Score Of The Broncos Game

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Score Of The Broncos Game, thanks to sly stallone. let's go down and check in with pam oliver. >> hey, joe.

packers about as loose as a visiting playoff team can be, i think. fun to watch guys like donald driver or robert ferguson yukking it up with those notoriously venomous eagles fans before the game. but in all seriousness,

ahman green says it's gonna come down to who's the most consistent. donovan mcnabb is preaching "one play at a time." meanwhile, james thrash told me before the game, "no need to do more than you can do. we don't have to aim for an

out-of-body kind of performance to win this game." back to you. >> all right, pam. brett favre will have to stand on the sideline and watch that defense, troy, that you talked about. and what they did last weekend

against seattle -- not a real solid performance. poor tackling. just moments ago, number 4 and number 5 got together. they've had headlines about them for different reasons all season long, all career long for each guy.

and it's a matchup of those two and the eagles and packers here this evening. >> the two guys about as emotionally stable as you're ever going to find in the national football league. to see what both of those guys have gone through this season,

and they never flinched. they never blinked their eyes. they played great football, and that's why these two teams are here right now. >> they talk about that coaching tree coming off mike holmgren's staff in green bay. andy reid saying, "look, let's

be honest. we all got jobs because of one guy -- brett favre." james thrash. across the 25. and he is knocked down at the 28. and that's where the philadelphia eagles offense will

begin with it. after a rough start -- not only record-wise to this season but statistically speaking, it has been a great ride the last 7 weeks of the regular season for donovan mcnabb's crew. averaging over 30 1/2 points per game.

number one in the nfl. dangerous throw. dangerous throw to duce staley. and closing on him quickly was marques anderson, who had a lot of critics after last weekend's performance against seattle. >> yeah, and what we saw right there from the eagles is they

like to come out on the play-action, and what that does -- not only does it influence the linebackers, but it also gives them much better protection along that offensive line. they've gone more to it in the second half of the season.

that time, they had protection. they just had nowhere to go with the ball. >> mcnabb throws on the run. incomplete. with l.j. smith, the tight end, the intended receiver. great coverage. mckenzie was there.

sharper was there. it's third and 10. >> mike mckenzie on the outside is just simply going to roll up in this zone coverage. and when smith breaks to the outside, mckenzie almost takes his head off. i'm not so sure if mcnabb

misread the coverage or not, but he really ran his guy right into a major blow. >> well, i think they both misread the coverage, cris. l.j. should have shut it down. donovan should never have thrown into a rolled corner. fortunate that ball was not, in

fact, intercepted. >> play clock winding down. and the peyton manning imitation... lincoln financial field -- a beautiful new facility. $512 million to build this place. it is one of the new jewels

across the national football league. third down and 10 for mcnabb and philadelphia. >> man coverage again for the packers. >> no blitz. just a 4-man rush. and mcnabb has it batted down.

cletidus hunt got his hands up. knocked it down. and it is a quick three and out plus a time-out and a good start for the packers defense. >> well, it really was. and they showed man, cris. you're right. but what you're gonna see is the

safety here go to a cover 2. he's gonna roll up. and so they're giving different looks already this early in the game, trying to confuse donovan mcnabb. >> line-drive punt from dirk johnson. penalty flag.

two of them fly as chatman is wrestled down at the 28. good punt of 47 yards. 3-yard return. and we will check the marker. ed hochuli is our referee today. trying to figure out the spot. it's definitely against the green bay packers, as all the

players on this stage move back toward the packer end zone. >> looked like curtis fuller with a push in the back. >> during the return, illegal block in the back by the receiving team, number 29. half the distance to the goal. green bay keeps the ball.

first down. >> brett favre was wondering where the packers were gonna get he's already into the game. hasn't even stepped foot officially onto the field. >> i can guarantee you that as a quarterback, you watch those special teams play.

as you get a penalty like that, it backs yourself up. makes it that much more difficult to go the distance and come away with a touchdown on this possession. >> hand-off is to ahman green. and if there is the big question for the philadelphia defense --

can they shut down the green bay packers running attack? ahman green ran all over them in a monday-night game. that was back november 10th at lambeau field. and there's the group up front. they've played all year. no injuries, guys, and it has

paid off. only 19 sacks allowed all season. first throw for favre. to the sideline. coming back for it was driver. defensively up front for philadelphia, they are going to get the most play at tackle from

darwin walker and corey simon. and if two guys ever needed a week of rest, troy, it was those two guys. and if there was ever two guys that needed to step up and have big games today, it's those two guys. darwin walker and corey simon

are going to be the keys into shutting down this green bay running game. >> on third down and 9, they run it with green, and he is well short. >> nice recognition that time by sheldon brown on the play. anytime you end up in those

nickel-and-dime situations, the reason so many teams like to run the football there is because they feel like that they can get their back to break a tackle and pick up the first down. but sheldon brown, who's replacing troy vincent today, stepped right up, made a great

tackle. >> reno mahe last returned a punt in that monday-night game november 10th. westbrook will miss the rest of the playoffs. and mahe is wrestled down. good play downfield by james whitley.

well, not bad trying to stop the run the first time the packers had the ball, say those guys on the bench -- the philadelphia defense. and you look at what's happened since 1990 when they went to six playoff teams. history does not bode well or

paint a good picture for the green bay packers. the number-4 seed at the start of this playoff. that's duce staley. number 3 on the all-time list among philadelphia eagles running backs. and you look at this offensive

centered by hank fraley, who goes by the nickname "honey buns." honey buns. and correll buckhalter is the guy they announce as the starter, but i have a feeling we're gonna see a lot of duce staley today.

there's honey buns. that's the shoulder area. >> from the other side. >> this is buckhalter. decent pickup on second down. third and short coming up. a gain of 5. let's look at the defense for the green bay packers.

and if there has been a difference maker up front, it's big grady. >> boy, that's an understatement. you check out what he's done. >> the big part or the difference part? >> well, all of it.

yeah, i mean, a big body, but when he's come in and he's began playing -- in fact, his first game with the packers was that monday-night game in week 10. this defense has steadily improved since he joined the club. >> he was telling us he can dunk

a basketball. i'd like to see that. >> so would i. >> i don't believe it. >> i'd like to see that. >> i think he can do it, but i'd like to see it. third down and 3. buckhalter on a toss.

nope. well played by the rookie middle linebacker nick barnett. >> i think what's interesting so far, joe -- we saw on the last possession with green bay, third and 9. and they're deciding that they're going to try to run the

football. and then the eagles, they're in a similar situation -- third and medium. and they're gonna run the football as well. right now, it looks to be a game that both offensive coaches are going to try to play field

position. >> why? got two of the best offenses in the league out here. been red hot. let's go. let's crank it up. >> chatman calls for a fair catch, and collinsworth calls

for action. just moments ago, brett favre was looking at that bandage and that splint on his right thumb. and as the packers are at the line, we'll show you how favre came on the field, the awkward way which he had to put his helmet on his head.

hand-off is to ahman green. a gain of 4. >> there's no question. when you go to put the helmet on, you put your thumb inside and you pull out the headgear and so it fits over your ears. you can see that he's uncomfortable getting his thumb

in there. there's his thumb. he's using his index finger to try to separate the ear pads. obviously he's got something. he may have banged it in that first possession. >> fracturing that thumb october 19th in a game at st. louis.

favre looking left the entire time. and he floats it over the head of ferguson. >> just so people understand what brett can and cannot do -- if you stick your thumb straight up in the air and you try to bend the top half of it down,

that's what he can't do. when he moves his thumb, it basically all moves together. so, when we watched him on that monday-night game when these two teams played before and he had so much trouble holding on to the ball, especially a wet ball, you begin to understand

it a little bit. >> you know, last week, he considered not going with the splint. at game day, he decided to go ahead and use it. he thought it was pretty much healed. but he has obviously

reaggravated it. >> third down and 6. pressure from kalu. and the pass is caught. wesley walls. the veteran tight end. and that's the first first down of the night. >> that time, chad clifton saved

the play. it looked like n.d. kalu was going to get to brett around the corner. and one final push right at the last second was enough for brett to step up. kalu actually got his hand on the back of his jersey.

but just wasn't quite enough to get to brett. >> you start talking about receptions by tight ends and that reminds you that the eagles are playing without their defensive mvp, as voted on by the players, carlos emmons. one-handed try by henderson.

could not pull it in. >> i thought it was interesting when we were talking to defensive coordinator jim johnson, for the philadelphia eagles, and we asked him, "what's the key to stopping this offense of the packers?"

he said, "the first thing we've got to concern ourselves with is brett favre. he's the guy who makes it happen." which was really a surprising response considering the fact that ahman green rushed for 192 yards in that first meeting.

but he understands as long as they don't give up big plays, then they are less inclined to give up points, which has been their motto all season long. >> second down and 10. over the middle. there's bubba franks. the first game -- the meeting

between these two teams -- november 10th, franks was held, predominately by the play of carlos emmons, to one catch for 4 yards. we just saw a completion to walls for a first down and now the first one to franks of the evening brings up third down

and 4. >> and we really should talk about carlos emmons. there's ike reese, who took carlos emmons' place. emmons was the defensive mvp on this team. a big, stout guy against the run.

and you know they're going after ike reese in the running game today. >> third down and 4. ahman green. with henderson out in front of him. well played. fourth down.

corey simon. sheldon brown. great pressure up front from this philadelphia eagles and a good start for them. >> well, it's a great job by the eagles defensively. secondary support out on the outside pursuing the ball.

sheldon brown coming up and forcing it. >> what a play. >> then the pursuit on the back side. nice job there by the eagles. and that's an area that these packers want to improve on, is converting on third downs.

>> the punt by bidwell. mahe from inside the 25. the former wide receiver at byu takes it out to the 35. if you're sheldon brown and you make a great play, get that neck loose 'cause bobby taylor's coming. >> get down, baby!

that was one of the things i really thought that the eagles might be hurting on a little bit without troy vincent today, just the run support, but sheldon brown has been playing pretty stout so far. >> first down for philadelphia at their own 35.

mcnabb fires. guns it into thrash. 8-yard gain and let's go down to >> okay, joe. i checked with the packers on brett favre's thumb. they said what you guys talked about was not really related to any kind of aggravation.

they said they put a little too much tape on it. brett didn't like it, so they had to cut it off. that was it. >> the tape. >> those quarterbacks are sensitive guys, you know. you got to get it just right.

>> you got to coddle them. >> that's it. >> uh-huh. >> it's taken us a little while to figure that out, too. >> that happens until you retire. >> [ laughs ] and then it gets worse.

>> pass is incomplete. first thrash had a shot at it, then pinkston. >> yeah, i'm not sure thrash -- i don't even know if donovan knew which guy he was throwing it to. you're right, joe. thrash was in the slot.

he came up and thrash wasn't sure if, in fact, the ball was coming to him. and then pinkston was a little unsure himself. as you're gonna see, the ball is behind thrash if it was going his way. should have been an easy

completion and easy first down. >> yeah, that's the other point. it would have been an easy 1-yard pickup -- nothing more than that -- and a first down. and instead it's third and 1. play-action. mckenzie coming. donovan mcnabb lost the

a free football. the packers say they have it. and they do. mike mckenzie with pressure from the back side. >> they've already been pretty active with mckenzie. they blitzed him on first down. they come back with it again

here on third down. and donovan has no idea that he's being trailed by him. >> yeah, and it looked like correll buckhalter was supposed to pick him up or at least be available to pick him up. and how many times have you seen that, troy, when you get to

start stumbling along a little bit and you have the ball in one hand? it's just very difficult to hold on to it. >> nick barnett, the rookie, came up to get the fumble. favre going for it all. for ferguson.

end zone. touchdown, green bay. sheldon brown on the coverage, and ferguson got behind him for the first 6. >> you're gonna take a look and see why it is so open. it's one-on-one right here. and then you've got

michael lewis, who came up in run support, which opened up the middle of the field. and all brett favre had to do was lay it out there. he had no safety help. it was completely one-on-one, and sheldon brown couldn't keep up.

