They were hopeless.  Bad clock management and lack of offense led to a heartbreaking 10-3 loss in Washington that should have ended the Eagles' playoff hopes.  End of an era.  There was no way the Eagles could rebound.

Going into Week 17, the Eagles were still mathematically alive.  They needed two things to happen:  A loss by the Bears/Vikings and a loss by the Bucs.  The desperate Bears were taking on a mediocre Houston team and the Bucs, who had come off a bad loss, just needed to beat out a horrible Raiders team at home.

Sure enough, with their Week 17 luck, the Bears blew a 10-point lead and lost.  Even more amazingly, Michael Bush ran away with the Bucs' playoff hopes as Oakland shocked Tampa Bay.

When they took the field at 4:15, the Eagles and Cowboys knew that they were playing for the last playoff spot in the NFC.  At the end of the first quarter, it was deadlocked at 3-3.  In the next three quarters, the Eagles would outscore the Cowboys 41-3 in a 44-6 blowout.  It was unreal.  Not just a win...it was a massacre.  Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Brian Dawkins especially stepped up to the challenge.  David Akers made a 50+ yard field goal.  Everything went the Eagles way.

As to whether or not this success will continue in the playoffs remains to be seen.  The Eagles appear to be as good as anyone.  Next stop: Minnesota.