After watching one of the most unprecedented Sundays in NFL history, philly.com intern Andrew Holland is back to deliver this week's Eagles links.

And for more Eagles news, be sure to check out philly.com's Eagles section for the best local coverage from The Inquirer and Daily News.

SI.com's Peter King has the Eagles 11th in his power rankings:

Imagine the team that tied Cincinnati and got manhandled by Baltimore winning four out of five to sneak in. And I assume the Eagles will be favored to win their playoff game at the Vikes.

SI.com's King names Brian Dawkins his Defensive Player of the Week. Dawkins was named the NFC's Defensive Player of the Month:

The savvy veteran forced two fumbles, the second resulting in the icing on the cake in an incredible 44-6 mauling of the Dallas Cowboys. That forced fumble led to a Joselio Hanson recovery and 96-yard romp for a touchdown. Dawkins, the career leader in games played for Philadelphia, will remember this one for a long time.

ESPN.com has the Eagles ranked 11th in its power rankings:

What an amazing turn of events Sunday. This team will be dangerous in January.

ESPN.com's Gregg Easterbrook says the Eagles turned out to be right when they chose to play for the tie against Cincinnati:

It turns out Philadelphia was right to play for a tie in that excruciating 13-13 overtime snorefest against Cincinnati. Had the Eagles gambled to win and lost, they would have finished 9-7 and tiebreakers would have sent Tampa to the postseason.

CBSsports.com's Pete Prisco has the Eagles ranked ninth in his power rankings:

The defense has been playing great down the stretch. This might be the team that gets hot in the playoffs.

CBSsports.com's Prisco also picks the Eagles to win this Sunday. 

I'll take Donovan McNabb over Jackson in this game. The Eagles, with all their playoff experience, might be dangerous the next few weeks. They've already defeated the Giants in New York, so there is no fear there if they beat the Vikings and move on to play the Giants.

FoxSports.com's Howie Long says the Eagles look like a scary team to face in the playoffs:

Right now, they look like a scary team to play in the playoffs because they finally have a semblance of balance on offense. They are also scary when defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is dialing up the right blitzes because they invariably force offenses into mistakes.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports says the Eagles are a serious threat in the playoffs:

First, the defense is healthy, and the secondary finally is living up to its talent level. Second, Donovan McNabb has cut down on his turnovers, which were putting the defense in bad spots in the middle of the season. Third, the Philadelphia Eagles are riding more momentum coming off the Dallas win than any team in the postseason. They believe. And that’s a dangerous thing in the playoffs.

USAToday.com has the Eagles ranked 9th in its power rankings. 

With house money, they are playing free and easy now.  Dangerous.

FoxSports.com's Adrian Hasenmayer has the Eagles ranked 9th in his power rankings.

They've been wildly inconsistent, but when all their pieces are healthy and firing everyone saw in Week 17 against Dallas what the Eagles can do. Philly can dismantle teams, as judged by their seven double-digit wins this season. But it's when games get tight that the Eagles, their QB and their coaches seem to get tighter. COOL STAT: The Eagles were just 1-4-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less this season.

ESPN.com's Matt Mosley says the Eagles are one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs.

I think the Eagles immediately become one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs. If they can get past the Vikings in the Metrodome next Sunday, then they'll face the Giants again in the Meadowlands on Jan 11. The Eagles won at Giants Stadium on Dec. 7 and there's no reason they can't do it again. If you really want to get crazy, look at who they'd face in an NFC title game. The Falcons are the only team in the NFC that enters the playoffs with more than a one-game winning streak. This Eagles team has the talent to beat either of those teams. In fact, they already have.

Another busy day around the NFL. Let's get to the news first and then catch everyone up on the latest chaos in Dallas.

The Denver Broncos have fired Mike Shanahan, according to reports that surfaced just minutes ago. I don't think anyone saw this one coming. Shanahan becomes the fourth head coach to be fired since the season ended Sunday night. The Broncos collapsed at the end of the season, losing their final three and missing the playoffs for the third straight year.