>> and you might as well give an assist to ahman green on that one. they were playing the run on guessed wrong. and now they're behind a touchdown. >> robert ferguson had only 38 catches during the regular

4 touchdowns. he is in the end zone here. you see that stat for and right after the turnover, brett favre read the defense and went for the home run and hit it. >> well, i think it helps explain why jim johnson was so

concerned about brett favre and this passing game and giving up big plays within in. >> james thrash. survives a hit. keeps on rolling. out across the 40. great return by thrash, who's gonna be marked down just shy of

the 45-yard line. let's go back to the touchdown throw. >> you can always tell when a defensive back has inside technique on a wide receiver that it's straight man coverage. on the presnap, brett favre knows right now there's gonna be

nobody down the middle of the field, nobody in the post. he just airs it out and comes up with a big opening play. and for the philadelphia eagles, the thing that they have done best since those first two losses of the season is hold on to the football.

only 22 turnovers all season. but they had 8 in those first two games. so they can't get back on that road. that's how they were losing. >> it's also important to remind you that troy vincent, a 5-time pro bowler, is out with a bad

hip. not dressed for this game. mcnabb in trouble. gets out of it. and the middle of the field is wide open. inside the 20 and out of bounds near the 15. >> joe, and that's one of the

problems. when you decide you're gonna play man-to-man coverage and run off with the wide receivers and try to bring a little bit of pressure on donovan mcnabb, if he does scramble and he gets beyond the line of scrimmage, there's nobody accounting for

and that's why there's so much space and so much room for him to run. and then once he gets going, you see the receivers. they turn and they start blocking their guys. and they're fortunate, actually, this didn't go all the way for a

>> 42-yard run -- the longest of the season. as they hand to buckhalter. and he ran into a wall. >> you know, it just makes such a difference when donovan mcnabb starts to run the football. because now as a defensive unit, you can't go into those 2-man

and man coverages. it just keeps you out of that. so, now what you've done to a defense is essentially limit your options. and when we were talking with grady jackson, his line was, "we have to keep this guy in the cage."

keep him in the cage. don't let him out. well, that time, he got out and burned them big. >> second down and 9. mcnabb with all day. pinkston was looking for a flag. sharper was on him early, but no penalty flag is thrown.

that'll bring up third and 9. >> that's a great job of coverage right there by the as you could tell, donovan mcnabb had plenty of he was looking for james thrash. he's trying to cross al harris' face. he did, but marques anderson

there, the safety, number 20, took it away. but donovan had time, and they did a good job of covering him >> yeah, i thought that was a pretty good indictment, though, of the philadelphia eagles receivers. wasn't much of an effort.

when your quarterback's standing back there with the football, you have to do some scramble drills and get yourself open. >> third down. the pass is caught. terrific reception is made by freddie mitchell, who finally this season has given the

eagles a reason to smile after drafting him in the first round back in 2001. >> and now harris wants him to challenge this play. they don't think that freddie mitchell came up with this catch. >> well, and take a look at the

throw here. donovan mcnabb -- there's not gonna be a whole lot of room right here, but he fits one in in front of darren sharper right there, and that's a heck of a throw by donovan mcnabb. now the question is "did, in fact, freddie mitchell hang on

to it?" >> they gave mitchell enough for a first down. it would be first and goal from inside the 4-yard line. and we get another look at it. >> green bay is challenging. >> oh, that ball hit the ground. >> way to go, al harris.

>> and it would be fourth down and 9 at the 15. or if the call stands, which we don't expect, it would be first and goal from the 4. >> you were talking a little bit about freddie mitchell and his development this season. >> the ball went through the

receiver's arms and hit the ground. therefore, the pass was it's now fourth down and 10 on the 14-yard line. philadelphia's ball. no time-outs are charged. >> and, joe, freddie has improved as the season has

progressed, but those types of plays -- those are the ones that you just have to make because those equate into potential touchdowns, and as we've seen already throughout the playoffs the last couple of weeks, when you have to start settling for field goals down here in the red

zone, sometimes that comes back to haunt you. >> did somebody say st. louis? >> we were trying to break it to you gently. >> well, i don't know if this game will allow us to take the macro look at everything that's gone on in the playoffs so far,

including what happened in st. louis yesterday evening, early evening and nighttime -- a double-overtime game. the field goal is pushed. it started to hook in and then came back out to the left. and akers misses. and what looked like a golden

opportunity for philadelphia to tie the game with a first and goal at the 4, you get the reversal and then the 33-yard miss by david akers. >> i don't think david akers can believe it. usually, those kicks hook. but that is down towards --

there's this one open end of the stadium on that side. it looked like the wind just caught it and moved it right outside the goal post. that's the second most accurate field-goal kicker in nfl history right there. he didn't get his hook.

>> this is really the side, troy, that akers was worried we think back to the game we were here -- that 42-yarder that he hit. looked like it was good, but it ended up short, against san francisco, kicking down into this end of the field.

this is ahman green. makes a move and slides out to the 25-yard line. a gain of 2. second down and 8. so far, pretty good for this philadelphia defense after green was really corralled by the seattle seahawks a week ago.

>> and you can see already what a difference it makes to have a little bit of rest on your corey simon and darwin walker are the two big guys. really worn down throughout the course of this season because of injuries to paul grasmanis and hollis thomas.

they've had to play much more than they expected, and that week off seemed to do them a lot of good. >> third down and 5. that's fisher. that's a first down. out at the 49. >> well, a heck of a job in play

calling right there and getting the ball into fisher's hands. and we're gonna see javon walker, who's gonna make a key block. there he is right there. and as a result, you're gonna see the block here. and that's what allows fisher to

get back up inside and allows him to pick up the first down. >> favre. stumbling. just flips it to ahman green. and green will head down the sideline. dawkins forces him out of bounds at the 35-yard line.

and here's a guy in green who all anybody wanted to talk about early in the season was his propensity to fumble, getting basically a little flip from brett favre and hanging on. >> well, and that's because brett favre slipped and started to fall down.

this was not intended to be a toss, but he tosses it to ahman. it was the only way he could get the ball into his hands. what great concentration by ahman green to locate the ball and secure it and then ends up in a big run. >> yeah, i think brett got

stepped on by one of his offensive linemen, and that's a typical brett favre play. what the heck? i'm just gonna throw it to him. >> 26 yards. a first down at the 35. right up the middle is davenport.

he's got another green bay first down. >> without question, the big story for the green bay packers has been the play of this offensive line. if you remember a season ago when they went into the playoffs, they had neither of

their tackles. chad clifton got knocked out by warren sapp. mark tauscher had the knee injury. and this season, they've been playing together all season long. and the timing of this offensive

line has allowed each of these backs to average over 5 yards a carry. >> great job by najeh davenport running. and poor tackling on that play by the eagles. >> davenport again. not much this time.

back to the line of scrimmage and that's it. >> of course, davenport -- he's been able to come in and spell ahman green and give him some rest as this season has gone along. a former fullback last year coming in from college.

and they made the move and put him at tailback. what a great change-up to ahman green because as we've seen, he's more of a power, downhill type guy, and he's got the power to break tackles. >> toss to davenport. and like ahman green will do, he

hesitated just enough to find an alley and a gain of 6. >> right now, najeh davenport doing a little talking with brian dawkins over there. dawkins is the emotional leader of this defense. missed the first matchup between these two teams, but as that

toss sweep was coming around there and these big offensive linemen were pulling out in front, you could just see the philadelphia eagles defensively on their heels backing up. they were no match for them. >> eagles are confused. favre.

for ferguson again. a leap. and a catch. and another touchdown. ferguson with two scores here in this long first quarter. and right now, the extra point it's 13-0, packers. >> well, and you're gonna see

it, joe. when they broke the huddle, nobody came out to cover the slot receiver ferguson. they finally get out there just as the ball's being snapped, and they did not have a chance to even make a play on the ball. great awareness by brett favre

in giving him a chance to get the ball up in the air. >> did you see brett favre wave robert ferguson up the field? ferguson was just gonna take that little hitch. and brett said, "no, no, no. we're going for the whole thing."

he waves him up the field and hits him for the touchdown. >> the thing i liked when we visited with him yesterday was you could just tell he was confident about his football team and how they were gonna play coming into this ballgame. >> and i think he's a little bit

fed up with hearing about the running game on the green bay now, he didn't come right out and say anything, but he said, "we need balance on this team, too." and everybody wants to talk about ahman green and how well they run it.

but anytime you talk to the coaching staff of the green bay packers, they say you take brett favre out of there and then let's see how well we run >> waiting for it is thrash. from the 9. forced out at the 28. but in this first quarter, it

has been an ugly start. mcnabb scrambling again. sliding down. still gets popped by sharper. and a gain of 5. >> well, and right now, every time the eagles drop back to pass, they've caught the packers playing pass coverage.

so, there really has just not been anywhere for donovan to we're seeing him getting good protection and he's had to scramble, but he's been able to pick up some pretty good yards when he's done that. >> and, really, ed donatell has been winning the matchup battle,

if you will, that he has guessed right -- run, pass -- for most of this first quarter. >> staley. brought down 2 yards shy of a and we are under a half-minute to play in this first quarter. >> and, joe, i think to go back to what you were talking about

about the season for the eagles -- they know as well as anybody that regardless of how their season has gone and what they've accomplished getting to this point, getting the first-round bye, getting home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, that the only

thing that they're being judged on is how well they do in this game and if they're able to move on. that's the expectations, that's the criteria now for this ball >> whistles before the snap. the eagles did not have to snap it prior to the end of the

quarter. and it may be a clock issue. >> there was a malfunction of the play clock. no foul. >> well, they're going to wind the clock. there's gonna be one second left, and that's gonna be it

for the first quarter. [ whistle blows ] we are finished with one quarter of play. that eagles defense wondering what hit them in the first 14 points hit them and now it's third down and 2 for the offensive line doing what

they have done all year. nobody missed a game across that front. they had a record-setting year. franchise-record-setting year running the ball. the lack -- only those 19 sacks. third down and 2. over the middle it is gunned.

it is complete. and a first down for reno mahe, who has been basically inserted into the playbook and is taking a lot of the plays that westbrook would normally play, is there for the first-down catch. >> and he used to be a wide

receiver at byu. and that was a heck of a look and route. he came out of the backfield and just ran a very quick little in cut. and if he's gonna have that sort of capability -- that's really the first route i've ever seen

that guy run. he looks like lightning in a bottle. i'm not so sure i'd be taking him out. >> it's first down. it's more play-action from mcnabb. buckhalter out of the backfield.

is popped by kgb. and knocked down after a gain of 5. >> you know, one of the blitzes that green bay likes to bring is they like to cross the two inside linebackers here. and they've had success with it. they've had success against the

eagles in the first game, and they've had success against a number of other opponents. but philadelphia does a great job of picking that up and still giving donovan mcnabb time to locate the receiver and get the ball in his hands. nice job up front.

