Four late fourth-quarter cracks at the goal line from the Bears' 4, three from the 1.
No points. Chicago wins, 24-20.
If Brian Westbrook had been able to play, or if David Akers was still the kicker he once was, Buckhalter wouldn't have been left to try to explain how the Eagles are 2-2, just like the Bears, who spent the entire second half trying to give them the game.
But Westbrook and his injured ankle were watching from the sideline, and the Eagles didn't have the offensive weapons to win, despite an amazing series of opportunities provided by four Bears turnovers.
On first-and-goal from the 4, after driving from their 24 in seven plays, the Birds got a 3-yard run from Buckhalter. On second down, fullback Tony Hunt seemed to have a hole inside but didn't go there and lost nearly a yard. It wasn't clear what Hunt was doing. On third down, Buckhalter tried to leap the pile, the way Westbrook does so effortlessly, and he came up about a foot short.
Fourth down, 3 minutes and 40 seconds left, instead of a sneak or a roll by Donovan McNabb, the Eagles sent Buckhalter into the middle again, and defensive end Alex Brown got penetration, grabbing Buckhalter by the neck as he leaned into the pile. Not quite there, by an inch or two.
"I kind of wanted to jump, but they were already up in the air," Buckhalter said.
"We've got to score. We're on the 1-foot line. We've got to score," said Eagles coach Andy Reid, whose playcalling left much room for second-guessing. "It's my responsibility to get our guys into the end zone, when we have the opportunities."
There and on an earlier failed short-yardage conversion, Reid did not call a quarterback sneak, even though McNabb has been pretty much automatic on those his entire career, and is, in fact, bigger than Buckhalter. Reid said he considered the idea but abandoned it because of McNabb's contused chest.
