Youthful Dawkins, Eagles' defense suffocate Steelers

BRIAN DAWKINS did not leap like a soon-to-be-35-year-old man.

The Eagles' free safety made the closing statement on an afternoon of redemption for the Birds' defense, with Lincoln Financial Field shaking from the thunder Jim Johnson unleashed on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Third-and-15, a little more than 3 1/2 minutes left, Ben Roethlisberger back to pass, the Eagles still a fluke touchdown away from losing a game they were dominating everywhere but the scoreboard.

Dawkins flew toward Roethlisberger. This is not sports writer hyperbole. There was a guard, Kendall Simmons, between the blitzing safety and the quarterback, so Dawkins launched himself, flying over Simmons and slashing downward like Wolverine, the comic book superhero whose image is plastered all over Dawkins' locker. The ball thunked to the turf, where Dawkins fell on it. Four plays later, David Akers set the final margin of a 15-6 Eagles victory with a 31-yard field goal.

It was a victory to savor, at least until today, when the MRI results come in on Brian Westbrook's right ankle. Westbrook left the game after appearing to step on one of teammate Tra Thomas' feet, on the first play of the second quarter. Coach Andy Reid said Westbrook suffered an ankle strain of undetermined severity.

If Westbrook, the focal point of the Birds' offense, is sidelined for very long, Dawkins and the defense might need to reprise yesterday's shutdown effort, more than once.

"Our defense played their hearts out, and the crowd screamed their hearts out," said Reid, who gave fans credit for the Steelers' out-of-sync pass blocking.

"I don't know what a 34-year-old is supposed to feel like or play like. I just know I had to get to Ben; he was scrambling, and I had to make the play . . . As I got off the [initial] block the back tried to block me," Dawkins said. "I pushed him back, saw Ben trying to step up, I knew I had to get to him, and I felt somebody at my feet. The next thing I knew, I was in the air. I knew I knocked [the ball] out. I didn't know where it landed . . . basically, it was right up under me. I just had to cradle it in."

No Eagle took more heat after last Monday's 41-37 loss in Dallas than Dawkins, who was seen flailing in the wake of long Cowboys completions, over and over. Dawkins, a six-time Pro Bowler, gave an impassioned defense of his abilities during his regular Wednesday news conference.