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Eagles in Must-Win Mode

Monday, November 14, 2005

November 14, 2005 -- Even before Terrell Owens took his big plays and bigger mouth home to Atlanta, the Philadelphia Eagles were a desperate team.

Philadelphia lost 17-10 to Washington last Sunday in its first game without Owens. McNabb led the offense down the field in the final minutes only to be stopped with three chances from the Redskins 7.

Without Owens, the Eagles plan to spread the ball around to several receivers, including Greg Lewis, Reggie Brown, Billy McMullen and tight end L.J. Smith. Former three-time Pro Bowl tight end Chad Lewis was re-signed earlier in the week, giving McNabb another familiar target.

Running back Brian Westbrook should get more carries as Philadelphia tries to balance out its pass-heavy offense.

"He is a good football player and good football players are hard to come by, but I think the team supersedes any of those good football players, because the team will continue to go on," Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress said of Owens. "I look at it from that standpoint."

Dallas (5-3) is coming off a bye week following an easy win against Arizona. The Cowboys have lost two games by a total of four points this season, and won three others by a combined margin of 10 points.

Running back Julius Jones is expected to return after missing the last three games with a sprained left ankle. Marion Barber filled in nicely, rushing for 222 yards in the last two games. Rookie Tyson Thompson also works into the mix.

"I'm going to use the players the best way I can," Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said. "I think now we have a good situation here. We have three kids I'll put in the game and I think they can all carry the ball. I think you better get used to that around here."

An effective running game has complemented Bledsoe's passing. The 13-year veteran has revived his career in Dallas after three subpar seasons in Buffalo. Bledsoe has thrown for 2,019 yards, 13 TDs and his quarterback rating of 97.4 is fourth in the league.

Oddly, the last time the teams played each other on a Monday night, Owens stole the attention with a pregame promo in which actress Nicollette Sheridan, a star of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," dressed only in a towel, asked him to skip the game, then dropped the towel and jumped into his arms.

Owens' response to Sheridan: "Aw, hell. The team's going to have to win this one without me."

Owens scored three TDs that night, but the Eagles now will have to win this one, and the rest of their games, without him.

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