WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! Your Eagles Week 17 Recap

"BUSH!!!!!! BUSH!!!!!!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!"

My voice has not been the same since. It was gone before the Eagles even took the field for the season finale. For that's where the drama was. And oh boy, was there drama.

The Texans disposed of the the Bears fairly easily after a shaky start. There was little doubt in my mind that either Chicago and Minnesota would both win against teams superior to them. And while the Minnesota game was exciting, it was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to the drama in Raymond James Stadium.

Down 24-14 in the 4th quarter to the Bucs, the Oakland Raiders pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Philadelphia Eagles history. There are no words that I can use that I haven't already used to describe it. Enjoy the sheer amazingness of Michael Bush.

Unbelieveable. Who would have thought?

And then there was the kickoff in the Linc. And believe it or not, a certain Eagle who would end up playing a key role in the first half in turning the game into a blowout was not made aware of the scores in Houston and Tampa Bay.

It started out as a back-and-forth defensive battle which was a lot of what I expected. "But JFein, the Week 2 was a shootout, how could you have possibly thought this would be a defensive battle?" The answer is what has since happened. Neither offense was coming in that sharp and the Eagles' defense has been lights out ever since the Sunday Night game that the Eagles lost against the Giants. The teams traded field goals before Buckhalter started the fun with a 59 yard catch-and-run by Correll Buckhalter. That would eventually lead to a McNabb QB sneak for a TD. And get this. On 2nd and goal from the 1, the Eagles ran a sneak and it didn't work. But then he stuck with it, ran the sneak again and got in. It's amazing what happens when you run a sneak with a big QB. Just for that I'm adding the "Andy Reid Actually Does Something Right" tag.

The Eagles would complete another TD drive making it 17-3 before the game-changer occured. Dallas was trying to make a game of it before halftime and were driving. But then Romo threw the ultimate WTF happened interception on a pass intended for Roy Williams that went directly to the Eagle who had no idea the Eagles were in "Win and In" game, Sheldon Brown. That set up a TD to Celek. 24-3.

On the ensuing kickoff Adam "Don't Call Me Pacman" Jones fumbled the ball, the Eagles recovered, and Akers kicked a field goal to make it 27-3 at halftime.

Two redzone fumbles by the Cowboys that were returned for touchdowns by Chris Clemons and Joselio Hanson, respectively turned this one into the biggest laugher in Cowboys-Eagles history. 44-6 was the final and I'm still in shock. Not just that we absolutely creamed the Cowboys but the Raiders actually beat the Buccaneers! Repeat after me: THE RAIDERS BEAT THE BUCCANEERS!!! And remember the frequently played call by Gene Deckerhoff after the Matt Bryant kicked a 63-yard field goal to beat the Eagles. "MATT BRYANT IS MY HERO!" Well, today, to him I say, "MICHAEL BUSH IS MY HERO!"

The Eagles have been on an absolutely roller coaster ride this season. There have been highs. There have been lows. There have been lows so low that I went on a Keith Olbermann-esque Special Comment. And then there was today. The Houston Texans. Michael Bush. 44-6. It was the perfect day. The Eagles are now off to Minnesota to play the Vikings on Sunday at 4:30 on Fox. I'll have a preview of that game on Friday. Not only that, but throughtout the week, I post an exclusive preview of the other 3 wild-card games starting tomorrow with the Falcons @ Arizona.

Lastly, I have a couple points about the announcers followed by one strong point that you don't miss. First of all, what in the blue hell was up with all the pink ties today? Good lord. First it was Kevin Harlan in Tampa and then Joe Buck in Philly. Whatever was up with it, it brought good luck to the Eagles, that's for sure.

And aspeaking of our good friend, Joseph Francis Buck, I'll end by expanding on a point he said. Joe Buck takes a lot of heat, some of it deserved, some of it not. While not my favorite announcer, I think that I like him more than most other people do. However, there can be little arguing with his point at the end when they were discussing the Cowboys. Despite being blownout at this point, Aikman still called Dallas the most talented team in the NFL. Joe Buck would hit the nail on the head though.

"The Dallas Cowboys are just a bunch of talented individuals", he said, and he could not be more right. There is no camaraderie in Dallas. They are just a bunch of talented individuals wearing matching jerseys. That's it. They are not a team. And Jerry Jones thinks that money can buy championships. Guess what, Jerry, money can't buy championships. It never will. Look at the Patriots last year. Look at the Redskins every year. Look at you, Jerry. Mr. Publicity. Mr. Money Bags. What did it all get you? It got you blownout in Philly 44-6. Are you proud of yourself? And what are you going to do, Jerry? Spend more money? Try to build another team around the best collection of players. Instead, focus on building a team. Meanwhile, say what you want about Philly fans, but the Eagles are a team. They don't turn on each other. They don't complain when others are getting more playing time. They play together. They play with heart. I mentioned the roller coaster season earlier, well through all of it, one thing remained constant. The Philadelphia Eagles remained together. They were a team that never stopped believing in each other. They kept fighting when everyone had them written off. They never quit. And if you doubt that sincerity, then look at Sheldon Brown. Not even having been made aware of the situation, he played his heart out and made the interception that turned the game around. That's pride. That's passion. That's the work of a teammate. And the end result was that of what happens when a team plays up against a group of individuals.

44-6.