Shanahan spent 14 seasons with the Broncos, winning Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 and compiling a regular-season record of 138-86. Denver made the postseason seven times during his tenure.

The firing of Shanahan should throw an interesting twist into the pool of candidates available for openings.

Cowboys' implosion continues

And now on to Dallas. Where to begin? Let's start with cornerback Terence Newman. Here's what he told Jennifer Floyd Engel of the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

“It is like the problem when you had the anonymous player saying all that stuff,” he said. “They are a coward, you know, and that kind of stuff ruined this season.”

According to the article, Newman was referring to tight end Jason Witten.

Engel continues:

Welcome to what happens when you have a Cupcake for a coach. This Cowboys team lacks leaders, or enough of them. Too few guys hold themselves accountable. This group requires a coach willing to do both and what they got instead was Wade Phillips. And what we have at Valley Ranch as a result is a mess.

Ouch.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning-News wonders whether the Cowboys would be better off without Terrell Owens.

And there's this incident with linebacker Bradie James. A fan at the team's practice facility reportedly wore a sign that said "The Cowboys have no heart, and coach Wade Phillips is an embarrassment to the star."

James got out of his car, ripped the fan's sign and broke his glasses in the process.

And finally, fullback Deon Anderson and offensive tackle Flozell Adams reportedly got into a fight on the plane ride back from Philadelphia.

Just another offseason in the Big D I guess.

Meanwhile, here's what you can expect from me the rest of the week. Tomorrow we'll have the "What they're saying" piece with links to Eagles coverage from around the Web. Thursday I'll have a breakdown of the NFC playoff picture. Friday will be picks. Saturday will be "Who's picking the Eagles?" And Sunday is our live game chat. Plus links, breaking news, etc. sandwiched in between.

Update:

According to the Star-Tribune, the number of seats available is down to 14,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. Tickets are available for as little as $30. The blog post says the Vikings will have until about 3:30 p.m. Friday to sell out or the game will be blacked out. Pretty funny to read the comments section. Readers blame any number of different factors for the lack of tickets sold, including:

Minnesotans being cheap
Brad Childress being boring
The economy
The Metrodome

From earlier post:

As Rich Hofmann pointed out in his blog yesterday, 20,000 tickets remain available for this Sunday's Vikings-Eagles playoff game.

An article in today's Star-Tribune takes a closer look at why so many available seats exist. One interesting nugget: Only 55 percent of Vikings season-ticket holders decided to purchase playoff tickets.

That sounds like an insane number. Isn't having a chance at playoff tickets one of the reasons you purchase season tickets in the first place?

As the article points out, the game could be blacked out in Minnesota, which hasn't happened since the Vikings' regular-season finale in 1997. And no NFL playoff game has been blacked out since the Dolphins-Ravens game in Miami in 2002.

Everyone's talking about it so I thought I'd include the YouTube clip.

In case you missed it, we're talking about Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie missing badly with a high-five attempt and connecting with his wife's face. Pretty funny moment that the Fox cameras caught after Donovan McNabb found tight end Brent Celek for a 1-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left in the first half against the Cowboys.

Feel free to chime in with your favorite part. I like the fact that there doesn't appear to be a "My bad" or "Oops, sorry." Lurie  accidentally hits her in the face and then goes on celebrating.

And one quick plug also. Be sure to check out our new Eagles wallpaper page. You can download wallpaper of Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins, Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, Stewart Bradley and Trent Cole, all designed by philly.com's Chris Corter. There is no wallpaper of the missed high five yet, but that could be coming.

With three coaches getting fired on Monday, it's pretty clear who the hot name on the open market is this year: Steve Spagnuolo.

The current Giants defensive coordinator and former Eagles assistant will be interviewed by the Browns, Lions and Jets, according to various reports.

