Eagles go from Election Day to Judgment Day

By Lou DiPietro  |   Friday, November 07, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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Political season may be over now, but allow me to invoke one last semi-political comparison: Senator Barack Obama and Donovan McNabb have a lot more in common than just both being from Chicago.

This past Tuesday, Obama scored the most monumental victory in the history of U.S. politics when he became the first African-American to be elected President of the United States.

The junior Illinois Senator’s big day is behind him now, but for his fellow Windy City native, Sunday will be Judgment Day.

Sure, this is only Week 10, but make no mistake about it: If McNabb can’t lead the Philadelphia Eagles to victory over the New York Giants Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field, the NFL season will be all but over for the boys from the “Cradle of Liberty.”

With both the Washington Redskins (currently 6-3) and the Dallas Cowboys (5-4) limping into their byes this week, the time is now for the Eagles to strike. They have three straight wins under their belt, and while the Giants did look impressive in dispatching the Cowboys last week, Dallas is still a tough divisional opponent. And now that they’re at the end of a stretch where they play a tough Pittsburgh team on the road, Dallas at home and now the Eagles in Philadelphia, the defending Super Bowl champions may be ripe for the picking.

But even though it’s a national game against the defending champs -- at home, no less -- this is the biggest game of Philadelphia's season for one reason: A loss means the Eagles can all but kiss the playoffs goodbye.

The Giants are currently 7-1, which is the best record in the NFC. If not for the amazing Tennessee Titans, it would be the top mark in the whole league. Sure, they’ve beaten a handful of also-rans to get there, but they gutted out a win against the 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, outmatched the 6-3 Redskins on opening night and outclassed the Cowboys last Sunday.

A win would do wonders for the Eagles. Logistically, it would pull them into a second-place tie in the NFC East and would tie them with at least the Skins and Tampa Bay (which is also 6-3 and on a bye) for the conference's two wild-card slots - a tie that could also include Atlanta (which would improve to 6-3 with a win over New Orleans) and Carolina (which stands at 6-2 and plays at Oakland this week).

What would a loss do, you ask? Well, it would pretty much kill the Eagles.

A loss drops them to 5-4, and by virtue of Dallas’ head-to-head win over the Eagles, technically last place in the division. It would also drop them to 0-3 in the division and 4-4 in the NFC, both marks that will be make tiebreakers tough to overcome when you consider that Tampa and Washington are 5-2 in the conference.

And as I revealed weeks ago, the Eagles' remaining schedule isn’t exactly the friendliest. Yes, they play the hapless Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 16, but that’s a road game against a hungry 1-8 team coming off a bye week. After that potential trap, the Eagles play at the 5-3 Baltimore Ravens before hosting the 5-3 Arizona Cardinals on Thanksgiving night. December then brings their final three divisional games (two of which, New York and Washington, come on the road) sandwiched around a "Monday Night Football" clash with the Cleveland Browns.

Of that final six, only the Browns figure to be out of the running for a playoff spot, as they currently stand two games behind a three-way 5-3 wild-card tie in the AFC and have turned their quarterbacking reins over to 2007 first-round pick Brady Quinn.

As this writer has said before, the Eagles could be 7-1 or even 8-0 right now. Mistakes, poor decisions and spotty play-calling - especially in the two-minute drill - have cost them two wins, and they’ve lost three games by a total of 14 points.

However, they’re not. So, instead of being a battle for the top of the NFC East leaderboard, this showdown with the Giants is a virtual season-maker or season-breaker.

And I’d say the Eagles are due.

Last year, the Eagles suffered two heartbreaking losses against the Giants. In late September, five starters were out - including Brian Westbrook - and the Giants' defense piled up a stunning 12 sacks en route to a 16-3 win. Osi Umenyiora had half of that dozen, as he had a field day against fill-in tackle Winston Justice - who more closely resembled a SEPTA turnstile than a blocker that night. Then, 10 weeks later, the Eagles drove 50 yards with less than a minute left, but David Akers‘ 57-yard field goal attempt hit the upright to hand the Birds a 16-13 loss and a 5-8 record.

Akers is still having trouble on long field goals, but Umenyiora is on injured reserve and Justice didn’t even see the field this year until last week’s game. The way the Eagles’ defense is playing, it can again hold the Giants’ offense to 16 points. But with a healthy McNabb and Westbrook, five healthy, productive wide receivers and the emerging Brent Celek filling in for tight end LJ Smith, the Eagles should certainly be able to score that many.

Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden -- a northeastern Pennsylvanian who now lives in the heart of Eagles country, Wilmington, Del. -- will move into the White House on Jan. 20. If McNabb and his Eagles want to have any hope of still playing football on Inauguration Day, they absolutely must follow Obama’s lead and claim victory this weekend.

Hopefully for the Eagles and their fans, Pennsylvania won’t be a blue state for the second time in six days.
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About Lou DiPietro

Lou DiPietro is an accomplished freelance writer who is fascinated with all things sports. In addition to his duties at RealFootball365.com, Lou contributes to TheBleacherReport.com and Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine, and has been featured on "The Sports Buffet with Matt West" on 1080-AM ESPN...
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