FEELS A FLYERS VICTORY COMING ON
RUSHING OFFENSE
Eagles averaged just 3.5 yards per carry and didn’t have a run longer than 9 yards. But they ran the ball effectively on their game-clinching 89-yard drive early in the fourth quarter and notched 2 rushing touchdowns for the second game in a row. Grade: B
PASSING OFFENSE
DeSean Jackson recorded his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season and had a big 59-yard third-and-2 catch on the Eagles’ 89-yard scoring drive. But Donovan McNabb had a very uneven performance, throwing two interceptions, including one in the end zone, and overthrowing a wide-wide-open Jackson on a third-quarter pass.
Grade: B
RUN DEFENSE
The Eagles’ top priority was stopping tight end Vernon Davis. So they went with an extra corner and just two linebackers much of the game, which left them susceptible to the run, which was a big reason Frank Gore rushed for 107 yards on 16 carries. But 4 of Gore’s 6 second-half runs gained 3 yards or less. Grade: C
PASS DEFENSE
The Eagles held QB Alex Smith to a puny 4.7 yards per attempt, sacked him 3 times and also intercepted him 3 times. They held the Niners’ dangerous tight end, Vernon Davis, to 3 receptions for 43 yards. Grade: A
SPECIAL TEAMS
Quintin Demps opened the game with a 48-yard kickoff return that kick-started yet another first-possession score. Eagles’ punt coverage was outstanding, but their kickoff coverage again was shaky (30.5 yards per attempt). DeSean Jackson had just one PR for 6 yards. Grade: B
OVERALL
If nothing else, the Eagles proved they can win even when Donovan McNabb doesn’t bring his `A’ game. Sean McDermott’s defense racked up 4 more takeaways, put a muzzle on TE Vernon Davis and did a much better job of tackling than they did a week earlier. Grade: B-plus
*
To read Andy Reid's postgame comments, click here
To read Les Bowen's in-game report, click here
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
Download our iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here for iPhone or here for Android.
 | Join on Facebook |
