Eagles vs. Cardinals

                                                                                         

Philadelphia -3 vs. Arizona

It had been a long week for Donovan McNabb. After putting his foot in his mouth and being ridiculed for not knowing that an NFL game could end in a tie when his team tied the Cincinnati Bengals at 13. The tie was the first McNabb had been involved with since his career began in the NFL. He also achieved-or suffered a career first this past Sunday: being benched. His ineffective play in the Eagles destruction at the hands of Baltimore 36-7 caused the veteran to ride the pine while he watched Kevin Kolb take the snaps under center.

McNabb's season has steadily deteriorated. Sunday he completed only 8 of his 18 passes for 59 yards and two interceptions. To be fair, his replacement, Kolb, did not fare much better, tossing two interceptions of his own and only passing for 73 yards. However, McNabb is turning the ball over at an alarming rate. The veteran has been responsible for seven turnovers in the last seven quarters.

The Eagles managed only 206 yards and 13 first downs and were 3 for 13 on third down conversions. Philadelphia had better have a more consistent offensive attack on Thanksgiving as they host their first ever Turkey Day contest and welcome in the powerful offensive attack of the first-place Arizona Cardinals.

Perhaps Kolb's equally lousy play lead to coach Andy Reid's decision Monday to rename McNabb the starter for the game Thursday night. The game will be the third contest of the day for the NFL after Tennessee-Detroit at 12:30 and Seattle-Dallas at 4 o'clock.

Arizona did not have a good week last Sunday either. The Cardinals had the NFC's best Giants in their home stadium, where they had not lost this season. They allowed New York to score 30 points for the fourth straight time and came up just short 37-29. Arizona actually outplayed New York in many statistical categories, such as first downs (27-18), total yards (371-321) and passing yards (348-234), but they were unable to stop the Giants' intangibles.

The Cardinals will look to reestablish themselves after their three game winning streak was stopped Sunday, but will face a tough challenge on the road. Arizona is just 3-3 away from the desert and 0-3 against teams from outside of its own lousy division. The Cardinals missed a chance to become the first team to clinch a post-season spot when they lost Sunday. If they can beat Philadelphia on Thanksgiving, the Cardinals will clinch their first playoff berth since 1998 and first divisional title since the franchise was located in St. Louis.

InSpin.com

About the author:
http://www.inspin.com

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com