Last year, because of the Giants' championship run, Spagnuolo could not be interviewed until after the Super Bowl, when many vacancies had already been filled. This season, however, New York has a first-round bye, meaning he can interview this week under league rules. However, he cannot officially be hired until after the Giants' playoff run is over.

According to NFL Network's Adam Schefter, the Lions have received permission to interview Spagnuolo this week. Schefter also reports that Detroit will interview Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Meanwhile, the Jets, who fired Eric Mangini Monday, have also received permission to interview Spagnuolo, according to Newsday and other outlets.

And finally, the Browns plan to request an interview with Spagnuolo also, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. Cleveland sent Romeo Crennel packing, and is without a general manager also after firing Phil Savage. The GM opening could be filled by New England's Scott Pioli, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

As the coaching carousel continues, Mangini apparently could be contacted about the Browns' opening.

The one name we have yet to mention: Bill Cowher. Could he be a fit with the Jets? Boomer Esiason seems to think so. Cowher is reportedly not interested in the Browns job.

This could all change in the next 12 hours, but I think that's a pretty good roundup of today's reports.

Here are my 10 observations from yesterday's 44-6 win over the Cowboys:

1. A lot had to happen yesterday for the Eagles to even play a meaningful game. Let's start out with the Thank Yous.

Thank you to Michael Bush for 27 carries, 177 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67-yarder in a wild fourth quarter that put the Raiders back in it. Thank you Johnnie Lee Higgins for six catches for 52 yards, including a 12-yard score in the third quarter. And thank you for setting Oakland up with great field position all day. And well, thanks for just being you. Thank you JaMarcus Russell. We now see why you were drafted with the top selection overall (kind of). You turned it over just once and kept your team in the game. Most impressive, maybe, was your drive at the end of the first half that gave Oakland a 14-7 lead. Thank you to Jon Gruden for choosing to go for it on fourth down and coming up short. Thank you to Jeff Garcia for that timely interception. Thank you to Monty Kiffin. And I never thought I'd say this, but thank you to Ronde Barber. Thank you to Kevin Harlan, for announcing the game like it was the Super Bowl. And thank you to Andre Johnson for 10 catches, 148 yards and two scores.

2. Local ties all over the place yesterday. At one point in our early chat, a reader said he/she would root for Ryan Moats as hard as ever yesterday. Huh? I had to look it up, but it was true. The former Eagles draft pick had been with the Texans since Week 8. I guess this is something an NFL blogger should have known. Anyway, yesterday he had 12 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, local products Matt Schaub (27-for-36 for 328 yards and two touchdowns) and Steve Slaton (128 total yards and a TD) also came up big for Houston. In the Bucs game, did you catch who was in at linebacker? Another former Eagles draft pick. Matt McCoy. He was released in October after a DUI arrest but then re-signed. And not a moment too soon.

3. What a game for Eagles who we thought might be playing/coaching in their last games. Andy Reid was seen waving his hands to the crowd throughout the game asking for noise. I wonder if he ever thought about flipping everyone the bird. Lord knows we probably deserved it. Donovan McNabb. One more opportunity. No turnovers. Efficient. Brian Dawkins. All over the place. A couple of forced fumbles. Leading "Fly Eagles Fly" with all his power. Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas. What Cowboys pass rush? Just an unbelievable performance all around.

4. Some thoughts on the Cowboys. Take a look at some of Dallas' signings over the past couple years. Pacman Jones absolutely killed them. There was the 15-yard penalty for hitting Reggie Brown late and the fumble on the kickoff return. Roy Williams. Final numbers on the season: 34 catches for 426 yards and two touchdowns. Yesterday? A whopping two catches for 4 yards. By the way, did you notice Tony Romo waving off the punt unit in the third quarter and Wade Phillips just having a confused look on his face? "Who's running the show down there?" they asked on the broadcast.

