Eagles win, climb out of NFC East cellar

(AP Photo/John Froschauer)

It's not how you start the game, it's how you finish it.

The Eagles got behind early against the Seattle Seahawks when Seneca Wallace connected with Koren Robinson for a 90 yard touchdown on their first offensive play of the game. Things continued to look bad as Donovan McNabb was 0 for his first 7 passing attempts and even threw an interception near the end of the first quarter. After an ugly first quarter, the Eagles looked poised to be in a dogfight all day with a weak Seahawks team.

Of course, quarters 2, 3 and 4 were a completely different story. The Eagles ran off 26 consecutive points as the Seahawks failed to score again, giving Philly a 26-7 victory. McNabb bounced back from his slow start to complete 28 of 43 passes for 349 yards and 2 TD's, spreading the ball around to 10 different receivers, including offensive lineman Todd Herremans, who caught a one yard touchdown.

The receiving star of the night was tight end Brent Celek, who got the start for the injured L.J. Smith. Celek was open all day and caught 6 passes for 131 yards. Kevin Curtis also had a good game as he looks to be rounding back into form with 83 receiving yards.

Defensively, the Eagles rebounded after giving up the big play in the beginning of the game. They did struggle to stop the run at times but with the Seahawks dealing with a deficit for most of the game, they were forced to pass and they managed only 77 yards through the air following the 90 yard play in the first quarter.

The Eagles should also be commended for not having a penalty called on them for the entire game. That's a rare feat in the NFL, especially when holding can be called on nearly every play.

With the Giants knocking off the Cowboys, the Eagles now find themselves out of last place with a solid record of 5-3. While most fans hoped the Eagles would be at least 6-2 at this point in the season, things are definitely looking up for the Birds. A huge game looms next week against the Giants on Sunday night, and if the Eagles can pull that one off, they will be in a great position to challenge for a playoff spot and possibly for the NFC East title.

Just like this game, it doesn't matter how the Eagles started the season. They were 2-3 and things looked grim, but after 3 straight wins the Eagles are poised to make some noise. Hopefully some of the magic of the Phillies can rub off on the Birds, although asking for another championship so soon might just be greedy.