So what did we learn last night? Uh...

This article was originally published in the Daily News on December 28, 2004.

If you tuned in to last night's game against the Rams hoping to get an idea of what playoff life is going to be like for the Eagles' offense without Terrell Owens, well, you were disappointed.

With running back Brian Westbrook in a hermetically sealed jar on the sideline and quarterback Donovan McNabb calling it a day after just one series and three pass attempts, and many of the Eagles' other starters also making early, preseasonlike exits, the Eagles managed just 11 first downs and 155 total yards in their 20-7 loss.

With coach Andy Reid content to just get McNabb and Westbrook to the postseason starting line in one healthy piece, we aren't going to find out until the middle of January whether the loss of Owens is an obstacle the Eagles can't overcome.

We aren't going to find out until then whether Todd Pinkston, who had been averaging 18.8 yards per catch but played only a couple of series last night and didn't catch a pass, can still be a vertical threat without Owens drawing double-team attention on the other side.

We aren't going to find out until then whether McNabb has regained a sufficient enough comfort level with Freddie Mitchell to look for him in times of need, like last January's fourth-and-26 play against the Packers.

Mitchell did catch his first touchdown pass of the season last night, hauling in a 7-yard pass from McNabb after beating Rams safety Antuan Edwards in the end zone.

We aren't going to find out until then whether Westbrook is going to have the kind of running room he had when Owens was forcing safeties to play back, back, back instead of close to the line of scrimmage.

We aren't going to find out until then how much pass-catching slack will be picked up by tight ends L.J. Smith and Chad Lewis, who played only briefly yesterday and didn't catch a pass.

And we aren't going to find out until then whether playing it safe now will end up destroying the offensive momentum the Eagles built up in their first 14 games.

"I have a pretty good feel [for] this group," Reid said, "and I think they will tee it up when it's time to play in the playoffs. "

He said there is no right or wrong when it comes to protecting starters.

"I don't think there's an answer," he said. "I just look at past history of what has happened to this football team when I've been here, and I made the decision to rest the guys."

McNabb insisted that playing the backups a lot last night was a plus. "It gives us more confidence [in them] and it gives them an opportunity to get some reps because they could be called upon when the playoffs come," he said.

Thumbs down to Andy Reid for using his timeouts to stop the clock late in the fourth quarter with the Rams up by 13 and in possession of the ball. It was a little late in the game for him to pretend that he actually was trying to win.