Phil Sheridan | Feeley has earned his chance to start

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - So now what?

After Adam Joshua Feeley nearly does the impossible, how do you tell him, his teammates and a city of disgruntled fans that he's going back to the sideline?

That is almost certainly what Andy Reid will do if Donovan McNabb is healthy enough to start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. It is the way Reid operates and always has been.

If Reid is lucky, McNabb's sprained ankle and injured thumb will conspire to keep him out next weekend. That would give the coach a chance to see Feeley play one more game, to find out whether tonight's performance was a fluke or whether Feeley is simply ready to be a frontline quarterback.

Feeley wasn't perfect. Spotting the Patriots a seven-point lead with that early interception made the hill the Eagles tried to climb that much steeper. And the two late interceptions were killers.

You have to wonder how fans and the media would have reacted if McNabb played exactly the same game. Three picks. Three touchdowns. Feeley slipped and fell on the first play after the Eagles recovered that surprise onside kick, squandering an important early opportunity. He made some great throws and missed some open receivers.

Actually, McNabb has played exactly that game a number of times. You may remember a three-point loss to the Patriots in a game in Jacksonville a few years back. Three picks. Three touchdowns. As always, when the Eagles lose, McNabb got roasted for it.

But fair is fair. In between the interceptions, Feeley played a terrific game against an outstanding team. He moved the Eagles up and down the field. He read and reacted to blitzes. He threw for touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.

In short, Feeley was the quarterback for the Eagles' best all-around performance of this strange season. Yes, they played even better than in the blowout victory over Detroit. The Patriots are that good.

Since this is Philadelphia, and since all things McNabb-related are complicated, the easy out isn't likely to present itself to Reid. McNabb will likely turn up at the NovaCare Complex today refreshed and ready to roll. And Reid will have a decision to make.

This is about as complicated as a quarterback situation can get. McNabb has not been himself most of this season, and it is unknowable what role his surgically repaired knee is playing in that. It may simply be that McNabb returned too soon and, instead of playing his way back to form, he has played himself into a funk.

A large number of Eagles fans don't fully appreciate McNabb's contributions to this franchise. It isn't fair, but that poisoned atmosphere is a factor in all this. Playing McNabb at the Linc on Sunday will set everyone up for one of those tense afternoons where every play becomes a referendum from the fans.

McNabb has meant a lot to the Eagles and to Reid, and he deserves to be treated with class and respect. That doesn't mean he has a lifetime guarantee to be the Eagles' starting quarterback, though. With his team teetering on the brink of playoff contention, Reid has to do what is best to give all 53 players on his roster a chance to win.

Right now, after an excellent performance against a truly stupendous New England team, the Eagles have a spark. Reid has to nurture that, has to try to coax it into a flame that can burn for the next five weeks. Reinserting McNabb into the starting lineup could go either way.

If his pride kicks in and he plays his best football, McNabb could carry the team right into the playoffs.

If he is as uneven as he has been during most of this season, that could blow the spark out for good.

No one has been more of a McNabb backer than your humble narrator. That hasn't changed. It remains my opinion that he has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL during most of his career. The point here isn't that he should be put out to pasture forever, just that Feeley (and his teammates) deserve a chance to see if he can keep this thing going.

Feeley went head-to-head with the great Tom Brady in a shoot-out and held his own. That has to count for something.

Six years ago, Brady filled in for an injured franchise quarterback, a guy who had taken the Patriots to a Super Bowl and lost. When Drew Bledsoe was healthy, Bill Belichick stayed with the kid. That turned out pretty good.

This is different. Feeley isn't a kid. Kevin Kolb has that spot. With McNabb hurting again, there is a lot of uncertainty about the future of the Eagles' QB spot. The only thing that seems certain right now is that Feeley earned a chance to play at least one more game.