Eagles have wild-card shot with Garcia
Don't count out Jeff Garcia and the Eagles, who may have just enough to sneak into the playoffs, Michael Smith writes.
PHILADELPHIA -- Sylvester Stallone -- "Rocky Balboa" himself -- was in the building Monday night. Sly's latest installment of the "Rocky" series opens this Christmas.
With the Eagles' thrilling victory Monday night, were we witness to the beginning of another tale about a Philly underdog?
The Eagles -- losers of five of their previous six (including consecutive defeats against the Titans and Colts by a combined score of 76-34) and playing without star quarterback Donovan McNabb -- suddenly find themselves in the same position as the Falcons, Giants and Panthers after 12 rounds. They all are 6-6 and tied for the NFC wild-card lead.
"One thing about this team, it hasn't lost focus as to what our goal really is: to be in the playoffs," said Jeff Garcia after throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns to help Philadelphia outpoint Carolina, 27-24. "Each and every day we've practiced and prepared like we have won a lot of games. Nobody's gotten discouraged, nobody's hung their heads. It's been a positive atmosphere in the locker room considering what we've been through the last two months.
"If we continue to take care of business, I think we can put something together."
Many expected the Eagles to fall apart when McNabb suffered a season-ending right ACL injury two weeks ago against Tennessee. But in Garcia, the Eagles have a veteran with a commanding presence in the huddle and an infectious, competitive fire. He may be 36, but Garcia still can keep plays alive and make plays with his scrambling ability.
If you want to compare who the leading wild-card contenders have at the most important position, you would have to say Garcia stacks up well with Jake Delhomme, Eli Manning and Michael Vick, all of whom are prone to critical mistakes. Delhomme had two fourth-quarter interceptions, including Lito Sheppard's end-zone theft of a ball intended for Keyshawn Johnson with 28 seconds remaining.
Clearly, the Panthers did not believe Garcia still possessed a right arm live enough to beat them deep. The Eagles noticed early that Carolina's defensive backs were sitting on the short routes.
"From what we saw on film, most guys weren't getting behind them, but they weren't getting out of there [their backpedal]," said Donte' Stallworth, whose leaping, one-handed 51-yard catch of a Garcia pass over Richard Marshall along the sideline set up Philly's first score, an 8-yard Garcia-to-Brian Westbrook connection in the second quarter. The Eagles tied the score at 24 in the fourth quarter when Garcia found Reggie Brown for a 40-yard touchdown. You might say Garcia's going deep was the equivalent of Apollo Creed underestimating Rocky's right.
On the ensuing possession, Delhomme, facing a blitz, lobbed a deep pass supposedly intended for Nick Goings that Brian Dawkins had time enough to signal fair catch before hauling it in. Dawkins returned the pick 38 yards. That led to David Akers' go-ahead, 25-yard field goal.
The Panthers then drove to the Eagles' 7 and were in control with two timeouts and 28 seconds remaining. Sheppard noticed Delhomme pat his backside, leading him to believe, based on his film study, that Johnson would run a fade to the corner. Sheppard played it perfectly and beat Johnson to the corner to make the acrobatic interception.
With that, the Eagles may have just turned their season around. Their maligned defense, which had yielded more than 200 rushing yards in each of their past three losses, gave up a few big plays, most notably to Panthers rookie running back DeAngelo Williams (receptions of 41 and 35 yards). But it also played big in key spots, and it played physically and with emotion.
No one is calling the Eagles a force, but they look as good as any of the other 6-6 NFC teams. The Eagles, Falcons, Giants and Panthers all have concerns. It might take nine or even eight wins to get in in the NFC playoffs. And the teams that do get in won't necessarily be the best teams on paper, like, ahem, Carolina. Playing with confidence and getting on a roll the last month of the season will be important. The Giants have lost four straight. Atlanta just ended a four-game skid of its own, but you still don't know what to expect from the Falcons week to week. And let's just admit that we were wrong about the Panthers.
So why not the Eagles? They have a proven coach and a veteran quarterback and as valuable a running back as there is in football in Westbrook (907 rushing yards, 586 receiving yards).
"It's a crazy year," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "Anything's possible.
"We felt like our back was to the wall. You can go two ways on that. You can fold under the pressure or you can step up. I'm proud of our guys for stepping up.
Added Reid: "We've been so up and down, but that's the way the NFC's been. But I liked what I saw tonight."
Philadelphia has the NFC East on the road the next three weeks. The Eagles get the Redskins on a short week, followed by the Giants (to whom they lost in Week 2) and the Cowboys (whom they've already beaten) before wrapping up at home with Atlanta.
"Maybe the same guy who made the new NBA basketball did that to us," Stallworth cracked.
The Eagles are bloodied and bruised. Just a week ago, their wounds looked bad. But they came out of their corner and won a big round.
Four more rounds to go. Do the Eagles have anything left?
Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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