WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

In arguably the best game of the week, Philadelphia outplayed, outwitted and outlasted the Miami Dolphins. The victory keeps Philadelphia (11-3) as the top seed in the NFC, extending their win streak to 9 games, their longest win streak since the 1960 NFL Championship Team.

For Miami (8-6), their December swoon continues yet again this year, and their second consecutive loss dims their fading playoff hopes.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles, the hottest team in the NFC, continued their winning ways on Monday Night Football as they continued to pile up the points. Even against the stingy Dolphins defense, Philadelphia scored 34 points and came away with their ninth straight win.

QB Donovan McNabb put up good but not great numbers, accounting for one touchdown rushing but none via the air. McNabb had over 200 yards passing, but most of those yards came outside of the red zone.

The RBBC approach continues in Philadelphia, where Duce Staley, Correll Buckhalter and Brian Westbrook continue to share time in the backfield. Together, these three had 126 yards rushing and 45 more receiving with two scores. On this occasion, Brian Westbrook led the triumvirate statistically, scoring both touchdowns and logging 104 all-purpose yards.

McNabb did a nice job of spreading the ball around to his numerous receivers, as seven Eagles caught passes, but none had more than three catches. WR Todd Pinkston did add two big receptions in the game, one on the first play that went for 59 yards to set up the first score.

Miami Dolphins

Miami struggled on two fronts. First RB Ricky Williams sustained an injury to his left shoulder, but was able to battle through it and remain in the contest. Williams finished with over 100 rushing yards and a touchdown, and was the sole ball carrier in the second half.

The other difficulty was the accuracy of QB Jay Fiedler. Miami had numerous open receivers, but Fiedler kept throwing erratically. Even some of his completions took acrobatics by his teammates to haul in.

TE Randy McMichael was Fiedler's safety net, as he caught 7 passes for 95 yards. WR Chris Chambers was the most frequent target by Fiedler, as he looked 12 times in Chambers' direction. But the erratic throws - some too high, some out of bounds, some behind the receiver - proved to be too much to sustain an adequate passing attack.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Philadelphia Eagles

QB: Donovan McNabb (15-27-236-0-1, 8-14 rushing, 1 rushing TD) had a solid performance, spreading the ball around his teammates and getting the Eagles yet another win. McNabb did show the ability to hit the deep ball, hitting Todd Pinkston for 59 yards in stride on the first play of the game. However, McNabb did not throw any touchdown passes on the night. His lone score came on a 1-yard goal line plunge in the first quarter. McNabb's only interception came on a deflection off of TE LJ Smith's foot.

WR Freddie Mitchell (1-1-25 for a touchdown) displayed his throwing ability on a second quarter pass to RB Brian Westbrook. Mitchell received a lateral from McNabb in the left flat and threw to Westbrook in man-to-man coverage in the end zone on the right side of the field. Mitchell's pass was a tight spiral, nice and high, and Westbrook went up and made a play, pulling the ball down for the score.

RB: Brian Westbrook (8-59 rushing, 1 rushing TD, 3-45 receiving, 1 receiving TD, 5 targets) led the Eagles' RBBC on this night, accounting for over 100 all-purpose yards and two scores. Westbrook scored the first points of the game, just 71 seconds into the contest, on a 21-yard rush up the middle. His second score came on a lateral-pass from WR Freddie Mitchell, a high-arcing 25-yard toss that allowed Westbrook to leap up and pull the ball down.

Westbrook had one dropped pass on a screen play in the fourth quarter, but this was the only catchable ball Westbrook did not catch.

Duce Staley (6-58 rushing, 0-0 receiving, 1 target) was mostly involved in the fourth quarter, carrying the ball four times as the Eagles tried to hold on to their lead. His two other carries came in the second quarter, a 22-yard rush and another for 13 more that both garnered first downs. Staley's lone passing target came in the second quarter on a busted screen play, where McNabb was fortunate to get the ball off and in the area of Duce. The ball was uncatchable.

Correll Buckhalter (6-9 rushing, 1 rushing TD) had a quiet evening statistically, but one of his six carries was extremely important in this game. Buckhalter caught a lateral pass from McNabb on first and goal from the Miami 2, at about the 7 yard line, averted tacklers and leaped towards the goal line. The officials ruled that Buckhalter was out of bounds at the ½ yard line, but the play was challenged and reversed due to Buckhalter's holding the ball in bounds and just inside the pylon as most of his body flew out of bounds. The critical score came on the first play of the fourth quarter and allowed the Eagles to take the lead for good, 31-24.

