McNabb Benched, Wheels Are Off For Eagles

Donovan McNabb's been benched. Digest that for a moment.

Why, you ask? 8 for 18 for 59 yards with two picks and a fumble. How's that. And a 10-7 deficit that just got turned into a 12-7 deficit when McNabb's replacement Kevin Kolb got nothing done on his first possession and the Ravens blocked a punt for a safety.

So we can all but blow out the dimming candle that is the Eagles playoff hopes and now try to make sense of where they go from here with their franchise hood ornament being handed the indignity of a benching. And not just a benching at any old juncture but a benching when the Eagles former Pro Bowler spent a week getting assailed for not knowing that NFL games could end in ties.

The Eagles, at least in my experience around the team the past few seasons, are extremely loyal to McNabb. And that loyalty could be seen this week as players like Brian Westbrook leapt to McNabb's defense on the "tie game" brouhaha. So for them, benching McNabb could seem like grinding his face in the dirt when he's already down.

And for head coach Andy Reid, who's already under the gun himself, this seems like an effort to move away from the player who's been there through every one of Reid's successes and failures as a head coach.

Believe this, the Eagles team that enters the locker room this afternoon when this game ends will be a far different one than the one that exited it. It's a page-turning in Philly.