5. The optimist says:

Today is my day. It all came together at the perfect time in the Eagles' most complete performance of the year. A perfect balance on offense. A playmaking defense that created five turnovers when the stakes were at their highest. And now look where we are. In 20 years, do you think we'll remember how the Eagles got in? OK, maybe we will. But the point is they are favored in the first round at the Vikings. And then who are you afraid of? The Giants? Did you see what the Eagles did to them a few weeks ago? They've already beaten the Falcons and Cardinals. So who does that leave? The Panthers? I'll take my chances. This is the perfect year to sneak into the playoffs and see what happens. There are ZERO dominant teams out there. What looked like a disastrous season 48 hours ago now has the chance to be a dream season. It's OK. I'll welcome everyone back on the bandwagon.

6. The pessimist says:

Alright, alright. You got me this time. But let's try to look ahead a little bit. It's Week 7 of 2009. The Eagles are coming off a divisional-round loss to the Giants in 2008. They are 3-4. Andy Reid is pass-happy. Donovan McNabb is inconsistent. The receivers can't get open. The tackles look old. Brian Westbrook is banged up. There is no tight end. And special teams are a disaster. Does that sound so unrealistic to you? Enjoy the next couple of weeks. All it means is more of the same for this franchise. If you really think a Raiders win over the Bucs changes anything that has happened this season, you're crazy.

7. We often criticize Reid in this space so at least one point should be dedicated to him. With everything on the line, his team had one turnover and zero penalties. Other than the McNabb benching, there was little drama involving the players. Loss after loss, mishap after mishap, Reid took the blame. It annoyed all of us, but all he was worried about was his players and his coaching staff. And maybe that's how it should be. I'm not saying he's perfect, but take a look around the league this morning. Coaches getting fired left and right. A Bucs team collapsing. A Bears team failing to take care of business with the door wide open. A Cowboys team self-destructing. A Jets team letting it slip away. You could do worse than Reid.

8. It's funny how little things can change the numbers in this game. Going into Week 17, the stat we heard a hundred times over was that the Eagles would miss the playoffs for the third time in four years. Now? They've been below .500 just once in the last nine years and missed the playoffs just twice. Before yesterday, the defense had 24 takeaways, pretty good, but not great. Now? 29. Only three NFC teams had more. Before yesterday, this was a franchise stuck in mediocrity, needing an offseason overhaul. Now? The national media is tabbing the Eagles as one of the teams you don't want to play in the postseason.

9. When the game was still a game, the Eagles came up huge on third down to the tune of 7-for-8 in the second quarter. That included the big 59-yard gain to Correll Buckhalter. McNabb's QB sneak for a touchdown. McNabb's 34-yard strike to DeSean Jackson. McNabb's touchdown pass to Buckhalter. And McNabb's 13-yard pass to Brown and the subsequent Pacman penalty. Third-down conversions. It's been the stat to look at down the stretch in determining this team's success.

10. Thanks to everyone who joined one of our chats or read the blog Sunday. It was a record-setting day here at Moving the Chains. I anticipated coming up with offseason ideas this week and breaking down the other playoff games, but instead we get more football in Philadelphia. I'll be blogging like a madman this week so be sure to check back throughout the day for updates, and let me know if there's anything you'd like to see covered.

Normally in this space, I hit you with 10 observations from my time watching the Eagles game.

But, since Sunday was truly historic, we're going to try something new. I'd like to recap the past 24 hours or so. I'll do Optimist/Pessimist and some other usual features from the observations in a later post, but since there wasn't a whole lot to break down football-wise in this one, I thought this might work better. Feel free to share your tales from Sunday in the comment area.

Here's how it went down for me:

Fri. 10 p.m. - Sit at local watering hole with close friends and MTC contributors MC and C-Nast. Of course, the Birds come up. Will there be changes before next season? Probably not, we decide. Were the receivers not open against Washington? Or was Donovan McNabb too hesitant? Or does it all come down to Andy Reid's philosophy? Who knows. We've been asking the same questions for years. Somebody get another beer.

