Well, the Philadelphia Eagles are now 4-0 for the first time since 1993. The Eagles finished that year at 8-8 however, losing 6 straight at one point during the season. I don’t see that happening this year at anytime at all. Those 1993 Eagles were coached by that bumbling idiot, Rich Kotite. OK, this game was not pretty, but it was still a road win. It was also another win by 10 or more points. The Eagles did dominate this game throughout, except on the scoreboard, though they led the entire way and were never really in any danger from the Bears. With the score at 19-3, the Bears finally scored a touchdown with 3:57 left in the game. It was another touchdown allowed during garbage time. Mostly during the game, the Bears were forced to punt more often than not. The relentless Eagles forced many incompletions and held the Chicago ground game in check. Philly only went 3 and out twice during the game and the stats do not lie in who dominated. The basic stats all read in the Eagles favor: first downs (24-14), total yards (376-224), rushing yards (154-32) and time of possession (37-22 minutes). The only real negative was penalties. The Eagles had 10 for 76 yards, while Chicago only committed 4 for 36 yards. The Eagles only had 1 turnover, a 3rd quarter INT by McNabb, otherwise he had a pretty good game completing 24 of 38 passes for 222 passing yards. Though he finished with a QB rating of only 78.5, he did enter the second half with a rating of 116.9. The Eagles big story on offense was Brian Westbrook, who finished with a career high 32 touches resulting in 115 rushing yards on 23 carries and 63 passing yards on 9 receptions.

The Eagles moved the ball at will up and down the field. Though their first four drives ended with 2 FG attempts, which were both converted by David Akers. He kicked the first one at 51 yards out halfway through the first quarter. Then he converted on a 42-yarder, just 4 minutes into the second. The Eagles led only 6-0, but it felt like and could have been 14-0. They were still in total control. Perhaps the biggest play occurred after the Eagles went 3-and-out for the first time with 8:15 left in the half. The resulting punt led to a muff, which was recovered by Dhani Jones. Four plays later, McNabb hit Owens on an 11-yard slant pattern for the Eagles only TD on the day. The score was now 13-0, and you just knew then that Philadelphia would win this now over the Bears. The Bears never gave up and their red zone defense kept the score rather close throughout, though the offense was never really a threat. The Chicago defense forced Philly to attempt 4 second half FG’s and held the Eagles to no touchdowns at the same time. Akers would convert 2 of them and missed from 39 and 45 yards out, both in the fourth quarter.

The Chicago offense did not threaten at all hardly, only getting into the red zone three times. The first time resulted in a FG right at the half. The second resulted in a TD with only 4 minutes left and the last time ended the game as the clock ran out. The Eagles pass rushers forced the issue all game causing Quinn to unload the ball earlier than he would of liked. He was sacked 5 times, twice by Hugh Douglas. The Eagles defensive line held Thomas Jones in check, allowing him only 32 yards on 13 carries. Jones had led all NFC running backs going into the game. If not for that gusty wind and some early game bright sunshine, the game probably would of read 29-9. LJ Smith lost a sure TD in the light and Akers missed 2 field goals, which he said he hit perfectly. Hey, the Eagles did not win by 25 points, but it was still a double-digit win on the road. They also beat the spread of 9 points by 1. They are still 4-0 heading into a bye week. Their next opponent, NFC champion Carolina Panthers are next on the docket. They may be 1-3 and reeling by the time they arrive in Philadelphia. The Eagles are also 5-0 coming off the bye with Andy Reid as coach and they have a little pay back on their mind. But let’s just take it one week at a time and enjoy the week off.