It was South Philly in Miami, Florida last night as some 20,000 Eagles fans showed up at Pro Player Stadium. The first time Duce Staley ran the ball, in fact the first play from scrimmage, Donovan McNabb threw a deep bomb downfield. Todd Pinkston caught the ball for a 59-yard play. And the fans roared. You would have thought it was a home game for the men in white with green pants. But the Birds were over 1,000 miles from home in a very warm climate. Two plays later, Brian Westbrook ran the ball straight up the gut and into the end zone. The Eagles took a very early 7-0 lead. The 21-yard run was also the longest rush given up by the Dolphins defense all year. The TD was the Eagles fastest offensive TD since 1964 and it also broke the club record of consecutive games with at least 1 rushing touchdown. The streak is at 13. You just knew then that the eagles and Donovan McNabb would have a big night. It had those South Philly fans in an uproar all night long. Even before the game, it was reported that hordes of Eagles fans were storming through the lots outside the stadium chanting, “Dolphins suck, Dolphins suck…” The biggest mistake in favor of the fans in green happened late in the third quarter with the game tied at 24. The public PA system started blasting the theme of “Rocky” at 3:38. The song that is associated with Philadelphia spirit and brawling at the Spectrum, not a song to be played in Florida. Then moments later, Westbrook broke a big gain for 28 yards. And then, Correll Buckhalter flew into the end zone for a lead that the team would not relinquish.

It was a tough, smash-mouth NFC East style of a game. The Rocky theme was totally appropriate on this occasion as the Eagles fans took over the game. Andy Reid stated after the game, “I thought our defense stepped up when they needed to.” He added, “I was real proud of our fans and the job they did.” The defense did give up 398 yards, but only 221 through the air. One of the main reasons was Brian Dawkins. Dawkins was his old self and delivered the hammer on more than one occasion. First, he chased down Ricky Williams and knocked him out of action for a little bit. Then he had a big sack on Jay Fiedler and he also knocked down 3 separate passes. The Eagles rush caused many incompletions and 2 INT’s during the game. He finished with a 50.0 QB rating, completing 21 of 40 passes and zero TD passes. McNabb was very efficient, passing 27 times, completing 15 of them for 261 yards. He also avoided at least 5 sacks using his feet to get him out of some tough situations. He did score on a 1-yard QB sneak too.

The Dolphins and Eagles traded 2 TD’s each to start the game, but Philly really started to dominate the game halfway through the second quarter. If not for three bad calls by the refs, the Eagles probably would have had a 28-14 lead at the half instead of only 21-14. McNabb did not even throw a single TD pass all game, but #84 did. With the ball on the Dolphins 25-yard line, McNabb lateraled the ball over to Freddie Mitchell who ran to a spot where he had time a plenty of room. He then unleashed a perfect spiral deep to Brian Westbrook who made a great catch over the shoulder of Zack Thomas. The Eagles were in control though Miami would tie the game at 24 in the third quarter. Then Buckhalter did his impersonation of Superman, flying backwards into the end zone for a 31-24 lead. The Eagles then put together a long time consuming drive later in the fourth quarter and though they did not score, they ran off over 5 minutes of the clock. The Miami defense had only given up 17 touchdowns all year, but the Eagles had 4. They also only gave up more than 23 points in any one game. That was 31 to Tennessee. The Eagles finished with 34. This team is on a mission to Houston. The Eagles also want the home-field advantage. They will get with 2 more wins. They will also clinch their third straight division championship and get a first round bye by winning just 1 of their last 2 games. Who will be the team to stop McNabb?? Probably not San Francisco or Washington. But that is why we play the game.