FB Jon Ritchie (0-0 rushing, 2-13 receiving, 2 targets) helped the Eagles' running game to go for 140 total yards. Ritchie touched the ball twice for short passes in the flat for 8 and 5 yards each.

WR: Todd Pinkston (2-78 receiving, 3 targets) shined early in the contest, stretching the field for the Eagles with two big catches. Pinkston caught a 59-yard pass in full stride on the first play of the game, setting up the first score for the Eagles. His second catch was for 19 yards, also in the first quarter. After those catches, Pinkston wasn't targeted again until the third quarter. He came down with the ball for four yards, but a penalty kept him from officially recording his third catch.

James Thrash (2-48 receiving, 5 targets) was the most targeted wide receiver with 5 targets, which shows just how much the Eagles spread the ball around. Thrash caught two passes in the first half. Thrash gained 44 yards on a slant pass in the first quarter thanks in part to an all-out blitz from the Dolphins, and once Thrash beat his man coverage he broke off the big run (roughly 40 yards after the catch).

Of the three other targets for Thrash, only one was close to catchable. Thrash was listed as targeted on two passes that were actually balls tipped at the line of scrimmage and never came close to him. The third was knocked down by the defender in man coverage.

Freddie Mitchell (2-30 receiving, 4 targets, 1-1-25 yards passing, 1 passing TD) had an impact in the passing game, but not in the typical manner for a wide receiver. Mitchell caught a lateral-pass from McNabb in the second quarter, then proceeded to throw a touchdown to RB Brian Westbrook. The ball was a nice high-arcing spiral that allowed Westbrook to get up in the air, beat his defender (Zach Thomas) and bring in the touchdown.

Mitchell also caught two passes on four targets in the third quarter for first downs (17 yards, 13 yards respectively). The first incompletion was a pass that was nearly picked off by Terrell Buckley, who jumped in front of Mitchell and dropped the ball. Had Buckley grabbed the interception, he likely would have scored. Mitchell's second target was a ball thrown at his feet by McNabb.

TE: LJ Smith (3-16 receiving, 7 targets, 1 fumble) had a rough evening. The rookie TE had one pass bounce off his left foot up to LB Zach Thomas for an interception. He also had a ball bounce off his hands in the end zone, and another fly over his head on another end zone target. Smith finished with three catches, all less than 10 yards (9, 2, 6 yards). Smith also fumbled near the goal line, but was fortunate to have a lineman fall on the ball.

Chad Lewis (2-31 receiving, 4 targets) performed well, catching a 15-yard pass for a first down in the first quarter, and a 16-yarder for another first down in the fourth. Lewis also gained a crucial pass interference penalty in the end zone, setting up RB Correll Buckhalter's go-ahead touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

K: David Akers (2/2 FGs, 46 and 42 yards, 4/4 XPs) collected 10 points on the scoreboard, and made two crucial 40+ yard field goals to help the Eagles stay out in front.

Pass Defense: The Eagles pass defense kept the Dolphins out of the end zone, although WR Chris Chambers did get to the Eagles 1-yard line. Philadelphia blitzed nearly 20 times and kept Fiedler under a lot of pressure, and they kept Fiedler from having the time to make accurate throws. Fiedler barely completed over 50% of his passes, and was sacked twice and intercepted twice.

Rush Defense: The Philadelphia rush defense gave up yet another 100-yard rushing performance, this time to Ricky Williams (thanks mostly to a 45-yard dash in the first quarter). The Eagles held Miami to 11 carries for 44 yards in the second half, all by Williams. They also surrendered a score in the third quarter. The run defense continues to be the main Achilles' heel of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Miami Dolphins

QB: Jay Fiedler (21-40-240, 0 TD, 2 INT, 4-16 rushing, 1 rushing TD) did not take full advantage of the opportunities afforded him. Fiedler was consistently inaccurate, throwing high and wide all night. Even some of the completions were due to leaping receivers and high wire tap dances along the sidelines.