>> you see john welbourn throw a right hook and knock his guy right to the ground? >> second down and 5. that's buckhalter. and that's hannibal navies on the tackle. a loss of 2. grady jackson was up front

pushing for the pack as well. >> well, hannibal navies has been a guy that's filled in very nicely. they reshuffled all their linebackers for the green bay packers this year. they took na'il diggs, who was the strong-side linebacker.

didn't think he was quite big enough for that job. moved him to the weak side. brought in hannibal navies from carolina. and he's been a much stouter guy to play over that tight end. much better against the run. and then the real "x" factor has

been nick barnett, a guy who never played middle linebacker until they got to camp this year. and he's been in the middle just running sideline to sideline. >> third down and 7. pass is thrown. pass is complete to mitchell.

and now coming up from the back and saying incomplete is the back judge. and we're gonna have an explanation. the pass is incomplete. mahe, who could not make connection. >> well, and you're gonna see --

what green bay does is they do not always cover up the receivers when they spread out. they didn't do it in the first matchup. and when you allow these eagle receivers to just come off the ball, you're really giving them a free pass to run routes and

get open and try to get the ball into their hands. they failed to connect there. but green bay really needs to cover these guys up and reroute them. they have problems when they're having to come off a jam. >> so, another punt from

[ whistles blowing ] and the officials blow that play dead. >> may get a challenge here. >> when i blew my whistle to chop the ball into the play, the players thought i was stopping the game. we'll replay this down.

>> say what? >> i don't know. i ran into ed hochuli, our referee, before the game. he said, "hey, we're gonna be very clear on what we're doing out here on the field." he wasn't very clear on that. i don't know what happened.

>> he chopped something into the play. i just wasn't sure what it was. >> so, johnson gets another try out of it. chatman will let it go over his head. and it's downed shy of the goal wonderfully covered.

now they throw a penalty flag late. at the very end of the play. the head linesman came in and threw a flag. >> well, you have officials with their hats off, so if he were forced out of bounds or ran out of bounds and then came back

and was the first to touch... it would be an illegal touching. >> roderick hood, number 29, was the one down there. >> and i think what the eagles are saying is that he was forced out of bounds and then came back into the playing field as quickly as possible.

>> kicking player number 29 was pushed out of bounds legally and came back in bounds and was the first to touch the ball. that's a foul. illegal touching. 5-yard penalty. enforced from the previous spot. repeat fourth down.

>> wow. >> so we're going back to the other end and we'll get another punt. >> so you are allowed to force the kicker cover man out of bounds. that's what happened. it was a legal play.

he's the first one to touch it going down the field. it is a foul for illegal touching. and a huge break for the >> oh, no kidding. i mean, you get a chance to pin the packers down on the 1-yard and now they have to repunt it.

a huge break. you're gonna see it. right here is where he goes out of bounds. clearly a legal contact in order to force him out of bounds. and then he is, in fact, the first guy to touch it. >> and a great play by the

green bay packers to not hit roderick hood when he was out of had they done that, then that play would have been legal. >> so, another try from hangs another one up. chatman takes it from the 11. and hops out of bounds. on that last punt, an

interesting trip down the field for greg lewis. >> ran into head coach andy reid. andy showing some moves down there. >> that was james whitley who knocked him. and now a toss to ahman green.

running right. a nice gain on first down. the packers and brett favre will tell you, the key to third down is what happens on first down. the packers had the most yardage per first down in the nfc this >> well, that is the key. because when you're talking

about going against the eagles, i mean, jim johnson -- that's when he uses all of his exotic blitz packages. he wants to come after brett favre on passing downs. and he does not want to get hit blitzing when they run so the majority of those blitzes

are gonna be on third down. and that's why they want to keep them to short yardages. on second down and 4. that's too high. batted around and incomplete. and you talk about a dangerous just flipped up and luchey able to at least get his hands on it.

and after it bounced around and played pinball, it fell to the turf. >> pretty good play that time, i thought, by wesley walls, i believe it was, who essentially came in and started fighting for the ball and at least got it on the ground.

if he's not there right then, it looks like they're gonna have a chance with michael lewis to get the interception. but walls comes in and fights for the ball and it falls harmlessly. >> it looked like nick luchey just may have mistimed his jump.

it looked like he went up a little bit earlier. had he waited, might have been able to haul that one in. >> the eagles need a stop defensively. it's third down and 4. they hand it to fisher. and fisher has enough for

another green bay first down. gets 8. let's go back down to the field and pam oliver. what a contrast between the two benches so far in this game. the eagles may be more rested, but the packers looking more self-assured and confident.

a number of the eagles talked about having an excellent practice this week. but so far, that's not really translating onto the field. they just look cold. and actually, a little worried down here. well, the heavy package as they

call it -- kevin barry, an extra tackle -- is in for the big and they don't run it. favre lets it go. hits his fullback henderson. and a short gain on first down. >> one of the big differences right now in the game, joe, beyond the two big pass plays by

brett favre is what green bay has been able to do on third downs. last week, they were not very effective in that area. they stressed it. it was a point of emphasis this week in practice. and right now, they are

converting at 67%. and i've talked about it before. when you get into these types of games, the big plays and then who wins the third-down battles typically is who goes on to win ballgames. right now, green bay has the decisive edge in that category.

>> second down and 7. ahman green falls forward for 3. >> i thought one of the guys who really played a great game the first time these two teams got together was fullback william henderson for the he has a way, especially against some of these smaller

linebackers for the philadelphia eagles. he's just huge. and when he lowers his shoulder and gets into people, he not only gets them blocked but he gets them moved out of the hole. william henderson with a nice shot on that one.

give him a little running room. off his back foot. fires. and the pass incomplete for driver. and finally the eagles defense comes up with a hold on third >> and they brought the pressure that we were anticipating when

they get into those situations. i think that's why green bay when they've been in some similar third downs, they've chosen to run the football. that time they came back to pass, jim johnson dialed up the blitz. they were able to get pressure

on brett favre. >> the punt from bidwell. mahe with a fair catch. the bottom line at this graphic is that the philadelphia eagles ended up winning the game on a touchdown throw to todd pinkston. but a poor first half at lambeau

on november 10th. and a poor first half so far for donovan mcnabb here today. pinkston is wrestled out of bounds at the 30. under 9 1/2 to go in this second quarter. sit down, cris. we're about to show the country

just exactly how you look. >> i'm over here sweating, man. i've got so many heaters underneath this table here. i'm about to break out. >> these people out here don't feel sorry for you. >> no, they don't. >> not at all.

>> i don't think they do either. and you look at the way this game has unfolded. we're gonna talk more about i'm trying to determine right now if i'm going to open up a gigantic can of worms at some point before the end of this first half.

but right now, it's donovan mcnabb who is scrambling for his life. and brought down by kampman as he got to the 30. that will bring up third and 3. >> you know, last week, kabeer gbaja-biamila did not do a very good job getting pressure

on matt hasselbeck with seattle. and now, this week working against tra thomas, he can't get any pressure here either. he's got people there, and he cannot get free in order to get pressure to donovan mcnabb. and i really believe that kgb is gonna be a huge factor or needs

to be a huge factor in this game for green bay defensively. he's got to be able to get pressure on donovan mcnabb. >> actually recruited by philadelphia over the off-season. signed a huge deal with the that pass is gunned to

chad lewis. and it's a first down. up at the 40. you brought it up, cris, to donovan mcnabb about the velocity with which he is throwing the ball. and i would imagine on a windy day such as we have here today,

you've got to get something on the ball to get it out to these >> yeah, i don't know if it's just confidence or his thumb's feeling better or his leg's feeling better so he can drive off the ball or whatever, but when you watch tape -- and we saw a lot of him early this

season -- he just didn't look like he was throwing with the same velocity. and mcnabb actually said that a few of his receivers have told him the same thing. >> 7 1/2 to go in this first half. and that one slung out to his

tight end, l.j. smith. >> you know, one of the problems that you've got when brian westbrook's out of the lineup is they can't do all the things -- and there we go with brett's thumb again. they're gonna retape that for the seventh time.

you can't get all the matchups that you typically get. but right now, l.j. smith is a guy that they can flank out wide, they can do some of those games with. and i think that now you really need to open up this offense if you're andy reid and start

showing everything you're capable of doing. >> so far, mcnabb has completed six passes to six different down the sideline for pinkston. todd pinkston with a huge catch for philly. they mark him out of bounds at the 7.

44 yards to pinkston, who has really picked it up the last month. >> yeah, joe, but you got to ask yourself, "why is marques anderson, number 20, going to be the guy --" well, there you have it. they bring the corner blitz.

that makes the safety go over. now, what happens normally when you bring the safety blitz, the receivers are gonna run a hitch route or they're gonna run a slant route. that's what marques anderson was anticipating. they block it up again because

of the play-action protection that we spoke about earlier. now you got a mismatch with a receiver on a safety going down the field. >> great job there, too, by duce staley to pick up that corner blitzing. >> there's staley.

there's a touchdown. >> anytime you can spread out donovan mcnabb, you have to play and then the shovel pass just comes wide open on the outside. chuckie nwokorie, that time, had no choice. you got to take donovan mcnabb with his running ability.

easy touchdown. >> 7-point game. duce staley helping to try and extend the season for the philadelphia eagles and his career with the philadelphia his time in that uniform is winding down. unrestricted free agent at the

end of the year. likely to move on. his leadership and the way he handled splitting time with westbrook and buckhalter -- exemplary. and now akers kicks it back to the packers and najeh davenport. 14-7.

6:21 remaining in this first the packers with it at their own 32. fights forward. very close to the 35-yard line. a gain of 3. >> this is why i think duce staley has to be in the ballgame.

he's a veteran guy, a smart guy. watch the pickup on the outside. he gets mckenzie right out here, and that opens it up for the one-on-one coverage down the field to todd pinkston. and todd pinkston's been on a nice little roll the last three games.

more yards in the last three games than any eagles receiver since 1997 during a three-game stretch. >> second down and 7, green bay. blitz coming. favre was looking for his receiver javon walker to change his route.

walker didn't pick it up. it's third and 7. >> you go back to that last play, the big play that philadelphia hit there, cris, with the corner blitz, and as we've talked about, they have brought mike mckenzie on the corner blitz several times

already here in this first half. they've been able to make some plays. they caused the turnover on that time, andy reid had the perfect protection to block it and then again, you've got the mismatch with a wide receiver on a safety.

>> brett saw the blitz, and he knew he didn't have it picked >> i talked about that can of worms and maybe we'll get to it eventually, but with regard to brett favre, i wonder if the word "underrated" or "undervalued" has ever been used to describe him.

when you think about it, when he started to make a name for himself, you had so many great quarterbacks in the league. montana was just in the last two years of his career. obviously, there was steve young, who took his place. there was you, troy.

there was elway in denver. and that kind of followed him around, and he never really stood up or got the credit, i don't think, that he deserved early. and now that those guys are gone, you think about a guy like brett favre -- he may be most

respected after he leaves. because you consider, cris, what he has done elevating the players around him. he's never had a great cast around him. year after year, the guy wins. and here's the can of worms. he said he's going to play next

unless the green bay packers win the super bowl this year, he will seriously contemplate hanging it up. third down and 7. pass to the sideline. and he hit driver coming out of his break. >> and they are really going

after sheldon brown in this game so far everywhere he's lined up on the field. it's the same play they tried earlier in the game. just a timing route. donald driver's gonna drive off. the ball's in the air right now. and then driver gives him a

little push and gets away with sheldon brown complaining to the officials but just not gonna get those kind of calls very often in playoff football. and sometimes young corners don't understand the difference between playoff football and what they call during the

regular season. >> blitz coming. the pass is complete. over on the other side of the field it's donald driver. a gain of 6. >> well, and it's interesting. again, it's sheldon brown over there covering donald driver

one-on-one. but in talking with brett favre, if you ask him -- if you say, "brett, when you go out, all things being equal, do you challenge a corner? do you look for matchups?" and he said that, no, he does not.

he goes into the game. he goes through his progressions within the passing game. so whether or not it's coincidence that it's sheldon brown, i'd like to think that tom rossley, the offensive coordinator, is making sure they're taking care of that

>> they've thrown his way four times. completed four passes. two touchdowns. that's dropped off to and green is gonna be brought down just shy of first-down yardage. cris, you buying any of that

favre talk or not? >> you know, i don't know about i don't think that he knows what he's going to do. but do i think there's a chance that he could retire if they won the super bowl? yeah. based on what he was telling us,

i think there's a pretty good shot. but there's some things hanging out there, some nuggets for him. he has a chance to break dan marino's all-time touchdown record and some big things if he hangs around for two or three years, so sometimes i think the

emotions get the better of him when he starts talking about things like that. >> third down and 1. wide open hole for ahman green. first and goal, green bay. and the ball will be marked at the 4. >> and how much does that remind

you of the last time these two teams played? it was a fourth down and 1 in that game. and ahman green broke one for the distance. this is a team that in third down and fourth down and short all year this season has been

spectacular. that time, the eagles slanted their line away from that formation and got burned. >> well, that time, michael lewis came up and mike wahle, the left guard, he's the one who pulled out in front and made the block that sprung

>> end zone. franks. he's looking for a flag. jerome mcdougle, the big defensive end, the rookie, their number-one pick, was out there on him. >> and jerome mcdougle covered bubba franks the only way he

knew how. he just grabbed and held on for dear life. and bubba franks was trying to get a call, but if anything, it looked like bubba franks did more of the pushing than jerome mcdougle did of the holding.

