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PhiladelphiaEagles.com
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» Season Rewind Bills
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Entering the final game of the season, neither the Eagles nor the Bills had all that much to play for in terms of next steps for the 2007 season. Both had been eliminated from playoff contention. The product on the field certainly didn't show it.
Philadelphia's 17-9 win may have been a little bit sloppy, but it was clearly not lacking in passion. The game was as physical as any the Eagles played in 2007, and a day that was supposed to be all about Brian Westbrook ended up being about the return of Philadelphia's hard-hitting defense and about the return to health of quarterback Donovan McNabb.
That's not to say that Westbrook was an afterthought. It might not have been his most memorable afternoon of the year -- a season's worth of knee soreness limited him to 42 yards on seven carries -- but it was one that was chock full of history. On his first touch of the game, a 10-yard run off left tackle, Westbrook broke Wilbert Montgomery's franchise record for scrimmage yards in a season. In 1979, Montgomery finished with 2,006 yards, but, by the time Westbrook was through for the day, he had run his season total to 2,104. Less than an hour later, he also broke Irving Fryar's franchise record for catches in a season when he hauled in a beautiful 30-yard rainbow from McNabb along the left sideline. Westbrook finished the year with 90 catches for 771 yards and five touchdowns. Still, after a season in which all things Eagles revolved around Westbrook, he stepped aside in the finale and Jim Johnson's defense stepped up. So did McNabb, who finished the game 29 of 41 for 345 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. The Eagles offense came on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek and - oddly enough - a Kevin Curtis fumble recovery for a touchdown. As it turned out, those 14 points were enough. After the game, many Eagles talked about the frustration of ending the season on a three-game win streak. Still, the final three games gave players and fans alike high hopes for 2008. - JUSTIN KUNKEL
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