Sat. 10 a.m. - Time to do my weekly NFL picks. Uh-oh. Time to predict what will happen in the Eagles game. This has been an impossible endeavor every week since September. I decide to pick the Birds to cover the 1.5-point spread and write the following:

I'm interested to see what the mood will be like at the Linc come 4:15 Sunday. If, as most expect, the Bucs win their early game, things could get ugly. But what if Tampa Bay somehow loses? And the Bears go down at Houston. I know many of you say you're rooting against the Eagles to bring about change, but I know this fan base better. It will be a playoff game. And say the Eagles go up early on a Brian Westbrook run. And Tony Romo misses a wide open Terrell Owens. A montage of T.O. tantrums is played on the video screen. Then what? In a world where sports were meant to bring us happiness, and not misery, that's how things would play out.

Sun. 10 a.m. - Speak briefly to girlfriend who is visiting next week and tell her there is a slight, slight chance that I may have to work on the weekend if the Eagles win, the Bucs lose and either the Vikings or Bears lose. There is virtually no chance of this happening, I explain. Tampa Bay is a 12.5-point favorite.

Sun. 1 p.m. - Fire up a live chat on the blog. Knowing it's a longshot, I figure, I'm an NFL blogger. These are the types of things I should be doing. Who knows? It might be fun, right?

1:24 - "So are you required to post updates even though no one is here except me?" asks a chatter who goes by the tag WorldBleepingChampions. I just wanted to provide updates, I explain.

1:26 - The Bears, already up 7-0, get a turnover against the Texans. Wait a minute. This was the one game I was confident about.

1:28 - The Raiders' offense picks up a first down by drawing Tampa Bay offsides. It's the most production we've seen from Oakland all game. On TV, play-by-play guy Kevin Harlan asks Rich Gannon to simulate a hard count. He does. Viewers everywhere are overcome by awkwardness.

1:29 - The Bears, meanwhile, pick up a field goal to go up 10-0.

1:30 - Adrian Peterson fumbles for the Vikings. Ok, at least one good thing has happened so far.

1:31 - Never mind. The Vikings recover.

1:34 - Dad returns from religious service and explains that he told friends who aren't football fans that there's a better chance of him getting struck by lightning then the Eagles making the playoffs. What can I say? Some people are just eternal optimists.

1:37 - Vikings pick up a field goal. Bad news. In the chat, we try to convince ourselves that at least the Raiders' defense is playing well as Tampa and Oakland are scoreless in the first half.

1:45 - Michael Bush runs in for a 4-yard touchdown. 7-0 Oakland. By the way, most in the Philadelphia-area had never heard the name Johnnie Lee Higgins at 1 p.m. 45 minutes later, we're all pinning our playoff hopes on his shoulders.

1:49 -- Peterson goes 67 yards on the play untouched. Flag on the play! Oh wait. It's on New York. 10-0 Vikings.

1:56 -- "How bad is it when you have to depend on Oakland or Houston, and a disinterested Giants team?" types chatter Bob1.

1:58 -- Bad news: A Cadillac Williams TD ties the Raiders-Bucs game at 7. Good news: The Giants pick up a field goal and now only trail, 10-3.

2:01 -- Good news from the Texans-Bears game. Andre Johnson scores. Houston down, 10-7. "At least the Iggles didn't go 0-16 like the lions..." types The Commish in our chat.

2:05 -- The Bears fumble the kickoff. Houston recovers.

2:07 -- Words I never thought I'd hear come out of my Dad's mouth: "C'mon Eli!"

2:10 -- "I am rooting more for Ryan Moats today than in his entire Eagles career," types chatter EMF. We spend about two minutes in the chat trying to figure out when the Texans signed Moats.

2:13 -- The Texans go up 14-10 against the Bears. So you're telling me there's a chance?

2:16 -- We steal a page out of Bill Simmons' playbook and start referencing ourselves with the Ja prefix in honor of JaMarcus Russell. There's JaBrett, JaRush, JaCommish and of course, JaSheil.