>> well, and it wasn't like the eagles were disguising who was covering who. they got jerome mcdougle in a 3-point stance locked up right over bubba franks. i think bubba franks was excited about that one. >> kevin barry, the extra

tackle, is in. and on second and goal, it's he gets it to the 2. >> you know, we talked a little bit about -- a little earlier about the fact that jim johnson felt that brett favre was the key and did not want to give up any big plays in the passing

obviously, we've seen that here in the first half. he didn't feel it was a big concern giving up yards in the running game, just big plays in the running game. green bay came into this game number two in the nfl with runs of 20 yards or more.

and we just saw another one with ahman green a few plays ago. >> split right down the middle, the total yardage for green bay. knocking on the door again. davenport with a hurdle. trying. brought down short. >> it looked like it was awfully

close, him taking that second effort. it looked like he almost was able to break the plane. and mike sherman last week went for it on a couple different occasions. on fourth down he says you've got to be aggressive when you're

in the playoffs. it appears that they're gonna go for it again here at fourth and goal. >> they'll have extra time to talk about it as we will hit the 2-minute warning. no change with the decision. mike sherman and the green bay

packers will go for it after this play. >> it was close, too. najeh davenport almost got this ball in the end zone. but that knee is gonna hit just before he reaches out to extend it over the goal line. good call by the officials.

>> well, and ahman green was the guy who got the ball the last two times last week. you've got to believe it's gonna be his carry here. >> there he is. he is brought down shy of the goal line. and a huge hold for the

philadelphia defense. >> i'll tell you, that was one great play by the philadelphia eagles defense. 'cause they got caught in the wrong call. they slanted away from that and when that thing opened up -- you're gonna see these guys

slant in that direction, and that hole looked like it was but unfortunately, he ran right into the back of mike flanagan, and that's what put him on the that should have been a touchdown for the green bay >> actually, it was mike wahle, cris, the guard, who's trying to

pull. and anytime you start pulling offensive linemen down around the goal line, it is imperative that you don't have defensive pressure that knocks those linemen back into your running back. that time, philadelphia got the

pressure and they knocked the pulling guard, mike wahle, into >> so now the eagles take over with 1:56 remaining. two time-outs left. they hand it off. buckhalter picks up 2. they keep it on the ground with buckhalter.

a little breathing room. out to the 5. >> well, right now, if the eagles -- of course the packers will be calling time-out here. >> i think the philadelphia eagles have to try and make a play off their goal line. if they have to line up and

punt, they essentially are gonna give up three points here at the end of this half. you got to play a little offense right now. >> so, what will it be from andy reid? was with green bay from '92 to '98.

for two years was brett favre's quarterback coach. third down and 6. no pressure again. and the pass is complete to lewis. >> i'll tell you -- the more i see of this philadelphia team, the more these veteran players

seem like they're stepping up. on that last drive, when they went down the field for the touchdown, we saw chad lewis and duce staley and todd pinkston and donovan mcnabb, and, yeah, that's great having a lot of this young talent -- l.j. smith and correll buckhalter.

but you're in championship-caliber football and you're behind. it's time to let those veterans take over. >> eagles still aren't really convinced that they want to go down the field to try to get points and risk an interception.

taking their time getting to the line. and now donovan mcnabb will scramble for a first down and get out of bounds. and with 55 seconds left and a first down at their own 25, maybe they changed their mind and start trying to go

downfield. >> well, now they've gotten it out to a point to where, yes, they can decide that they want to try to start moving the football and try to come away with some points of their own here in the first half. they still have two time-outs

remaining. so there's still a lot of time left on the clock for them. i would expect them now to open this thing up and see what they can do. >> so far, the front four for the green bay packers has not put any pressure on

they bring an extra man and still can't get there. crowd wanted mcnabb to run. instead he throws. and it's incomplete for mitchell. >> and, joe, what we've seen from donovan mcnabb, when he has missed today, he has missed low.

and, really, that's really what happens with him -- whenever he misses any throws, they're in but if you're able to get the ball into freddie mitchell's hands, on the run, he's got a chance to get some yards out of this. >> he's wide open here, troy.

i don't know why donovan mcnabb -- maybe he just didn't see him. but now donovan by starting to move a little bit early out of the pocket -- that was a fairly easy read. man coverage. i thought he had a chance to hit

him right out of the break. >> well, and surprisingly donovan mcnabb told us yesterday that he is most comfortable throwing from within the pocket. more so than when he gets out on the edges. >> packers come with four. gbaja-biamila again can't get

and donovan mcnabb gets it forward. out to the 28-yard line, where it'll be third down. >> he's lucky. i'll tell you what -- donovan mcnabb is lucky he didn't lose that football. kgb came around the corner and

took a big swat at the ball. and i'm just not quite sure how he missed it. >> i don't know how he missed it, but he did. and donovan mcnabb stepping up. mcnabb's just too strong. he had such a -- 99 quarterbacks out of 100,

that's a fumble right there. >> i'll tell you what -- cletidus hunt does a heck of a job on the back side keeping him from getting more yards than what he got. >> on third down and 8. the first half will come to a close on that play, much to the

dismay of this crowd here in it's a 14-7 green bay lead halfway through it. >> it is a 7-point game at the mistake-filled first quarter for philadelphia, a huge stop defensively for the end of the first half for that philadelphia let's go down to pam oliver.

>> hey, joe, wasn't a whole lot of chatter as the eagles headed into the locker room, with the exception of one guy, who said, "frankly, they ain't gonna beat us." meanwhile, mike sherman said he is pleased with the aggressiveness of his team.

he's also complimentary of the offensive tempo. but he says, "donovan mcnabb -- we got to do a better job keeping that guy in front of us. we're overpursuing. we're getting to him, but we're overpursuing." the green bay packers will get

it at the start of this second andy reid hoping that his eagles can get beyond the green bay packers, get to their third consecutive nfc championship game, and then get over that big hump and get to the super bowl, super bowl xxxviii in houston. >> you know, and so much for

home-field advantage in the divisional round of the playoffs. so far, only new england holding serve at home. and right now, the philadelphia eagles behind, and i can tell you, there's gonna be some major disappointed fans in this

philadelphia area. when they get upset, they're not the kindliest folks in the world, should the philadelphia eagles fall flat on their face in the first round of the >> well, they won't be nearly as disappointed as what these players and coaches will be, who

put in a lot of hard work throughout this season to get to this point. and they certainly are looking for a better second half. >> that's what mcnabb had in that monday night matchup, november 10th at lambeau. hoping for more of the same.

davenport from outside the 10. for a big guy, some pretty nifty moves. and he is knocked down near the 33. and we look at the first-half stats. >> yeah, and i really believe right here is one of the big

keys. of course, green bay converting at a 60% clip. and you got philadelphia not converting quite as well. and then also in the running game -- donovan mcnabb has comprised most of their yards running the football.

i think they need to get duce staley on track a little bit. >> i think the green bay packers need to get back to their i don't think they've used it enough. they averaged almost 6.5 yards a carry in the first half.

>> there's a run. and there's a nice gain on first gain of 7 by ahman green. when you talk to brett favre, he'll tell you they'll get to the line and, for the most part, stay in formation. not a lot of shifting. because, as he says, "you can't

trick the eagles with motion because they're too off the wall." >> yeah, what happens, joe, is that when you start moving and shifting, then the defense is shifting, as well, and, especially on passing downs, it's very confusing to these

offensive linemen. they want to know exactly who they're blocking, and that's why there's not a lot of movement. >> second down and 3. ahman green with a little shuffle. and he is brought down a yard shy of a first down.

>> for the philadelphia eagles, kind of like to see brian dawkins get a little more involved in the game. uh-oh. and there's a big blow with he is without question the anchor inside, and with all the injuries they've had on that

defensive line, they just don't have many options. sam rayburn is the only other guy that they have in there that really they play at all. and i'm not so sure that corey simon didn't get hit in the thigh, and it looks like he's not wearing any thigh pads

>> the only other guy they list as a defensive tackle is jim flanigan, and he is not active for this game. so rayburn comes in -- one of the many free agents signed by this eagles organization. it's third and 1. they toss it to green.

and ahman green breaks free. possibly a touchdown-saving tackle by dawkins, as green gets it to the 46. >> and this time, ahman green, again, gets in behind nick luchey. and sheldon brown -- we saw him earlier in the game come up in

run support. both these corners for philadelphia are good tacklers, but nick luchey, the fullback, is gonna come out and kick him out, and that's what opens things up for ahman green -- that and, again, some missed tackles by the eagles.

>> and ike reese really got blown out of there. don't forget -- carlos emmons, their best run linebacker, is out of the game. >> pass is right off the chest of najeh davenport. >> well, i think you're doing the philadelphia eagles a favor

right now, with corey simon out of the ballgame. but it looks like he's coming back in. darwin walker coming back in the game, as well. not just continuing to pound the football with these guys. they're undermanned.

ike reese, on that last play, got blown off the ball. i want to see, if i'm the green bay packers, the hold up to this big offensive line and their running game. >> saw marco coleman come out as walker came back in. marco coleman typically a

defensive end, forced to play tackle after an injury. it's now second and 10, green bay. pass is... caught by ferguson. they're gonna give ferguson forward progress to the 38, a gain of 8.

>> and, joe, i got to tell you -- i don't know that these receivers get near enough credit for the job that they do. brett favre throws an absolute missile at robert ferguson, and he pulls this thing in with his hands. just a heck of a job right there

securing the catch. and you see it all the time. i mean, i know there's a lot of talk about how much the eagles receivers are underappreciated, but i also think that these green bay packers are equally underappreciated. they do a great job making some

difficult catches for >> green bay is not gonna get this play off. and so with 12:31 remaining in the third quarter, they have to burn a time-out. 14-7, green bay. how can you yawn?! it's third down and 3 for the

favre is smoked. ike reese, filling in for the injured carlos emmons, a big sack for this philadelphia >> yeah, and what happens, joe, is green bay goes empty set. that means they've got all receivers out. they've got five offensive

linemen to try to pick them up. well, philadelphia brings six brett sees the one coming to his left. it's picked up. he never sees the blitz off the other side, and that's why he got sacked. >> that's a stupid play call.

why would you take ahman green out of the backfield and basically let the defense know you're gonna drop back and throw the ball? it's third and 3. >> reno mahe with the return and brought down at the 19-yard do you think brett favre knew

a hit was coming? watch the eyes. >> he does now. [ laughter ] >> pump a little more air into that helmet, as ike reese brought him down. and the eagles get it at their own 19.

down by seven, really have not hit any sort of a stride offensively. and here's a sack. marques anderson, the strong safety, up to drop donovan mcnabb, and a loss of 2. the winner of this game to take on the carolina panthers.

second down and 12. all day for mcnabb. and the pass is caught by lewis, and then he is caught by nick barnett. gain of 7. >> well, we've talked a little bit about kabeer gbaja-biamila and him trying to get some

this time, he's gonna be working on the left side. he prefers to rush from his right side. he gets there late and knocks him down but doesn't influence the pass. >> you know what, troy? he's got all day to throw the

i mean, he's back there four and five seconds. that's not the issue. sometime, someway, you got to get open down the field. the protection has been pretty good. out of the backfield, it's staley.

needs to make a move. fights and gets a first down. what an effort by duce staley. >> and that's duce. that's what he's been doing for the last month and a half. there's no question this team misses brian westbrook. >> look where they just put that

ball down, though. right on the line. and it certainly looked, live, like he lunged at the last moment and got enough for a then they placed the football and it depends very much on the spot now. >> wow, i really misread that

one, because i thought he had made it by at least a half a yard. >> as did i. it was right next to the packer bench. >> oh, the ball comes out. there we go. >> right next to the packer

they were pleading. and that little kick knocked the ball out and may have cost the eagles a first down. it's still very close where they marked it. >> hey, back 'em up. back it up, please. >> now, he is allowed to recover

his own fumble, and it should be marked wherever the recovery was made, if i'm correct. is that right, troy? >> that is just short of first-down yardage, and the eagles have to make a decision. and they're still waiting to make the decision.

