Eagles deserve a lot of respect after this game

November 27, 2007 | By Khristian Peel | Discuss

Remember in Super Bowl XXXIX when Donovan McNabb threw his third interception of the night to end that game against the Patriots? All Eagles fans were sure we would see them again soon. Well, no one thought we would see them in the Super Bowl this year and in the weeks coming up to this game, no one felt that we would have any type of chance. I have to admit, I was one of those people, but they played so well until that second interception that A.J. Feeley threw in the Patriots end zone.

I was one of those fans that felt that if the Eagles could even come close to winning, I would be ok with that. Well, during the game when I felt that we REALLY had a chance, I was not going to be fine with them just coming close. I wanted them to win this game.

But the Eagles should get alot of respect around the league. The only other team that played them this tough was the Colts, yes, the only other team that played the undefeated Pats as close as we did were the defending Super Bowl champs. A.J. Feeley did a great job and Greg Lewis also had a great game with 2 touchdowns to go along with 88 yards. If this game proves anything, it proves that the Pats can be beaten. If a 5-5 team can come this close to beating an undefeated team, anybody can (except for the Dolphins maybe.)

Now, I would love to see the Patriots make history and go 16-0 this season but after this game, I think that the rest of the teams on their schedule will look at the film of this game and see that they have weak spots. They will see that their defense is vulnerable in the middle (those in routes were open all night.) They will also see that Moss can be stopped. And the film will also show that Tom Brady is nothing more than an average quarterback when he's under pressure.

Now, this is the same exact position that the Eagles were in last year. They were 5-6 after losing to an AFC powerhouse on Sunday night with a backup quarterback (Jeff Garcia lost to the Colts.) Well, at least they didn't get blown out by the Pats like they got killed by the Colts. They can either finish the season like they did in 2005 when they finished 6-10 or they can finish the season like they did last year when they won 5 in a row and won the NFC East.

They really don't have a shot to win the NFC East because even if they win 5 in a row, they'll have 10 wins, and the Cowboys already have 10 wins, so unless the Cowboys just completely fall apart and lose every game from now on, and the Giants lose 3 out of their 5 games, they have no chance, but hey, you never know, after the way they played against the Patriots.

It was just a great all-around effort but the Eagles don't take moral victories so they have to play like they did against New England and take that back to Philly against Seattle and they should have no problem.

It's just that they can hang with the Patriots but they have trouble with a winless Dolphins team.

It makes no sense, all they have to do is carry that intensity over to the Seahawks game and they should have no trouble with them. Because if they lose to them, I might just have to think that the year is basically over.

Well, overall it was a good game and if you think about the scenario, it was an excellent game by the Eagles, but still, if you look at the schedule, you will still see an L next to the game that says "at Patriots."