2:19 -- It works! Russell throws a touchdown pass. Raiders go up, 14-7.

2:23 -- The Giants pick up a field goal and are down 10-6. Break out your David Carr jerseys.

2:34 - Halftime break. Not too bad. Bears and Bucs trailing. Giants still in it against Minnesota. Time to pound a quick hoagie, hit the bathroom and return for more chatting.

2:48 -- Touchdown Texans. Houston up 21-10 against Chicago. Is this really happening?

2:52 - I knew this was too good to be true. Jeff Garcia connects on a 58-yard touchdown strike. Blown coverage. Tie game.

2:55 - Raiders fumble the kickoff but recover. Reader Matt asks what happens if the Raiders and Bucs tie. I slam my head into my keyboard.

2:57 - Ex-Eagles linebacker Matt McCoy getting serious playing time for the Bucs because of injuries. This has to be a good thing, right?

2:58 - The Bears score and cut the lead to 21-17. If Kyle Orton is the reason the Eagles miss out on the playoffs, I may have to stop following football.

3:04 - The Giants score, go up 16-10 with David Carr in the game. David Carr is leading touchdown drives? Do I take this as some sort of sign?

3:07 -- I explain for the 48th time what exactly needs to happen for the Eagles to make the playoffs.

3:14 - Tampa goes up 17-14 with a field goal. Why do they tease us like this?

3:19 - Russell's intercepted. Brutal. But wait. Flag on the play. Face-mask! 15 yards! First down Raiders!

3:21 -- Russell's intercepted. Brutal. No flag on the play. No face-mask. No 15 yards. First down Tampa at the Oakland 10.

3:22 - Touchdown Bucs. They go up 24-14. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Meanwhile, Tarvaris Jackson is intercepted in the end zone. If only the Eagles could have had a shot at Minnesota in the playoffs. Jackson would be good for three turnovers. Minimum.

3:30 - Big gain for Oakland on a pass interference call on a halfback pass. And the Giants drive inside the Minnesota 10. Ok, it's not over yet.

3:31 - Johnnie Lee Higgins, you are the man. Raiders score, down 24-21.

3:33 - Giants get a field goal, go up 19-10.

3:38 - Vikings get a bomb from Jackson, trail 19-17. Oh well. As long as the Texans hang on, this game is irrelevant.

3:43 - Bucs go for it on fourth-and-four. Incomplete. Raiders have life.

3:44 - Michael Bush with a 67-yard touchdown run! The Raiders are back on top! If the season ended right now, at this very instance, the Eagles could control their own destiny.

3:49 - "In the end, the Eagles need to beat the Cowboys and that's a longshot at best," writes chatter LeRoy.

3:50 - The Texans score again, up 31-17. The Raiders intercept Garcia!

3:53 - Under four minutes left in Bucs-Raiders. Bush running all over Tampa. [Insert presidential joke here]

3:55 - I explain for the 67th time what needs to happen for the Eagles to make the playoffs.

4:03 - Raiders settle for a field goal. They're up 31-24 with 1:09 left. How did I treat people in my previous life? I'll find out soon enough. What a cruel way this would be for it to end. C'mon Oakland!

4:05 - Vikings hit a last-second field goal and beat the Giants. It's OK. The Bears are still losing.

4:07 - Garcia complete on fourth down, crosses midfield.

4:09 - Garcia sacked. Game over! Game over!

4:10 - Switch chats. Head over to the Eagles-Cowboys one.

4:16 - Get word that the Bears have lost. It actually happened. Cowboys-Eagles is for a chance at a playoff spot and a trip to Minnesota.

4:20 - Brian Westbrook fumbles. If there was all this buildup only to be let down, well, it would be pretty typical I guess.

4:31 - Eagles get a field goal and match their output from a week ago.

4:42 - I explain for the 12th time that the winner of Eagles-Cowboys plays the Vikings in Minnesota.

