones, in his first action with the Eagles, is called for a holding penalty, which sets the Eagles back to their own 15 yard line. To Jones' credit, he did make a nice tackle on the Eagles' opening kickoff.

Mishap 2 - DeSean Jackson calls for a fair catch, but (surprise) a flag on the play. This one on Chris Clemons for unnecessary roughness. A 15-yard personal foul -- half the distance to the goal, giving the Eagles' offense the ball at their own 12 yard line. So on the Eagles' first two possessions they started at their own 15 and their own 12. Not exactly helping out a QB making his first career start.

Mishap 3 - Still in the first quarter, mind you, the Eagles are called for an illegal shift on a punt. Joselio Hanson and Quintin Mikell are the players targeted by the official. Sav Rocca's first punt was a good one, a 57-yarder, which would have given the Saints possession at their own 30 yard line. But he was asked to re-kick. And the second one was ugly. It went just 34 yards and gave New Orleans the ball at its own 47. A huge penalty. A difference of 17 yards. The Saints ended up with a field goal on the ensuing drive.

Mishap 4 - I wrote this one down while watching the game. Not a smart play by Jackson. With the score tied at 10, the Eagles were set to receive the punt with 1:57 left in the first half. Jackson backpedaled and fielded it at his own 4 yard line, an obvious no-no. If he lets it go, maybe the Saints down the ball inside the 5. But way more likely, the ball bounces into the end zone and the offense starts at its own 20. Jackson's teammates, undoubtedly surprised at his decision, delivered two blocks in the back. One on Clemons (mentioned above) and the other on Leonard Weaver. The Eagles' offense ended up beginning the drive at its own 3 yard line and went three-and-out. The Saints wisely used their timeouts and got another shot from their own 46 with 1:20 left. It took Brees all of two plays to get in the end zone from there.

Mishap 5 - I wrote about this one right after the game, and it was a momentum-shifter. Ellis Hobbs fumbled the opening kickoff at the start of the second half. It was a good play by Saints rookie Malcolm Jenkins, but it goes without saying that you have to do a better job of protecting the football.

Mishap 6 - It was just comical at this point. With the Eagles trailing, 31-13, in the third quarter, Tracy White was called for holding on a kickoff return. Half the distance to the goal (a commonly used term Sunday). By the way, White is on the roster because of his skills on special teams. That should tell you what kind of day it was for this unit.

Mishap 7 - Hobbs took a third-quarter kickoff 63 yards. Why is this a mishap, you ask? Because his celebration afterwards was so over the top it was beyond ridiculous. I'm generally in favor of players expressing themselves and celebrating, but time and place, people. The Eagles were down 34-13, and Hobbs' earlier fumble changed the complexion of the game. Hobbs pointed to himself and jumped around, but it looked like his teammates knew better. They offered high fives, but nothing more. And if you listen to the fans, it's as if they don't know exactly how to react. Most likely sharing the same reaction as me.

Mishap 8 - Rocca's worst punt of the day drew boos from the frustrated crowd at the Linc. Any time the camera follows the punt and then stops around midfield, you know it's probably not a very good one. This punt went just 26 yards, out of bounds to the Saints' 48 yard line.

So there you have it. Overall six penalties (one declined), a turnover, a costly decision not to let the ball go in the end zone, an ill-advised celebration and two terrible punts.

Unbelievable that they were able to fit so much into one game.

Keep in mind that the Saints' special teams were terrible in Week 1 against the Lions. They allowed a big punt return, a big kickoff return, fumbled a punt and had a field goal blocked. I really thought the Eagles had an edge here going in.

Special teams coach Ted Daisher seemed to really be taking this unit in the right direction during training camp, but it's clear he has a lot of work to do.

Last week in this space, we were singing the praises of Sean McDermott and the Eagles' defense.

And rightfully so.

The Birds had forced turnover after turnover and shut down one of the league's best rushing attacks in their opener against the Panthers.

Quite a difference a week can make.

Today, the Saints' offense and Drew Brees picked apart McDermott's unit to the tune of 423 total yards and 23 first downs. Probably more surprising than Brees' success was New Orleans' ability to run the ball. Mike Bell carried 17 times for 86 yards, and the Saints averaged 4.6 yards per carry as a team.

Through the air, the Eagles had all kinds of trouble with big target Marques Colston, who had eight catches for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Eagles safety Quintin Mikell said the real Eagles defense is the unit we saw in Week 1.

