BEYOND THE NUMBERS

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A BIT MORE RUNNING IN THE GRAND SCHEME

The return of Donovan McNabb brought more of a running game for the Eagles, who averaged 5 yards a carry yet still lost the game. Meanwhile, Brian Westbrook padded his total touches to 313, just short of the 322 that he had last season. Finally, he continues to be the primary option for the Birds, grabbing 68 percent of the carries (236 of 347) and 27 percent of the receptions (74 of 247) in his 12 games this season.

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Yesterday

Runs: 28

45.2%

Passes: 31

50%

Sacks: 3

This season

Runs: 347

41%

Passes: 460

54.4%

Sacks: 38

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6 MORE NUMBERS

4 Times swept by the Giants in nine seasons under Andy Reid. That include 1999, 2000, 2007 and this season. Overall, he's 8-10 vs. the Big Blue.

5 Times in 13 games the Eagles have led at halftime. They are 3-2 in those games.

10 Catches for 118 yards and no scores for the Eagles' tight ends during this three-game losing streak.

11 Wins in their last 23 games at Lincoln Financial Field. It's a departure from their first two seasons there, when they went 15-5.

68 Yards in six plays on the Birds' opening drive, which is 11.3 yards per play. In the nine possessions after that, the Birds gained 188 yards on 58 plays, an average of 3.2 yards.

1,167 Yards and 11 TDs for Brian Westbrook in his last eight regular-season games against the Giants.

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NO STOPPING PLAX

Eagles fans no doubt wish Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress would have stayed in Pittsburgh. Since signing with the Giants in 2005, Burress has been an Eagle killer. A look at his numbers:

Date Rec. Yards Avg. TDs Result

11/20/05 6 113 18.8 1 Giants, 27-17

12/11/05 2 37 18.5 0 Giants, 26-23

9/17/06 6 114 19.0 1 Giants, 30-24

12/17/06 6 120 20.0 0 Eagles, 36-22

1/07/07 5 89 17.9 2 Eagles, 23-20

9/30/07 4 24 6.0 1 Giants, 16-3

12/09/07 7 136 19.4 1 Giants, 16-13

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DON'T RUSH TO JUDGMENT

The Eagles have run the ball fairly well all season. Here's a look at their yards per rush, in order of most to least this season.

Opp. Avg. per rush Result

vs. Redskins 5.7 L 20-12

at Jets 5.4 W 16-9

vs. Dolphins 5.2 W 17-7

vs. Lions 5.1 W 56-21

at Giants 5.0 L 16-3

at Redskins 5.0 W 33-25

vs. Seahawks 5.0 L 28-24

vs. Giants 5.0 L 16-13

vs. Bears 4.9 L 19-16

at Packers 3.6 L 16-13

vs. Cowboys 3.5 L 38-17

at Patriots 2.9 L 31-28

at Vikings 2.4 W 23-16

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THIRD AND BRUTAL

The Eagles had 13 third-down plays yesterday; they converted only two of them. Here's a chronology of the yards to go in each play and what it gained.

Qtr. Yds. Summary of Play Outcome

1st 1 Thomas Tapeh run No gain

1st 6 Pass to Greg Lewis Incomplete

1st 6 Pass to Kevin Curtis Incomplete

2nd 7 Pass to Brian Westbrook Gains 6 yards

2nd 3 Pass to Westbrook Gains 8 yards and first down

2nd 10 Donovan McNabb scramble Gains 2 yards

3rd 12 Pass to L.J. Smith Incomplete

3rd 6 Pass to Curtis Gains 6 yards and first down

3rd 11 Pass to Reggie Brown Incomplete

3rd 9 McNabb scramble Gains 5 yards

4th 1 Westbrook run No gain

4th 8 Pass to Westbrook Incomplete

4th 5 Westbrook run Loses 1 yard

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CUT OFF AT THE PASS

With no interceptions, the Eagles seem destined to finish with their fewest amount of pass takeaways in the Andy Reid era. Listed below are their year-to-year numbers and the individuals who collected more than one.

1999 28 Vincent (7), A. Harris (4), Dawkins (4), Taylor (4), Trotter (2)

2000 19 Vincent (5), Dawkins 94), Taylor (3), Moore (2), Emmons (2)

2001 14 Vincent (3), Trotter (2), Harris (2), Dawkins (2), Moore (2)

2002 15 Taylor (5), Barber (2), Brown (2), Dawkins (2), Vincent (2)

2003 13 Lewis (3), Vincent (3)

2004 17 Sheppard (5), Dawkins (4), Brown (2), Reese (2)

2005 17 Brown (4), Shappard (3), Dawkins (3), Hood (2), Lewis (2)

2006 19 Sheppard (6), Dawkins (4), Lewis (2)

2007 7 Brown (3)

- By Bob Cooney and Paul Vigna