Cowboys and Redskins losses, McNabb benching highlight Eagles bye week

The Eagles didn't play in Week 8 but they have to be pretty happy with everything that happened to their divisional rivals in the week. Not only did the Cowboys and Redskins lose, they both lost in embarrassing fashion, with the Cowboys getting worked by a very average Jaguars team and the Redskins collapsing in the 4th quarter against the Lions. Oh, and of course, there is the little matter of the Redskins benching Donovan McNabb.

With the Redskins still within a touchdown late in the game, head coach Mike Shanahan chose to bench McNabb, turning the offense over to Rex Grossman. Yep, Shanahan thought the team had a better chance of winning with Rex Freakin' Grossman than they did with McNabb. While Shanahan said after the game that McNabb was still the starting quarterback, you can bet the sensitive McNabb will sulk in practice and won't soon forget getting benched. The Redskins can probably forget about signing McNabb to a long term deal.

As for the Cowboys, while their season was pronounced over once Tony Romo went down, starting the season 1-6 is still a nightmare scenario for "America's Team". The disappointment on the face of Jerry Jones is enough to bring a smile to any Eagles fan.

Of course, with a game against the Colts looming in Week 9, the Eagles don't have much time to enjoy the suffering of their biggest rivals. With the way the rest of the NFC is playing, the door is still wide open for a darkhorse contender like the Eagles to get hot and make a Super Bowl run.