Eagles 27, Vikings 16

Lito Sheppard didn’t necessarily grow up last night, but his play certainly justified his selection as a first round pick three years ago. He was solid in coverage – where he was matched up with Randy Moss most of the night -- and he was surprisingly and impressively physical in making tackles and stopping runs. So can someone explain to me how come he wasn’t getting any props from the media on Tuesday morning? Randy Moss caught 8 balls for 69 yards. Let me repeat that to make sure it sinks in….8 balls, 69 yards. That, my friends, is essentially shutting down one of the NFL’s premier receivers (the premier receiver to hear Moss tell it.)

Heck, the whole Eagles’ secondary played well. Sure, Culpepper threw for 350 yards, but it sure didn’t seem like it. And the Eagles’ D limited the Vikings to 2 TD total, only one of which was a pass. All week leading up to this game all anybody could talk about was Randy Moss (and TO). So how come after the game, in which Lito and friends basically took Moss out of the game – certainly making him a non-decisive factor – there is so little praise, much less acknowledgement, of their accomplishments?

Sheldon Brown had a solid game too. And Michael Lewis! He brought the wood last night, flying around the field and hammering Culpepper on a key goal line stop. Dawkins was, well, typical Brian Dawkins…which is to say the standard by which all other free safeties in the league are measured.

My astute friend observed last night. Could Bobby Taylor or Troy Vincent have played better or been more effective than Sheppard last night? The answer is an emphatic no. Note to Philly media: the much maligned Lito Sheppard had a coming out party vs. the Vikings. A pity you didn’t notice..

Other thoughts and observations:

Dhani Jones had an outstanding game, seemingly everywhere on defense.

It was most likely the worst officiated game of the season, or that I’ve seen in some time. The “penalty” on the lateral to Freddie Mitchell and then the pass back to McNabb was further marred by the fact that it was initiated by Mike Tice’s challenge. He basically challenged a play cause the refs didn’t call the penalty. How can that be reviewable? Couldn’t you challenge holding on every play if that were true?

Mike Tice was challenge happy, but inexplicably didn’t challenge TO’s controversial TD “catch.” Was he out of challenges? On the flip side, Andy Reid strangely didn’t try to challenge Brian Westbrook’s fumble just before the half. Boy, you’d hate to lose a timeout in the first half on the off chance you might retain possession!

Jevon Kearse’s stats don’t tell even half the story of the havoc he wreaks on an offense. He lined up at end, interior line and LB.

The crowd was feisty and intense. The noise volume was noticeably high when the Vikings had the ball.

With regard to Randy Moss’ offensive pass interference: beyond it being a dumb, dumb play, it did highlight the need to make this penalty more punitive. Defensive pass interference is a killer penalty. Offensive pass interference is hardly equivalent. The league should also mandate that it results in a loss of down.

All things considered, getting home at 2:00 am wasn’t too bad. Traffic dissipated quickly.

I’ll give my friend TD the final word. Heard after the game, he said, “I don’t want to get caught up in the hype of a big win, but I think the Eagles could go 16-0.” Ummm, I think you just got caught up in the hype.

How is that the Vikings had the ball for 38 minutes – 38 minutes! – yet the Eagles only punted once?

There was no wind when Morten Andersen came up woefully short on his attempted 44 yard FG. Way short.