"We're the team that we had last week," Mikell said. "This week, it's almost a game where you gotta watch the film, learn from it and move on. That's just not what we do around here. We were playing on our heels. We weren't playing aggressive. You can't do that against a good team. And they're a good team. They came out and they made a lot of good plays. But I feel like we're a good team too. We just didn't play our best game tonight."

The Saints often started their drives with great field position, but the Eagles looked confused at times, missed tackles and got little pressure on Brees.

The Eagles will get a break in terms of matchups in the coming weeks. The next four games are against the Chiefs, Bucs, Raiders and Redskins. None of those teams feature prolific offenses.

But on this day, they had no answers for the Saints.

Earlier we posted on the Ellis Hobbs fumble.

At halftime, the Eagles were probably feeling pretty good about themselves.

Kevin Kolb and the offense went 65 yards in 43 seconds to set up a 32-yard field goal by David Akers, cutting the Saints' lead to 17-13 to close out the second quarter.

Kolb had exceeded expectations through the first 30 minutes. The offensive line had played well. And while the defense certainly was not doing much to limit Drew Brees and company, it had kept the Eagles in the game.

But after the intermission, momentum swung immediately.

Ellis Hobbs did not feel Malcolm Jenkins charging behind him, and the rookie stripped knocked the football out of his hands. The Saints recovered and the offense took over at the Eagles' 22 yard line.

Three plays later, it was 24-13.

The Hobbs play was just one part of a sloppy effort by the Eagles on special teams.

Field position was a huge factor in the second half. The Saints started touchdown drives at the Eagles' 22, the Eagles' 24 and their own 48.

Can't give Brees and company that kind of field position and still expect to be in the game.

Much more to come shortly.

When the Eagles released Hank Baskett earlier this week, most assumed they would activate either Reggie Brown or rookie Brandon Gibson today.

Brown seemed like the more likely candidate, but a few minutes ago we found out neither guy will suit up.

That gives the Eagles four wide receivers: DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant and rookie Jeremy Maclin.

It's an interesting move. No depth if one of the guys goes down. And it remains to be seen how comfortable Maclin is with all of the playbook. He did not have a reception in Week 1.

Free-agent acquisition Sean Jones will be in the lineup for the first time, prsumably to back up Macho Harris.

Also seeing his first action as an Eagle will be defensive end Jason Babin. As I mentioned yesterday, the Birds should be able to take advantage of Saints LT Jermon Bushrod. Last week, Sean McDermott used several defensive linemen throughout the game, but of course, he had that luxury after the Eagles went up big in the second quarter.

As for Brown, he told reporters earlier this week he didn't want to get his hopes up yet about playing, just because the Eagles released Baskett.

"I don't know if I'm up, so I can't get excited," he said, per Birds' Eye View. "I just want to play. Hopefully I'll get an opportunity to play and I can make the best of it."

Looks like he was right.

If you're wondering why the Eagles got rid of Baskett instead of Brown, check out Paul Domowitch's excellent breakdown from Friday about the camp hit the Birds would be on the hook for if they released Brown.

I'm back at 1 for the chat.

And earlier, we posted the roundup of national picks.

Join me for a live chat during today's Eagles-Saints game at 1 p.m.

In the meantime, our weekly look at national predictions:

SI.com's Peter King goes with the Saints, 29-20:

With or without Donovan McNabb, the Eagles won't find a way to stop the hottest quarterback on the planet, Drew Brees.

Seven of eight ESPN experts go with New Orleans.

FoxSports.com experts are split, with three picking the Eagles and three picking the Saints.

CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco has the Eagles winning, 30-27:

This game loses some luster with Donovan McNabb almost certainly out. That means Kevin Kolb steps in at quarterback for the Eagles. He might be forced to keep up against a Saints offense that saw Drew Brees throw six touchdown passes last week. He won't have that same success here against the Eagles. But Kolb will need to play well. I think he does.

Two of three Yahoo experts and 75 percent of Yahoo users like New Orleans.

Pro Football Talk has the Eagles earning a 31-21 victory:

Lost in the consternation regarding Donovan McNabb’s broken rib is the fact that the Philly defense shattered the spirit of Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme. And even without defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, safety Brian Dawkins, and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, the Eagles haven’t missed a beat.

All six writers from the New Orleans Times-Picayune pick the Saints.