And then he directed his staff to prepare for the Bears as if the field were on fire.

No-huddle offense, crazy linebacker combinations on defense, a Michael Vick play that actually worked, McNabb freely calling audibles at the line. The game plan was not for just another game. Whether Reid said it or not, he coached this 24-20 win as if it was a "must" situation.

"You set out to win 'em all. That's how you go about business," Reid said after the game. "When I hear people say that stuff, I like to ask, 'What game were you not trying [your hardest] on?' "

That's his style, but even Reid had to admit he put a little boost into the start of the game. That didn't mean there was a whiff of panic in the chilly air at Soldier Field, but there was the crisp scent of something close to desperation.

"We knew how important it was to start fast," Reid said. "That's why we utilized the no-huddle to allow us to get in rhythm and maybe catch them off guard."

They did start fast, built a 10-0 lead and still almost lost to the Chicago Bears.

It would have been their third straight loss, and a bad one, coming against a team that had dropped four of its previous five games and was on the verge of mutiny against its dysfunctional quarterback. It would have been a bad loss because their own offense shot itself in the foot enough with turnovers and penalties to get lead poisoning.

On a day in which their two main division rivals eked out fortunate wins at the end, it would have been brutal had the Eagles not been able to keep pace. So, perhaps when Donovan McNabb started them out on the drive that would win the game, some of that desperation, maybe even some of the panic that wasn't supposed to be there, helped push them toward the end zone.

Had Antonio Dixon not gotten his hand on Robbie Gould's attempt for a fifth field goal, getting the block that set the Eagles on their way, the Bears would probably have extended their lead and swung the door of momentum nearly shut. It might have been nothing more than that, a hand luckily placed in just the right spot at just the right time. Maybe that was all that separated the Eagles from falling to 5-5 on the season.

Instead, they remain tied with the New York Giants, one game behind the Cowboys, with six games to play and the rest of the season stretching before them like an inviting runway. Had they lost last night, the season wouldn't have been over, but the odds would have been nearly overwhelming.

McNabb has been criticized often for not winning close games at the end, but he led the team to this one. He was 5-for-6 on the go-ahead drive, with his precision forcing the Bears back on their heels and setting up LeSean McCoy's touchdown run.

"It was a good win. It wouldn't matter if it had been 3-2. We needed to win this game by any means necessary," McNabb said. "We know we can do that. It's just a matter of executing at the right time."

It was also a reminder that while Reid can be maddeningly unemotional at times, he knows when it is not time for business as usual.

That was clearly the message in the first quarter when the Eagles tried to make the Bears work at their tempo, going without huddles and checking off at the line as if this were improvisational theater. For someone like Reid, who likes control and likes deliberate consideration of everything (to the point of getting delay of game penalties), it was a sign that this one would be played for all the lunch money.

The game ended with the most inevitable of mistakes, an interception thrown by Cutler, who leads in the league in those mistakes. He had avoided his 18th interception of the season all night, sometimes just by a hair, but couldn't avoid the fate this game held for him when Tracy White deflected a pass into the air and Sean Jones caught it as it fell.

This was a game the Bears had also labeled in the preceding week as a "must win." They said all the same, empty things to motivate themselves. It almost worked, but the Eagles went them one better.

The Eagles played as if it had to be a win, not because they had said it, but because their coach hadn't said it. Except in how he coached. It might not work against all teams, but it was enough to beat the Bears.

Contact columnist Bob Ford at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com. Read his blog at http://philly.com/postpatterns.