>> so, even if he had the ball over the line for the first down, once he fumbled, it then would be marked wherever he recovered that ball. or if he doesn't recover it, if it goes out of bounds, that's where it's marked. >> so, with fourth and inches --

andy reid initially sent the punt team out there and then -- i don't know if it was the offense or the crowd -- they talked him out of it. >> i'll tell you -- i do not agree with this at all. now, you'd like to think that you can pick up fourth and

inches, but at the same time, if you fail to make it, you're basically handing at least 3 points over to the green bay and you're talking about a game right now that's only separated by 7 points. >> and you've got grady jackson right over the nose.

>> mcnabb takes it. still fighting. gets a push from behind. and it looked like he got enough this time for the first down. >> yeah, and my question is for these officials -- how do you know? i mean, how do you really know?

it looked like he probably did, but i've always wondered how, as a side judge -- how can you determine where exactly forward progress stops? you've got bodies on each side of the line of scrimmage. you can't see the ball. you have no idea where it

stopped. >> i bet you your old coach, though, back in the studio likes that call, because he was talking about it in the pregame show -- playing for championships and doing things you might otherwise not do. >> so, duce staley, on the

previous play, on the third-down play, didn't get the first down. and you could certainly make the case that duce staley, even though he wasn't carrying the ball on that fourth and inches, got the first down with that push of the back of >> yeah.

and on that play there, i'll tell you -- grady jackson -- we talked about the impact that he has had on this team, and right there, he gets a free look at duce staley and just stones him right at the line of scrimmage. >> we asked john welbourn, the left guard for the philadelphia

eagles, how they're gonna move grady jackson out of there. as mcnabb drops it over the middle. he's been low again with more throws. john welbourn, who was a rhetoric major, will tell you, "once inch at a time.

that's how we're gonna move grady jackson out of there." >> you know, the passing game for the philadelphia eagles, except for the one shot down the field to todd pinkston, has kind of consisted of that little dump-off right over the middle there, whether it be to

chad lewis or to duce staley. and that seems to be where they think the soft spot is. >> i think i missed that meeting, joe. what did john welbourn say? and how did he say it? >> [ deeply ] "one inch at a time."

>> third down and 10. plenty of time. down the middle for thrash. broken up by mckenzie. fourth down, philadelphia. and mckenzie was there at the end to break it up. >> well, and what happens is, when you get a guy running a

post route like this and you have no safety help, you have to lead him across the field. here's the throw right here. and because he throws it over thrash's upfield shoulder, it allows mike mckenzie to make the >> the ball just underthrown that time by donovan mcnabb.

he had a shot. >> that was nearly blocked. chatman on the return. what a play. downfield is one of the backup linebackers, keith adams, and he came shooting through to make you go back to that last play, duce staley -- he comes out like

he's gonna block. donovan mcnabb decides to throw it deep, but look where duce staley is and all the room that he had, had donovan mcnabb come down to him with the ball. >> any way you look at it, donovan mcnabb has not had a good game here this afternoon

and evening. >> here's a better look at it right here. duce staley and then all that space. duce knew it the entire way. he knew that he was wide open there in the middle. you can't fault the decision.

he had an opportunity to go deep over the top. but had he have come down to duce staley, he had a whole lot of room, as well. >> and for duce staley, you don't do that. when you're that wide open, you quietly go back to the bench,

you tell brad childress, and you come back to it. don't make a big demonstration >> again, favre stumbling getting it and taking it away from the line of scrimmage. earlier, the biggest run by ahman green came on favre stumbling -- a little flip up

into the gut of ahman green. this time, a pickup of 5. >> and mike wahle coming around as the guard on that play. he's playing with a big cast on his hand, has a broken finger on and i said, "well, does it impact you in any way?" he said, "no.

i just grab them with my good hand and hit them with the club." looks like bamm-bamm out there. >> setting up a screen -- got a green bay first down, here's a guy, ahman green, who in the first nine games had seven fumbles.

and over the course of those games, the packers were 0-5 in games in which he fumbled. since the last meeting -- and green in the monday night game could not hang on to the ball against the eagles -- he has not fumbled one time. >> yeah, it's pretty amazing.

they really brought some attention to it. it plagued him when he was in seattle. it's followed him, but he has done a great job here in the last seven, eight games. >> on first down, on the run. that skips in there to

donald driver. and favre was under pressure. the nascar craftsman truck series returns to speed channel february 13th. the biggest race of the year live from daytona this february exclusively on speed channel. if you don't get speed channel,

call 1-888-22-speed. >> there you go. jim johnson now starting to bring a little more pressure, starting to ratchet it up a little bit for the philadelphia >> second down and 10 -- picks his way. he is knocked down shy of a

hit by dawkins and dropped immediately about half a yard >> and they're really starting to go after ike reese now, who took over for carlos emmons. they're gonna pull around. and ike reese is just 220 pounds. he's gonna get blown off the

line of scrimmage right here and just try to circle back in and get a play. but i think they have to continue to take after that mismatch right there. he can't hold up. >> and they've also got david martin and bubba franks

leading the way, as well. they've got to get some more bodies over there defensively. >> ahman green has a first down. they bring in kevin barry, their heavy package. and green is through the line of scrimmage and a gain of 7. >> and right now, you can just

see this defensive line for philadelphia just getting worn corey simon coming off the field now, and they're going back in with sam rayburn. and they're trying to rotate some guys. they're just very limited in the bodies that they have.

they went into training camp this year and felt that that was gonna be a real strength of depth for their football team. instead, because of the injuries, it's not. these guys are playing entirely too many snaps. >> they lost grasmanis.

they lost hollis thomas. first down, a blitz coming from the eagles. packers run away from it. and ahman green gets 5. were you surprised at all by the body type of mike wahle when he came in and talked to us? i mean, he's a big guy.

he's over 300 pounds, but he's 6'6". he's not a big, heavy guard. and, boy, do they ask him to move around a lot along that >> you know, but really, joe, that's true about all these offensive linemen that they have.

i mean, whether it's flanagan or marco rivera at right guard. those three guys -- they're the ones who do all the movement and all the pulling. they're all athletic players. i mean, there's no gut on the guy. >> kind of like you.

second down and 6. >> it is interesting, though, that mike wahle -- he went into the naval academy as a tight end. they're gonna scrap around there a little bit at the end of this went in as a tight end, 235 said he went to boot camp, came

out 205 pounds, and they made him a wide receiver. well, that didn't last very he started eating and lifting weights, and pretty soon, he was up to about 265 pounds and he found an offensive lineman's knee brace sitting in his locker one day.

so he was like, "i guess i'm no longer a wide receiver or a tight end, huh?" >> boot camp will do that to you. >> yeah, it will. >> third down for green bay. favre off his back foot. fisher turned the wrong way.

turned in. the throw was on his outside shoulder, and it's fourth down. >> well, that's the second straight drive now that's ended on a third and 2, third and 3, where the packers have decided to go away from ahman green and take their shot down the field.

>> yeah, early on, remember, they were running the ball a little bit in those situations. they picked up some of them. but they've gotten away from it. they're relying more on brett favre throwing the ball to convert those. >> and i don't know why.

>> bidwell trying to pooch it. and he knocks it into the waiting arms of reno mahe. the forecast was for the temperatures to stay above 20, and they have. it is a bit windy, although those little bitty orange flags on top of the uprights wouldn't

tell you that. all things considered, weather-wise, not a bad night in eagles have it, down by seven. mcnabb's gonna run. first down and more. sliding down at the 24-yard >> you know, again, donovan mcnabb drops back, and

he's got time to throw the football, but there has been nowhere, really, for him to unload it. and, again, what you're gonna see is this right side of the offensive line -- because of the twist, you got aaron kampman rushing up the field, and it

just opens up a nice running lane for donovan mcnabb, and he takes it. and that's when they've been able to get the yards in the run game is when donovan has been scrambling. >> blitz coming from navies. and mcnabb lets it fly.

little contact down there. >> pretty nice play, though, by mike mckenzie, a veteran guy. just got his body in front and did a little, "no, no, no. i didn't block him off at all." but he just sort of gets in front of the receiver and slows down a bit.

but he didn't do it so blatantly that he ends up with a foul. just little arm fighting there, threw off the timing a little very veteran play. mike mckenzie's having a big game out here. >> you know, mike mckenzie -- he likes to get up on the wide

but as we saw there, it's rare that he really gets a jam on the wide receiver. he tends to turn and run. it should open up some of the underneath things. >> hand-off is to reno mahe. penalty flag on the play. thrown in the area of a hold,

and it is a hold against so a nice gain by mahe will be negated. >> yeah, but i think that could be a formula for this football team. >> holding, offense, number 72. 10-yard penalty -- repeat second >> hold goes against tra thomas.

but kgb, on the outside, is a pure pash-rushing end. he wants to get up the field. so if you can run back inside of him, there are going to be some gaps there. and just that last little grab and twist there by tra thomas really unnecessary.

he would have had it. >> and reno mahe may become more involved in this game now that we're into the third quarter and as we move into the fourth i know, talking to offensive coordinator brad childress -- he really likes this kid's potential.

he's a rookie out of byu. but he did not want him to get overwhelmed early in this ballgame, being his first playoff game. >> kabeer gbaja-biamila mainly rushing from the right side. on second down. that is gunned to l.j. smith for

a big first down. you hear a lot about the velocity with which favre throws pretty impressive from mcnabb. >> and l.j. smith now getting flanked out, just running the 5 vertical route there, as chad lewis was right beside him. watch the bullet by mcnabb.

i mean, that's as hard as we've seen him throw the football all now maybe mcnabb gets settled down in the pocket and start working this ball down the field, because there has been some openings. >> looking left, hitting pinkston.

pinkston, with that last little push, is brought down right at the marker. >> i talked a little bit earlier about mike mckenzie and the way that he likes to play. al harris has been off on these receivers about 90% of the time look how much cushion he's

giving todd pinkston. and al harris is at his best when he comes up and he challenges wide receivers. when he is off, he is not nearly as effective, unless he's trying to sit on routes, as we saw last week against seattle. but he should be able to, if

he's the type of corner that i believe that he is and that the green bay packers believe that he is -- he should be up and challenging these wide receivers for the eagles. >> this is mcnabb's best drive so far. looks good throwing it, also

ran one. >> pinkston got enough for a a dump-off to staley. with blocking in front of him, staley is down inside the 40. >> you know, hank fraley, for a big, old guy in there, 300-pounder, sure moves pretty well.

the center is gonna come right out and make the block on the outside. time after time on these screen passes, you see hank fraley coming out and making that key block. and duce staley able to just cut right off of it.