4:46 - Cowboys boot a field goal. Long drive there. This one could come down to the wire.

4:52 - Jimmy Rollins at the Linc, says the Eagles are the team to beat.

4:54 - Donovan McNabb hits Correll Buckhalter for a 59-yard gain.

4:58 - QB sneak in the end zone for McNabb! Eagles up 10-3! They're learning. They're really learning!

5:14 - T.O. stomping on the sidelines. Who had 5:14 p.m. in the pool?

5:23 - McNabb to Buckhalter, TOUCHDOWN. Eagles up 17-3.

5:31 - Interception Sheldon Brown. Flag on the play but it's on Dallas. There we go.

5:39 - McNabb to Brent Celek. TOUCHDOWN. Reid is a genius. 24-3 Birds.

5:40 - "Jerry Jones doesn't know what hit him," says Troy Aikman.

5:42 - Pacman Jones fumbles. Eagles get a field goal. 27-3 at halftime.

5:42 - 6:50 p.m. - This period is somewhat of a blur.

6:51 - Boss e-mails and says we had over 1,270 readers in the chat. A far cry from when it was me and WorldBleepinChampions about six hours earlier.

7:12 - Final is Eagles 44, Cowboys 6. Insanity. We find out the Birds will play at Vikings the following week.

12:38 a.m. - Finally finish this blog post and wonder if it will be entertaining at all to read by others. I probably should have done the standard 10 observations. Insane Sunday that Eagles fans will never forget. Eyes are burning. More tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who read the blog or joined the chats at any point today.

Update: The Eagles will play at Minnesota at 4:30 p.m. next Sunday.

Here's a recap of what Donovan McNabb said during his press conference. As usual, these are not exact quotes.

How does it feel to still be alive?

McNabb says he guesses he's been revived. People have thrown him out, ran over him, spit on him, but you know what, he just continues to prevail, kept his chin high, stayed positive. He made sure guys in this locker room understood that if given the opportunity, they would take full advantage of it, knowing that last week just wasn’t them, and if anything worked in their favor with all these scenarios that McNabb would not let them down.

Given past experiences, how difficult has this season been?

McNabb said it's easier now. He says that because he's been through those experiences for years. When you go through something for the first or second time, you don’t know how to handle it. But McNabb being part of something like that over and over and over again, the way he shows it doesn’t affect him is by going out and doing his job and having fun.

Does he get tired of it?

McNabb says they're human beings. You get tired of it but you never let them see you sweat. And you never show that it bothers you. You kill ‘em with kindness. When you kill ‘em with kindness and do your job, people understand it never really affects you.

What was the range of emotions, starting with pre-game reports that the Bucs lost?

McNabb said last week that no matter what, they all had something to play for. And this week they played for pride and they played for each other. And they couldn’t control anything that happened in Tampa or Minnesota or Houston. What they could control was what happened here today. You saw a team that was resilient, played with a lot of emotion. Once they got word that there was an opportunity, this team played with a lot of passion. Still knowing that they had their pride on the line, to come out and defend what happened last week, and with this opportunity, to make sure that they took full advantage of it.

How has the regular season challenged him?

McNabb says he doesn’t need any more motivation than what he gets every week. His job entitles to be up and down throughout the year. They [QBs] get too much credit. They get too much blame. But at the quarterback position that’s something you have to deal with. He's been doing this for 10 years and knowing that these guys in the locker room know that he's going to give all he has every time he steps on to the field and he can look into their eyes and know they’re going to do the same for him. That’s all you need. What happened throughout the year they can’t control now because they're all zero-zero, stepping into the playoffs in a new realm where anyone can win. The Giants got it done last year. There’s no reason they [the Eagles] can’t do it now.

He always talks about getting into a rhythm. What does he mean?

McNabb says it's just like being a basketball player. When you’re a scorer and you might be a little off at times, you continue to keep shooting. You don’t shy away from shots, from assists. You try to do your job at a high level and you want the ball in your hands at crunch time. Knowing that the game was still tight, he wanted the ball in his hands and give these guys an opportunity to make plays for him. And these guys really stepped up and challenged themselves to do better than last week and they were able to get the job done together.

