The Eagles have reason to believe that they don't need to make a lot of changes with their football team next year in order to make a move for the Super Bowl. They are one of only 4 teams to rank in the Top 10 in offense and defense. The other 3 are New England, Indy and Dallas.
HAWAII THREE SIX … RB Brian Westbrook currently leads the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 1,896 yards on 337 touches. His 5.6 yards/touch average also leads all NFL players with at least 225 touches this season. No NFL player has accounted for more first downs than Westbrook (94). On the ground, he ranks 5th in the NFL (2nd in the NFC) with 1,191 yards rushing. Westbrook’s 72 points and 83 receptions rank t-6th and t-10th respectively in the league. His receptions are the most by any NFL back this season, while no other NFC rusher has accounted for more total touchdowns (12) in 2007.
HUNTING QUARTERBACKS … DE Trent Cole’s 12.5 sacks currently rank him third in the league behind Patrick Kerney (13.5) and Mario Williams (13.0).
GROUND ASSAULT … The Eagles have been extremely effective on both sides of the ball this year on the ground. Offensively, they rank 2nd in the NFL in rushing average (4.6 yds./att.), tied for 4th in rushing first downs (106), and 9th in yards per game (122.9). Defensively, the Eagles rank 6th in both rushing yards allowed per game (94.6) and rushing average (3.8), and 7th in rushing first downs allowed (69).
STRONG ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL … The Eagles have been equally strong on both sides of the ball this season, in terms of total yards, as they currently rank in the top 10 in the NFL in both total offense and total defense. They are one of only 4 teams to do so (Indianapolis, New England, Dallas). In fact, after their week 4 game at NYJ, the Eagles have been ranked in the top 10, offensively, for the entire season, and have not dipped lower than 14th, defensively.
Team Off. Rank Def. Rank
New England 1 4
Indianapolis 4 2
Dallas 2 8
Philadelphia 8 9
BIRDSEED … QB Donovan McNabb’s 53 yards rushing at Dallas was his best rushing output since he amassed 76 yards at Tampa Bay on 10/22/06 … Eagles rookie punter Sav Rocca has downed 23 punts inside the 20-yard line this season. He is three shy of cracking the Eagles top 5 single-season totals.
THE LOW DOWN ON DALLAS … The Eagles held the Cowboys to season lows in points (10), total net yards (240), rushing yards (53), and first downs (11). It was the first time they were held without a touchdown at home since December 21, 2002 vs. the Eagles. The Eagles defeated the Cowboys for the fifth straight time in the month of December. Philadelphia also held QB Tony Romo to his lowest QB rating as a starter (22.2) and WR Terrell Owens to his lowest reception total (2) as a Cowboy. Philadelphia had also held him to just 2 catches in their 2nd meeting with Dallas of 2006 and Buffalo did as well earlier this season.
Note Update: Westbrook passed Ricky Watters (975) and moved into 4th place on the Eagles all-time list with 990 career carries. It was previously stated in the “gameday” version of notebook that he had 254 career carries.