>> yeah, what do they call him? sweet britches? >> honeybuns. >> oh, honeybuns. well, that's what you expect from honeybuns. >> he was sweet there. >> under 1:30 to go in this third quarter.

mcnabb with more time. there's gonna be a hold. there's a hold against the philadelphia eagles. mcnabb is running. out of bounds near the 15, but she's coming back. >> holding -- offense, number 68.

10-yard penalty, repeat first >> that was either honeybuns, 63, or jon runyan, 69. >> or bobbie williams, 66. >> any of them. >> on that play, poor hannibal navies was left in the we'll see if we can pick up the hold here.

>> it's bobbie williams, yeah, on grady jackson, it looked like, is who they got the call from. >> yeah, he just grabbed the shoulder pad there of grady jackson. but hannibal navies running right at donovan mcnabb, and it

doesn't matter if you spy on him or not. hannibal navies is not gonna get mcnabb down in the open field, no way, no how. >> well, and the other thing is grady jackson has got such a good burst in quickness off the ball.

he anticipates the snap count so i mean, you try shooting that gap, bobbie williams -- of course, you don't condone holding, but sometimes you just don't know what else to do. >> tell the world again, guys, that that body can get up and dunk.

>> i'm a believer. >> i believe it. >> first down and 20. right over the middle. pass complete to lewis. >> boy, donovan mcnabb really settling in the pocket right now, and he's been finding chad lewis all day.

i think, a little bit earlier, troy, it looks like mcnabb was trying -- not quite comfortable in the pocket, was taking off and running quickly. now i think he's sitting back in there and looking for those down-the-field throws. and he's putting some heat on

>> well, i think sometimes over the years when you've watched donovan mcnabb, when he's been able to start making plays with his legs, as he has today, he then starts getting into somewhat of a comfort zone in the pocket and delivering the and i do believe that that's

what we're seeing. he's making plays with his feet. as a result, he's getting confident in the pocket, and he's delivering good passes. >> there's the play clock. just got it away. mcnabb steps up, and he'll run. donovan mcnabb with a first down

inside the 15, down to the 12. and what a way for this third quarter to end in front of these hometown fans. the back end of a terrific, terrific weekend of football. >> do we get our third straight fox overtime game for the playoffs?

>> the philadelphia eagles, right now, with a first down at the green bay 12. remember, down at this end of the field, the green bay packers, in the first half, elected to go for it on fourth and goal. they were stopped short.

instead of making it a two-score game, the eagles took over, kept it 14-7. kabeer gbaja-biamila whiffs. donovan mcnabb -- what a play. end zone -- touchdown! pinkston! >> i'll tell you -- what a great athletic play by donovan mcnabb.

but kgb is in a position to make he's battling jon runyan. he's got to be able to make the tackle and keep donovan mcnabb from delivering this ball. but what a great play by number >> you may watch football for years and never see a better play by a quarterback than

donovan mcnabb -- two different guys, two different defensive lineman had their arms wrapped he refuses to go down, spins out of it, and throws the game-tying what a play by donovan mcnabb. >> that's wilma, donovan's mother, who keeps popping up on the screen.

as akers ties it at 14. an eight-play scoring drive. and you look at the bottom line. donovan mcnabb accounting for 109 yards on the drive because of penalties. but no greater individual-player effort than the last by mcnabb to stay alive and complete the

touchdown throw to pinkston. davenport is popped up near the 29. 22-yard return. >> when you have a 240-pound quarterback, guys like kgb, who only weighs about 250, better get more than just an armful of donovan mcnabb, 'cause he's not

going down. he's escaping once, twice, gets his head up, and completes this big touchdown pass. what a drive by donovan mcnabb. he just simply took over this football game and refused to let his team lose this game. >> kabeer gbaja-biamila knows he

missed his chance. first down, packers. and this crowd as loud as they've been all day. did they force a false start? since the merger, an nfl playoff record. >> before the ball was snapped, false start, offense, number 68.

5-yard penalty -- first down. >> they get mike wahle. as you look at the numbers for donovan mcnabb -- seven carries, 98 yards. >> yeah, and donovan mcnabb really was not as big a runner this year than what he had been in previous seasons.

100 yards off of where he was a year ago, and that's having missed six games. he's certainly made up for it >> ahman green. back to the original line of scrimmage plus a couple. >> and you go back to those past couple of drives for the

they were just pounding the football, running, running, picking up first downs. and i thought on third down, in the prior two drives, they tried to get a little cute in what could have been four-down territory, 'cause they were down inside around the 35-yard line.

they decided to throw the ball and didn't pick up either of now, apparently, they're gonna try and get back to the run now. >> look at the day for green -- 131 yards on the ground, a team postseason record. been a year filled with team records for green.

driver can't make the >> yeah, and that's one of the few times you'll see donald driver drop a ball. i was visiting with him earlier before the game began, and he was talking about the velocity that brett favre has when he throws the football.

in fact, he broke his finger two years ago. he still, to this day, wears a splint underneath his glove to protect that finger because of how hard brett favre throws. >> third and 8. ferguson... nothing.

>> just a poor throw by didn't get it out there. and jim johnson finally beginning to bring the pressure. he's been unwilling for a good portion of this game, but as we well know, troy, when the game gets on the line and you start getting into the fourth quarter,

if you're gonna beat jim johnson and the philadelphia eagles, you're gonna beat his blitz. they saw it coming. they just did not deliver a pass that would have maybe given them an opportunity to run for the first down. >> bidwell gets off a beauty.

back to the 15 -- mahe. out near the 24. the winner of this game will take on the carolina panthers next sunday. green bay wins, they're in the eagles win, they stay home to take on john fox's crew. 13:28 to go, fourth quarter, tie

mcnabb trying to stay hot. and that is incomplete. great position by mike mckenzie. pressure on donovan mcnabb, and he goes down. na'il diggs with a sack. he had only one all year. and a loss of 10. a huge defensive play for the

and na'il diggs coming off the edge, 59. and donovan doesn't see him coming, and it's really one of the first clean looks that one of these defenders have had to come in after donovan mcnabb. the rest of the time, it's been when they've come off of blocks

and donovan's been able to move around. and that's the real key. if you're gonna be able to bring him down, you cannot afford to let him start moving around within the pocket, and he's awfully elusive when that happens.

>> that brings up third down and 20. mcnabb under pressure again. down he goes. bad wrist and all, chukie nwokorie gets the sack. and that forces a philadelphia >> and there was some real question about whether or not

chukie nwokorie -- he sat out last week's game -- was going to be effective. they've got a couple of guys with casts on their arms. and he just keeps coming. that's a great job. he's working past jon runyan on the outside, and he got there.

>> five sacks today for the a beautiful punt by johnson. chatman... good return out near midfield. you never know what you're gonna see when you show up at an nfl stadium. >> it's good to see rush limbaugh here.

>> from the 49-yard line. first down, green bay, tie game. play-action from favre. no pressure. javon walker. jump ball, and it's walker who comes down with it. [ whistles blow ] and finally, they blow the play

that play was live when walker popped up to celebrate. and they finally blow the whistles. as brett favre threw it up and said, "kid, jump for it." >> well, it's pretty big. they go with their big package. they got kevin barry in the

and normally, the green bay packers run out of that formation. they got one wide receiver -- javon walker -- going to the deep post. brett hangs this thing up. this is just great concentration and great athletic effort by

javon walker to even pull that one down. >> the ball severely underthrown by brett favre, and javon walker, as he has been doing for the last month and a half, making a brilliant play. >> on first and goal, ahman green gets to the 6.

>> you know, you go back to that last defensive possession for the green bay packers to take the eagles and go three-and-out, have two sacks, take them back. you get great field position, and it's amazing what you can then do offensively. as we see, green bay gets the

they want to take the deep shot right off the bat. they're able to connect on it to and now here they are knocking on the door. >> second down and goal. favre flips it for green. out of his reach. simoneau was out there on the

coverage. third and goal. >> and a great job there by brett favre recognizing that he didn't have it. in years previously, brett favre would have tried forcing something down there, but he's been very smart, really for the

last five, six ballgames, protecting the football and not making the silly mistakes. inside flip to fisher. brought down at the 3. and the field-goal unit will come on for the green bay >> and, you know, the problem with that play, joe, is that

when you run the shovel pass like that, you've got to move the quarterback in order to widen the space between the defensive end and the defensive that time, brett favre takes the shovel, and he launches it right from where he was standing at the time that he got the ball.

very difficult, then, to get any movement up front. >> and they hit the shovel pass for the touchdown down there last week, and i'm sure the eagles were down there shouting it before that snap. >> 21-yard try for the lead. longwell is true.

the scoring drive for the the big play -- the 44-yard catch, javon walker. and the packers are finally getting production out of their two receivers they drafted high -- javon walker, robert ferguson. they've developed them, and each

has come down with some big catches. ferguson -- two touchdown receptions, and that one was huge from walker. >> thrash from about the 14. this side of the field is pretty well open, until hawthorne shuts it down.

and great field position for the eagles out at their own 44. a 30-yard return by thrash. the third, and what would become the final, nfl championship for the philadelphia eagles came back in 1960. bart starr's 7-yard touchdown pass to max mcgee puts the

packers up 13-10 in the fourth the eagles' ted dean runs for a 5-yard touchdown, as the eagles move in front. and then people still talk about the chuck bednarik stop of jim taylor at the eagle 8 as time expires. the packers came to town and

practiced at franklin field. that was the only playoff loss for vince lombardi. that's pinkston. not much, as he is handled by al harris. >> and what did vince lombardi say after that game? he said, "i will never lose

another playoff game again," and he didn't. >> under 10:00 to play in this fourth quarter. philadelphia down by three. >> and james thrash with that big kickoff return -- he did the same thing in the game in green bay earlier this season.

and this game's beginning to look a lot like that game. it came down, and philadelphia and donovan mcnabb had to make a late drive to win it. they did with a late drive and hit todd pinkston for the >> the graphic reminding us all that there have been some

nail-biting games this weekend across the nfl. mcnabb... fights away from one tackle and gets it just into green bay territory. third down coming up. so is pam oliver. pam.

>> hey, joe, to those last couple of sacks, the guys on the packers defensive line seem to know they really hadn't been doing a good job on mcnabb, particularly in the second half. they barely acknowledged the coaches as they tried to show them what went wrong when the

eagles scored their last redemption -- nobody seemed to have that kind of mood. they were all business when they came out off to the bench after those last few sacks. >> and donovan mcnabb was real close to breaking another big one on that last play.