What does he say to people who think he should be more vocal, say more when he's criticized?

McNabb says you don’t win battles by trying to defend yourself with people who are on air, with people who write, people who have the power of the pen. Because no matter what he may say, they’ll take little bits of what they want and put that in there. Then you’ll get people who are watching or people who read, to believe what you want them to believe. So he doesn’t play the game. He says what he needs to say, always from the heart, gets it out and moves on. He can’t control what’s been said on the TV or the newspaper but he can control what’s on the field.

Is he vocal enough to people within the organization?

McNabb says yes, absolutely. They know when something is on his mind. And that’s professionalism. If it’s something on your mind, you share it with the people who need to hear it. And there has been a lot on his mind and there will be something that’s shared when the time comes. Everything you talk about is based on timing. They’ve shared a lot of different things. They've opened up a lot with one another and that’s just being a professional.

Is today's playoff berth any sweeter than the past?

McNabb says the Lord works in mysterious ways. For people to put them out for dead, roadkill, for that door to open up one more time for them, you never want to give a team another opportunity because when that team gets in,  it could be that team you don’t want to play. And the way they feel in the locker room, they could be that team.

How appreciative is McNabb for this opportunity?

McNabb says since you’ve [the reporters] talked about him not being in the playoffs the last four years, he's in. It’s sweet. But he's got a job to do. And his job is to make sure they're ready to go against Minnesota, a tough team, one of their former coaches. It’s not just one of those times they’re happy to be in. They want to stay in.

Is he surprised things played out the way they did?

McNabb tries not to focus on that side of things because if it happened, it happened. They were going to be ready to play this game no matter what, whether they were the team to get in or spoilers. If they weren’t gonna get in, they weren’t gonna let Dallas get in and that’s just 10 years, having a dislike for Dallas. Thae fact that they had an opportunity, took full advantage of it, and now they have a foot in the door. They want to bring the other foot along and bring their family members in as well.

Does McNabb get enough credit?

McNabb says you never get enough credit until you’re gone. He's not looking for any credit right now. He's looking for all 52 guys in the locker room to be ready to roll for next week. If they continue to win, positive outlooks will be looked upon.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was in attendance for the Eagles' 44-6 win this afternoon over the Cowboys.

Comcast SportsNet caught up with him afterwards. Here's what he had to say about the victory. Note: In the interest of getting the post up ASAP, these are not exact quotes.

What were his thoughts on the win?

Rollins says good things come to a team when they believe in themselves. You've got to be determined in this sport every Sunday. That’s what you saw today...was a determined team. Everyone knows how talented the Cowboys are. There’s no doubt about that. But you saw a team in the Eagles who wanted it more, weren’t taking no for an answer, weren’t going home. And all you need to do is get into the playoffs and everyone is zero-zero.

[According to CSN's Derrick Gunn] Donovan McNabb was heard on his way to the locker room saying 'They love me for one more week.' As his friend, how much has this season weighed on McNabb?

Rollins says that’s definitely something he can relate to. But Donovan is a professional. There's no doubt about that. Sometimes people get on you for expressing yourself, for telling what you feel is the truth, and there’s nothing wrong with that. McNabb's not jaded. He's not going to give you answers you can get from anyone. He’s going to tell you what it is. But what you saw in Donovan was a man who wasn’t going to quit on himself. McNabb knows his talents, how good he is, how important he is to the team. He didn’t want to let anyone in the locker room down and he didn’t let them down.

When answering the first question and saying how talented the Cowboys were, you could almost hear Rollins using the exact delivery he used at the parade when he said 'You know, Johan Santana, he's a really good pitcher, but...'

Rollins sounded like he won't be in attendance for next week's game against the Vikings, saying he'll probably be somewhere warm.