Fiedler was responsible for both of Miami's turnovers. He threw very high and short towards WR Oronde Gadsden, which allowed FS Brian Dawkins to run over and catch the ball virtually uncontested. The second interception was even more costly, as it came with less than three minutes left in the game and the score 31-24. Fiedler threw wildly towards WR James McKnight across the middle of the field, but Eagles SS Michael Lewis hauled it in to set up David Akers' second field goal.

Fiedler almost had a TD pass, but Chris Chambers was pushed out of bounds at the Eagles' 1 yard line after a 38-yard run and catch in the first quarter. He was able to score himself on the ensuing play on a 1-yard QB sneak.

RB: Ricky Williams (18-107 rushing, 1 TD, 2-1 receiving, 4 targets) struggled through a difficult evening, but managed to put up over 100 yards and scored his lone touchdown in the third quarter from three yards out. Williams' totals were aided by a 45-yard run in the first quarter, his longest run of the season, but the play was nearly very costly. Williams suffered an injury to his left shoulder and had to leave the game for treatment. He later returned before the half, but played just sparingly. Williams seemed to be feeling better in the second half as he carried the ball for all 11 of the Dolphins rushes.

Williams' only two errors on the night came in the passing game, as he dropped two short passes that both hit him in the hands.

Travis Minor (5-24 rushing, 1 TD, 126 yards on kickoff returns) played mostly in relief of Ricky Williams after he sustained a shoulder injury. All five of his carries came in the first half, as did his touchdown. Minor also contributed as the kickoff return specialist on special teams.

P Matt Turk (1-23 rushing) had one run for 23 yards on a broken punt play after the Eagles nearly blocked the kick. Turk tucked the ball down and ran for the first down.

FB Rob Konrad was forced to leave the game with a concussion.

WR: Chris Chambers (5-86 receiving, 12 targets) was the go-to receiver, as all five of his catches went for first downs. Chambers was the most targeted receiver for the Dolphins, but even his athleticism could not always help in moving the chains. QB Fiedler's errant throws caused a number of incompletions, but Chambers was also responsible for dropping three balls. Chambers added a nice 38-yard run and catch in the first quarter, but was pushed out of bounds at the 1 yard line before he could score.

Derrius Thompson (3-35 receiving, 7 targets) performed modestly, catching a 19-yard pass and a 12-yarder for first downs and adding a 4-yard pass to his statistics late in the game. Although it may appear that Thompson was responsible for four incompletions, Thompson only had a chance to catch one of them for a completion, and he nearly did, just missing getting a second foot down for about a 10-yard catch and a first down. The remaining three balls were thrown too high or behind him, or even into double coverage.

James McKnight (3-16 receiving, 4 targets, 1-7 rushing) had a quiet game, but made a nice play to catch a batted ball for an extra completion (although he gained zero yards). McKnight was the intended recipient of Fiedler's second interception, but the ball was not close to McKnight at all.

Oronde Gadsden (1-7 receiving, 4 targets) caught just one pass for 7 yards. Gadsden dropped one pass, and was attributed as the target of the first interception thrown by Fiedler.

TE: Randy McMichael (7-95 receiving, 8 targets) made the most catches of any Dolphin, and acted very much like Jay Fiedler's safety net. McMichael caught four balls for 10 or more yards, all for first downs.

Rookie TE Donald Lee was targeted for one pass, but did not make the catch. The ball was thrown at his feet.

K: Olindo Mare (2/2 FG, 27 and 50 yards, 3/3 XPs) converted on both his field goal attempts. Mare's second field goal was a big one of 50 yards and had plenty of leg. This put Miami within a touchdown, but there was too little time left for a comeback.

Pass Defense: The Miami pass defense broke down right at the beginning of the game, allowing McNabb to hit Pinkston deep for 59 yards on the first play. Officially they recorded a sack, but it was for zero yards as McNabb nearly ran out of it. They did have some pressure on McNabb, but even the one interception was a lucky bounce. McNabb did not throw for any scores, but he kept the chains moving and completed 56% of his passes. CB Buckley dropped an interception that looked to be returnable for a touchdown as well.

Rush Defense: The Dolphin rush defense surrendered 140 yards on 28 carries to the Eagles, a 5-yard average. Philadelphia scored three times on the ground, and kept the chains moving with eight rushing first downs. Miami struggled with the Eagles' RBBC approach of Buckhalter, Staley, Westbrook and also McNabb throughout the contest.