>> third down and 3. mcnabb is sacked, and he loses the football. staley there to just fall on top of it. that'll bring up fourth down. and prior to that play, i was gonna bring up what you and steve horn were talking about

before the game. in games such as these, it's the play of the quarterback and it's pressure on the quarterback that determines the winners and losers. and they have brought pressure in this fourth quarter. >> yeah, and the green bay

packers, that time, blitzed both middle linebackers, which meant there was no linemen that had the ability to come out and help against darren sharper. mcnabb, i think, realized it and tried to run out of there, but simply got caught. >> line-drive punt, a chance for

a return from chatman. penalty flag comes flying in as chatman has a decent return out across the 35. 11-yard return, but a flag is >> the packers really hurting themselves on some of these returns. they end up with decent field

position and then get a penalty, and it's driven back. >> one guy's name who is really rarely mentioned, if at all, is ed donatell, who does such a good job with this green bay packers defense. >> during the kick, holding by the receiving team, number 25.

it's a 10-yard penalty enforced from the end of the kick. green bay keeps the ball, first >> they get james whitley. >> how about that -- an andy reid look-alike in the crowd. what's coming up tonight -- time to "robot rumble" on an all-new

"simpsons." as the hand-off is to another big gain on first down. he gets another first down. we tell you that "bernie mac" is coming up after "the simpsons," an all-new "malcolm, followed by an all-new "arrested development."

it all starts at 8:00 eastern, 7:00 central tonight on fox. >> one of the things the packers do so well is get these double-teams and then get up to the second level. anytime you can get those linebackers on the second-level block, you're gonna get some big

runs from ahman green. >> pass is high. juggled by ahman green, and still it's a gain of 5 on first >> i'll tell you right now -- this is a huge drive right now for both of these football teams. if you're green bay, what you

want to do is drive the football if you're able to get a touchdown, obviously, you're taking time off the clock. you're basically ending the ballgame right there, going up 10 points. and if you're philadelphia, you've got to stop them on this

drive, get the ball back into your offense's hands with plenty of time. each third-down conversion that they make, they're gonna continue to take more and more time off this clock and milk it >> second down and 6. still fighting all the way up to

the 35. a yard and a half shy of a first >> and now we're right back in that same situation again. we're sitting there looking at about a third and 2. and without question, the philadelphia eagles have been bringing people up -- eight in

the box, nine in the box. but i still say, with ahman green and the way they can run the football, you take your shot with these guys. this is gonna be jim johnson bringing a lot of people, but ahman green's been the guy in short yardage all season.

i'd give him a chance. >> well, it says third and 1. it's a long 1. >> toss to green. first down, green bay. >> that's back to packer >> yeah, and what it does is it takes more time off the clock. if they get too many more of

these first downs, it's gonna be awfully difficult for philadelphia to have a chance to get back into this thing and have more time on the clock where they can do something with >> i really don't think the eagles have stopped their running game all day.

i think the packers have essentially stopped the packers' running game by getting away from it throughout the course of the day. that's a big number right there. that's a big average for >> over 6 yards a carry for ahman green, who averaged over 5

during the regular season, when he rushed for over 1,800 yards. >> well, and this is really the time for a defense when you fully know what the offense is trying to accomplish. there's no question that they want to run the football. they want to take time off the

clock. they want to convert third they want to keep the ball. and philadelphia has to be able to stop them. >> and here is that heavy package. the last time we saw the heavy package, we saw a 44-yard

completion to javon walker down the field to set up the go-ahead field goal. let's see if they stay with the second down and 7. they do. it's davenport. najeh davenport brought down 2 yards shy of a first down. >> and now they'll be looking at

third and 2. and this offensive line, again -- not to overstate it, but this offensive line just doing a good job of creating some running lanes for these and then when they're not able to, whether it's najeh davenport or ahman green, both of these

guys have the ability to make people miss and get a lot of yards after contact. >> 5 or fewer yards -- 7 out of 13 on third down for the green. up to midfield, another first you know what they're gonna do, and the eagles still can't stop

>> but they're playing the way they're supposed to be playing that's what the eagles haven't been able to stop all season ahman green tore them up last and if the packers have made any mistake today, they got away from what they do best, which is >> cris, they scored their

points throwing the football. that's where they've gotten their big plays. that and the big run of ultimately, that's how you're gonna score points. right now the challenge is for philadelphia, knowing what's coming at them.

it's got to be absolutely demoralizing for jim johnson, knowing what's coming at them, and yet they still can't hold the point along that defensive front to keep them from picking up first downs. >> but i'm talking about when they got into some

third-and-short situations. they were down to third-and-2, third-and-3 situations. they stopped some drives trying to throw the football. and i haven't seen any indication yet that the philadelphia eagles, in those third-and-short situations, can

just stand up and make a play defensively against the run. >> well, they certainly haven't done it here. >> green bay up over 200 yards on the ground in this game. trying to advance to the nfc championship game against ahman green is finally stopped

for a gain of a yard and a half. >> and that's a big stop there on first down. now it opens up some options for you if you're the philadelphia you may well now see brett favre on some type of bootleg and come but when you get that first-down stop, now you have a chance to

work something on defense. >> and i think, right now, you see andy reid, and they've got three time-outs to use. and what he's saying is -- it appears that if they run the football here or if they complete a pass and it's not a first down, clock running, use

one of the time-outs. >> second and 8. on the ground, ahman green. and the eagles will spend their first time-out. mcnabb wondering on the bench if he'll get the ball back. it's up to his defense. favre is gonna scramble.

and he is gonna be brought down short of first-down yardage. >> now you've got a decision to make. >> well, mike sherman went for it on fourth and goal. now what's at stake is -- they're gonna be short here. it is gonna be fourth down, it

appears. and if you go for it, you basically win the game. or do you punt it and rely on your defense? >> oh, boy, this has been, without question, the strength of this football team -- their ability to convert on third and

short, fourth and short all season long. and now do you go to the route of jimmy johnson and what he talked about in the pregame show and make bold moves, take big strokes? >> i would be surprised if they didn't go for it.

i got to tell you -- knowing jimmy johnson the way i do, he would go for it here. now, the question is -- does mike sherman? >> but you don't have you don't have a guy that you would feel comfortable just sneaking this thing across.

that's a long way. i think you have to punt the football here. >> we'll wait and see what the decision is. all year long, the green bay packers have been keeping it on they've run the ball more this year than any other year with

brett favre at quarterback. 2:30 left in this fourth and it's going to be fourth and we'll call it one, maybe a little less than one full yard. and we'll see the packers go for it on fourth down. >> joe, i just think that after last week, when mike sherman

went for it twice -- he said, "you have to be aggressive in playoff games. you've got to go grab the win. you can't wait for it to come to you." he's made the decision. this is what he believes. this is what he's gonna do.

>> and if ever the philadelphia eagles need a stop defensively on what you have to imagine will be a run, something they have struggled to do all season. >> now, the question is -- do you run the sneak with brett favre or do you come back 3 to 4 yards to get the ball

into ahman green's hands and then lengthen the distance that he's got to go? i don't know. >> the one thing is, you're forced to put two big guys over the nose, so there's some openings off-tackle in this type of defense.

>> trying to draw them offsides. >> play clock just expired, and the green bay packers will end up punting. >> i agree with this, i really do. i think you're not only taking a chance not making it, but you have a good chance to lose the

2:30 to go on the clock. and brett did a little playacting there. he kind of liked what he did. >> you know, this is the worst thing for a quarterback. at that moment right there, you know they're not jumping offsides, and you just got to

keep going through it. but did you see the look on andy reid's face? i'm not so sure he's not happy that they decided not to go for >> oh, sure. i would be, too. at least now you have a shot. this is the same exact situation

the game in green bay finished up with, with the ball in the hands of donovan mcnabb and time-outs and plenty of time. >> they'll have one time-out 2:30 on the clock right now. into the end zone. and the eagles will start this drive at their own 20.

so, i think among the three of us, troy, you and i are on the same page with regard to going for it. you've got a tired defensive the packers, with the way they've run the ball all year -- they elect not to try it. they punt the ball to

philadelphia, and now donovan mcnabb has it sitting all right out in front of him, if he can get the eagles down >> well, first of all, i'd like to have seen josh bidwell make a little better punt right there. they basically only gained 20 yards of field position by

punting the ball as opposed to going for it, even if they did not make the first down. but you're absolutely right, joe. you touched on it a little bit earlier. ed donatell, the defensive coordinator for the green bay

packers -- now's the time that he's got to rally these guys, and it really is gonna be him matching schemes against what andy reid's doing offensively to try to stop them. >> and they start with a run. duce staley. still on his feet out across the

40. >> and now i can promise you mike sherman's wishing they had gone for it on fourth down. >> because they're back to that spot right now. >> the winner of this game moves on to the nfc championship game the eagles trying to get there

for the third consecutive year. blitz coming from the packers. and that is batted, and it falls darren sharper, the safety, coming up on the blitz, got his hands up and knocked it away. >> yeah, and i think that, right now, the green bay packers have some confidence that their

cornerbacks can play one-on-one against these philadelphia eagles receivers. now, the one thing i do think they may take a shot at is at he has a tendency to jump some routes, some slant-and-gos, hitch-and-gos. remember, harris made the

touchdown, the game-winner last week on a play that he took a big gamble. let's they see if they get after >> mcnabb telling us, "he is double-moveable." another blitz. mcnabb is in trouble, and... they will find him corralled

back at the 25-yard line -- bhawoh jue. mcnabb saying he got rid of it, but they're gonna mark him down at the 25. >> that's a good call. that's a good call by ed hochuli. definitely in the grasp,

definitely trying to throw it away to avoid the sack. >> and a little redemption for remember, he got beat on the touchdown to pinkston in the game during the regular season and much criticized there. >> well, and prior to that sack, the eagles only needed about 18

yards to get into range for david akers. >> third down and 26. more pressure. mcnabb flips it for lewis. he jumped too early. looking for a flag. and there isn't one. >> i'll tell you -- there was a

lot of contact on that play, no question. who initiated it is anybody's guess, but the official let them play and did not throw the flag. chad lewis running down the middle against bhawoh jue. good non-call. >> so, now it's fourth and 26.

troy, we came on the air talking about this green bay defense, you did, and it's the green bay defense which had been rising as the weeks wore on this regular season, having an off week, so to speak, their last effort against seattle, now trying to stop a fourth and 26 and, in

essence, take over. down the middle. it's mitchell. where will they spot him? they're gonna give forward progress and a first down. >> i am so surprised at that they play a cover 2, which leaves him wide open down the

middle for the second time in a row. i thought for sure you'd get a three-deep coverage. you've got 20-something yards to go pick up the first down. >> and here comes an offside against green bay. boy, they got a great spot after

that catch by freddie mitchell. >> just running it right down the seam. there's no reason to play the underneath coverage at all. >> ...back to his side of the line of scrimmage. that's an encroachment penalty. it's enforced before the ball

was snapped. 5 yards, repeat first down. >> you could see, with our line on your screen, that mitchell was hit right on the line, may have gotten it by yard. they gave mitchell an extra 3. so a clear first down with the marking, then a 5-yard offside

call against green bay. >> how could you not run somebody down the middle with the slot receiver in cover 2? wow. >> first down and 5. pass complete. that's mitchell again. >> well, now they're well within

david akers' field-goal range. there's no question. they're gonna clock it here. >> well within field-goal range under perfect conditions, but you wonder -- with the cold and with the wind swirling around this january night, if they do, indeed, have enough forward

progress here for a sure try at a field-goal by akers, who missed a 33-yarder earlier. >> at this same end. >> there is a single opening, if i remember the stadium correctly, off to our right and to david akers' right, as he would be kicking it.

and the wind is blowing in that way, and that's exactly what happened to his last kick -- slid off to the left. the eagles, in essence, running an option. they're gonna rule mcnabb down. and now the philadelphia eagles will spend their final time-out.

25 seconds remain. >> i'm not real sure why donovan mcnabb called the time-out when he did. >> marques anderson up to make the stop, what was an option the ball is at the 29-yard line. now, akers' career-long came this year -- week 2 against

new england -- a 57-yarder. but i think all bets are off. as akers told us before the game, he was concerned with the swirling winds kicking down toward this end of the field. and as we showed you, he has already missed a 33-yarder this direction.

>> and for marques anderson, a little redemption there for him on that play. he did not play very well last week, missed a lot of tackles. but donovan mcnabb, coming down there on the option, had a chance to make something happen. >> well, and just remember that

5 seconds is all that can come off of this clock on this field-goal attempt. so if they do make it, there will be 20 seconds. there's two time-outs left for the packers. they'll have time to run a couple of plays.

>> the eagles here, troy, are gonna go for some more yardage. it would be roughly a 47-yard try from here. and, again, the packers bring a the pass complete. pinkston down to the 19-yard >> and now you're thinking something a little bit bigger.

