Eagles get lots of mileage from running game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Were you shocked, too? You had to be. No one could have seen that coming.

Forget about the result - though the relative ease with which the Eagles beat the division-leading Giants, 20-14, was a surprise. No, the true stunner was the means that helped the Birds reach the desired end.

After the Eagles toppled New York, Donovan McNabb stood in an airless concrete bunker in the basement at Giants Stadium and said pretty much what everyone was thinking. To wit: Can you believe the Birds won by dominating on the ground and controlling the time of possession?

"We're not known for running the ball," McNabb said.

It was easily the understatement of the season. The Eagles aren't known for running the ball in the same way that Plaxico Burress isn't known for his aim.

In the most unanticipated turn since John McCain plucked Sarah Palin from the Alaskan wilderness, the Eagles went on the road and beat the Giants at their own game. They did what the media and the fans have been collectively clamoring for all year - they ran the football, then they ran some more. They ran 41 times, in fact, as opposed to just 30 passes. They never stopped running.

At some point, Andy Reid will have to explain - or, rather, he'll have to dance around and obfuscate - why this strategy wasn't employed sooner. Like, oh, I dunno, at the beginning of the year. Or, say, in the middle. Or at any point before the season became a dire, must-win or else all is doomed and heads are put on spikes equation.

In the interim, though, you and I and the players still have to get over yesterday's astonishing events. The Eagles ran the ball. A lot. How bizarre.

"We were very committed to" the run, said Brian Westbrook, who had 131 rushing yards on a career-high 33 carries. "I give a lot of credit to [Reid]. We're usually not that committed to it. We always tell him, 2 and 3 yards [per carry] isn't that bad."

They told him, but he didn't listen. He never has. Not until yesterday.

Seriously, think about that awhile and tell me you aren't floored.

Cheers