Eagles rout Cowboys to earn wild-card berth

December 29, 2008|By LES BOWEN, bowenl@phillynews.com
(Page 4 of 4)

"You just tell me how that ball stayed in bounds and I was able to punch it back on the field . . . You guys probably roll your eyes when I say it, but I'm a blessed man," Dawkins said.

There was plenty of that to go around. McNabb, 12-for-21 for 175 yards, two TDs and a 116.2 passer rating, was among the redeemed on the most unlikely day of reckoning.

"I've been kind of revived, I guess," McNabb said, after breaking his own franchise record for passing yards in a season, set in 2004. He finished with 3,916, and his offense, despite its well-publicized inconsistencies, set a franchise points record, with 416. "They've thrown me out, they ran over me, spit on me . . . but you know what . . . I just continue to prevail . . . Since y'all talked about me not being in the playoffs the last 4 years, I'm in. It's sweet . . . but I've got a job to do [at Minnesota]."

Story continues below.

Dawkins, who missed the Thursday and Friday practices with the flu, left the field in the third quarter to get an IV as he battled cramps. As he jogged toward the tunnel, fans watching stood and cheered one of the franchise's all-time greats, on what could have been his last trip off the home field.

Nobody was thinking about that yesterday evening, though.

"It's the start of something," Dawkins agreed, when someone asked him if this was the start of something special. "We'll see how special it is after playing this [next] game, but it's the start of something." *

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.

 

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