>> that's exactly right. now you've got time -- you can throw a couple of shots into the end zone and see if you can't come away with a win. >> and i guarantee you andy reid will take those shots. but you do have to be careful now.

with 22 seconds, should a receiver catch the football and get tackled in the middle of the field, the eagles are gonna have to scramble up. and brett favre has that same look on his face that he had for that monday night game when they got beat like this.

>> unlike the rams in yesterday's game, the eagles do not have a time-out remaining. into the end zone for pinkston. nearly picked off by mckenzie. >> and you are taking a major chance when you're going into blitz coverage, one-on-one across the field, no help

anywhere on the field, and you know they're trying to throw one and for mike mckenzie, yet another big play. >> yeah, donovan really doesn't give him any opportunity to try to make a play here. and mike mckenzie very easily could have come down with the

interception there. donovan's got to be smart here as they take another shot. >> 17 seconds. it is tight. if you catch this ball in the middle of the field -- the receivers -- if you can't get in, you got to get down. >> it would be a 37-yard try

from this spot. mcnabb spending time in the pocket. back of the end zone. and i would imagine that'll be the last effort for the eagles to try to get it into the end zone. >> yeah, i think andy reid has

seen about enough. donovan mcnabb almost getting sacked there, and if he got sacked, game's over. >> that's right, because the clock, in a rule change now, would have continued to run. in the past, it would have stopped on a quarterback sack.

eagles very, very lucky, indeed. >> play clock is down to 15 seconds and counting as the field-goal unit for philadelphia got on the field awfully late. >> don't forget, now, if you bobble this snap, you can throw the football away and take another shot.

>> they just reset the play >> you just can't spike it. >> i remember that. thank you for flashing another nightmare before my eyes. >> the green bay packers use a time-out. they have one left. >> this is no gimme, though, in

this stadium kicking in this direction, even for david akers, second-most-accurate kicker all-time in the nfl. >> 37-yard try. his numbers during the regular akers... ties it. and this game is 5 seconds away

from overtime. >> and fox is hot right now. this is gonna be our third overtime game. and as jeffery lurie celebrates, so do our executives back in l.a. >> mike sherman's aged a little bit here over the last seven,

eight days, hasn't he? >> oh, boy, this is fun. what a great weekend this has been. >> well, remember two decisions by mike sherman. one -- they went for it down here on fourth and goal from just inside the 1 and didn't

make it -- a huge stop defensively for the eagles. and two -- they didn't go for it, trying to draw the eagles offside, gave the ball back to granted, they made it on a fourth and 26, connected to freddie mitchell for the huge but those two decisions right

now the difference in green bay moving on to carolina or this game, as it looks right now, going to overtime. >> joe, i think you've got to question it. if you go for it on fourth and goal and you went for it last week twice and you made it and

you said that "that is our philosophy, that you've got to remain aggressive," at the time where that principle was really being tested, he backed down and punted. >> yeah, but if they had turned it over there, they might have given up a touchdown instead of

just 3, too. >> mitchell with a 28-yard reception on fourth and 26... from their own 26 to set up the make by david akers, who squibs wesley walls on the return. now it's najeh davenport. and he is brought down, and we head to overtime.

since the playoff format was changed in 1990, six teams in, the nfc has sent a number-one or a number-two seed to the super bowl. if green bay were to hold on and end up with a victory in this game and advance, the streak will end.

st. louis was the number-two seed. they were k.o.'d last night. >> and james thrash has been returning some big kickoffs in this game. see if he can get another one. >> he has given the eagles great starting field position.

from the 6. good effort. and out near the 29. 23-yard return. tony fisher on the stop. >> well, you just wonder what the state of mind is for this packers defense after they came out and had an opportunity to

stop them and secure the win, particularly there on fourth and 26, giving up that kind of play to then have to come right back out onto the field here in the first possession of overtime, how they're gonna react and how they're gonna respond. >> and if they stay with that

man coverage that they've been playing lately, really opens it up for donovan mcnabb to run the >> the other end of those man-coverage situations, a lot of blitzing from this green bay and they come again, and they get to mcnabb. a big sack to start this

overtime. it's aaron kampman. >> they start with a stunt right off the bat, and aaron kampman, from his defensive-end position, is simply gonna loop around and get right in on donovan mcnabb. the pressure continues, and they are really struggling right now

trying to block this defensive line from the packers. >> you know, and donovan was trying to get the ball out to james thrash in the slot formation, but marques anderson does a great job of jamming him at the line of scrimmage, and that's why donovan had to tuck

the ball and hold it. >> eight sacks today for a green bay defense that had a total of 34 during the regular four-man rush. will be brought down... back near the line of scrimmage. we'll give him a gain of 1, which takes away what would have

been the ninth sack. >> and this time, rather than play man-to-man coverage, they run a cover 2, doubling up on the outside guys, and there's just nowhere really for donovan he had time to unload it once again, but just nowhere for him to throw it.

>> i'll tell you, if they drop back in that cover 2 again, i'd throw it right down the middle again. >> ed donatell doing a good job on those first two plays drawing up the right coverage. >> looked like al harris was trying to bait mcnabb into a

throw to mitchell. blitz again. mcnabb fires for thrash. and who's there? mike mckenzie. >> and mike mckenzie never even saw the ball thrown. he had his back to james thrash the entire way.

you're gonna take a look. he's not even locating the ball. they're fortunate there. >> and part of that is you've got to squeeze that route back to the inside to give your quarterback a little room to throw it out over the top. >> good punt by johnson.

back inside the 30 is chatman. chatman with room to run. penalty flag comes flying in as chatman is brought down at the 49. >> again -- again a penalty on a kick return by the it's got to be at least their third, maybe their fourth of

>> during the return, holding by the receiving team, number 40. 10-yard penalty, green bay keeps the ball -- first down. >> they get fisher for a hold. and instead of having the ball just about right at midfield, let's see where the football will end up.

>> yeah, normally those holds, they occur when a guy's not even gonna have a chance to make a you're gonna see -- here's tony fisher right here. >> the hold brings the ball all the way back to the 32. >> that's about as close as they've called anything today.

>> that look gives you a better indication as to why they threw the flag. favre just heaves it. only eagles are there. and it's picked off by dawkins. into green bay territory and beyond. still going inside the 35.

>> troy, i think that was simply a blown play. i think it was a run, and the back went the wrong way or brett went the wrong way, so he's thinking, "all right, i've got to --" ah, that looks like a route coming off there. but he just wheeled and threw

that ball without even turning and looking back at all. the coverage was absolutely >> cris, they brought pressure and brett didn't anticipate it and he just threw it up in the air, hoping that javon walker could make an adjustment to the and brian dawkins -- what an

outstanding game he's had. eight tackles today, of course the interception right there. but that's one of those plays that brett favre would like to just have back. >> first turnover by the packers in two playoff games. this is buckhalter.

he's had virtually no work in this second half. he gets it to the 30. >> you know, if you're a rookie quarterback, we're sitting there talking about that's the most ridiculous throw you could possibly make in this situation. so even though it's brett favre,

you've got to say the exact same thing. you just cannot wheel and throw a ball into coverage down the field without really knowing what's going on. and it looks like it may cost his team a trip to the nfc championship game.

rolling is mcnabb. and firing for pinkston. first down, philadelphia. >> i'll tell you, todd pinkston had gotten in behind coverage. if donovan had been able to hit him in stride on that one, there was nobody even behind him. there was no defender there

whatsoever. take a look at it. there's the catch, but nobody -- nobody was on him. >> mckenzie injured on the play. pinkston a little slow to recover after that catch, but he's up moving around, and mckenzie is down on all fours.

the ball right now is just inside the 23. so you're looking at roughly a 40-yard field-goal attempt from this spot. but they are looking at -- the eagles are -- a first down now. and you are looking at what's coming your way next sunday --

at 6:00 eastern, 3:00 pacific, the nfc championship game. >> here's todd pinkston coming off the ball. he runs a pivot route. mike mckenzie went down. that's why there was nobody on >> right. his knee just buckled.

when he came out and he tried to stop and turn back around, his knee got hyperextended, and he goes down. and you're right, troy. they're lucky that thing didn't end up a bigger play. >> first down, philadelphia. brian dawkins, who has eight

tackles today and that interception, setting this up. buckhalter is hit in the backfield and dropped. and it's grady jackson who does it for the packers. >> and the decision gets tougher obviously you need some more yards, but every time you hand

it off, especially with a guy like grady jackson up there, you have a chance for something bad to happen to your team, as well. and, boy, when you're looking for a couple of additional yards for david akers, don't like going backwards. >> right now you're looking at

roughly a 42-yard field-goal try. big one. a fan favorite is down inside the 15. >> well, that's the running-back equivalent of what donovan mcnabb did on the touchdown pass earlier.

the thing was absolutely stuffed in the backfield, and staley refuses to go down. >> well, it's grady jackson that got the pressure. probably fitting that it's duce staley... the guy who's been the unselfish one throughout this season, has

been the great team leader, is the guy who puts the final touches on a fine day and gets this team closer to a field-goal opportunity. >> but if grady jackson had made that play, that would have moved the eagles back to about a 45-yard field goal.

just a huge play in the ballgame by duce staley. >> philadelphia will spend a and the green bay packers have to wonder if their emotional trip through this 2003-2004 season is about to come to a close. it's third down and 2.

see if they aim for the middle of the field. >> he just tried to move it in the middle of the field, and he almost picked up the first down. may have. >> the officials will call time-out and ask for a measurement, i believe.

the ball right now is... at the 13-yard line, so you're looking at a 30-yard field-goal attempt. and they're gonna bring out the chains and see if it's a first >> yeah, and i don't think that it matters to philadelphia whether they pick up this first

down or not. david akers was starting to come out onto the field, and i believe that they will still go ahead and kick the field goal even if it is a first down. >> it isn't. it's short of first-down yardage, and here comes akers,

whose 37-yarder sent this game to overtime. he will try to win it. out of the hands of bartrum, into the hands of detmer, and off the left foot of david akers as the eagles try to get to the nfc championship game for the third-consecutive

>> mike sherman has to be sick to see his all-pro veteran quarterback throw one up in the air like that and give away a >> it'll be a 31-yard attempt. and like we saw in the game in st. louis, we may see some time-outs. green bay will call time-out,

try to make david akers think about it. if akers makes it, it's the carolina panthers at the philadelphia eagles right here next sunday night. >> they're trying to call you can't call back-to-back >> akers.

the eagles go back to the 20-17 in overtime. you see darren sharper trying to call time-out. the officials now are going over to mike sherman. they had just called a time-out prior to that. and this game is over.

>> you can't call back-to-back time-outs on a play. >> so, after that is explained to the green bay packers, we take another look at the 31-yard field goal hit by akers. while that sails through, let's go down to pam oliver. >> okay, thanks a lot, joe.

here with donovan mcnabb, as he wants to congratulate some of these packers. but, donovan, all the talk about green bay and destiny, and you said, "what about us?" a lot of you guys. what about the philadelphia eagles?

>> you know what? it's such a beautiful win, you know, with everything that we've been through. and to wrap things up like we did right here and move on to the nfc championship when everybody pretty much still doubted us, for us to come back

and show some heart, show the determination versus this tough green bay team, that says a lot. so i think we're sending a message right now. >> you are sending a message, and it's that another championship game for the philadelphia eagles, this time

at home against the carolina panthers. tell me what it's gonna take to make the third time a charm. >> we're not even worried about the carolina panthers right now. we're excited about this win. this was such a test for us right here, playing against this

tough team. obviously with what happened monday night, they're a little upset. and they were hot. brett was hot. you know, what we did today, even though we were down, we still prevailed and came back

and just showed some heart. we're just gonna enjoy this right now and focus on what we got to do next week. >> we'll let you go do that. thanks a lot, donovan. let's go back upstairs to joe.

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