Eagles still team to beat in NFC

PHILADELPHIA – Terrell Owens invigorated the Philadelphia Eagles with his attitude, enthusiasm and MVP-type performance.

Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook will do their best to prove this wasn’t a one-man offense.

A badly sprained ankle and broken leg will sideline Owens for the rest of the regular season and possibly the entire postseason – a devastating blow for a team that dominated the NFC and clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with two games left.

But take heart, Philly fans: Losing the brash-talking, playmaking wide receiver doesn’t end the Eagles’ chances of reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in 24 years.

Owens isn’t the only reason Philadelphia is 13-1.

The Eagles still have McNabb and Westbrook on offense, and Jevon Kearse leads the stingiest defense in the NFL. No team has allowed fewer points (202).

“They will be fine,” said Owens, who has an outside chance of playing in the Super Bowl if the Eagles make it. “It doesn’t stop with me.”

While Owens was catching passes, criticizing coaches and teammates and inventing innovative touchdown celebrations in San Francisco, the Eagles reached the last three NFC championship games.

A lackluster receiving corps was a major reason they didn’t win one, but these Eagles are in better position to finally get to the NFL title game – even without Owens, who had 77 receptions for 1,200 yards and a team-record 14 TDs.

McNabb is having the best season of his six-year career, and Westbrook has emerged as one of the most dangerous running backs in the league. The revamped defense is championship-caliber.

Sure, receivers Todd Pinkston, Freddie Mitchell, Greg Lewis and Billy McMullen are ordinary. But tight ends Chad Lewis and L.J. Smith are go-to targets for McNabb, while opponents haven’t found a way to stop Westbrook, who has 812 yards rushing and 73 catches for 703 yards.

“I don’t think it is any step back too much with T.O. not being in there,” McNabb said. “With those guys in there, we are still running our offense and those guys will have opportunities to make plays for us.”

With Owens, the Eagles won their first nine games against conference opponents by double-digit margins, including five games by more than 20 points each.

Without him, they have to win two playoffs games against inferior teams in a weak conference to reach the Super Bowl. Philadelphia’s first playoff game on Jan. 15 or 16 could be against a team that finishes with a losing record.

The Eagles are used to overcoming significant injuries.

In 2002, McNabb missed the last six games with a broken ankle. Backup quarterback Koy Detmer and third-string A.J. Feeley led the Eagles to a 5-1 record down the stretch, before McNabb returned for the playoffs.

Last season, free safety Brian Dawkins, the defense’s best player, missed nine games with a foot injury, and Westbrook sat out the playoffs with torn triceps. Still, if McNabb hadn’t injured his ribs in the NFC title game against Carolina, the Eagles might have beaten the Panthers.

“We’ll make do without him, obviously, and the guys will step up and play,” coach Andy Reid said.