Westbrook -- and his knee -- will fuel Eagles' push

The Eagles have endured a dramatic first 10 weeks of the season well enough to keep their collective head above water. And suddenly they have a chance to make a sneak attack during the stretch run.

Despite the drama surrounding quarterback Donovan McNabb's up-and-down performance and his increasingly rocky relationship with the fan base. Despite coach Andy Reid's well-documented family issues that continue to stir debates on the national stage. Despite numerous injuries to key veterans on both sides of the ball.

Despite it all, the Eagles find themselves just two games out of the wild-card race in the NFC heading into Sunday's home game against a winless Miami team starting a rookie second-round quarterback.

The biggest key to the Eagles' potential run to the postseason isn't McNabb or Reid. It's not tight end L.J. Smith being healthy and productive in the red zone or free safety Brian Dawkins overcoming a neck injury to regain his Pro Bowl form.

It's running back Brian Westbrook, who has accounted for 48.6 percent of the offense the past two games while the majority of the media has credited McNabb's increased mobility.

For the Eagles' playoff aspirations to survive a brutal run after the Dolphins that includes a four-game stretch against winning teams with a combined 28-9 record, Westbrook has to stay on the field and remain the focal point of the offense.

Durability has always been an issue for the 5-foot-10, 203-pound sixth-year veteran who has never made it through an entire 16-game regular-season schedule. He won't again this year -- he has already missed one game with a knee that occasionally needs to be drained of fluid.

Westbrook didn't practice Thursday, and taking a few days off has become the norm to help the knee hold up. He'll play Sunday, and add to his 1,219 yards from scrimmage, which is second in the NFL.

The Eagles certainly would relish the opportunity to build a big lead against the Dolphins, turn to backup Correll Buckhalter and rest Westbrook for that playoff push they hope to make.

Sadly, Peterson and injury reports go hand in hand

Six teams passed on Adrian Peterson in last April's draft, mainly because he couldn't stay healthy at Oklahoma.

His combination of size, speed and vision made him one of the most tantalizing prospects in years. But his upright and physical running style that led to a dislocated shoulder, high ankle sprain and broken right clavicle during three seasons with the Sooners also made him a clear big risk/big reward draft pick.

It hasn't taken long for the Vikings to jump on the rollercoaster for a dizzying ride.

After steamrolling through the first half of the season and threatening to make a run at a slew of single-season NFL records, Peterson's season -- and the Vikings' hope for being competitive down the stretch -- took a serious hit when he suffered a partial tear of his lateral collateral ligament in his right knee Sunday.

Minnesota's athletic trained, Eric Sugarman, said there is "absolutely, no question" Peterson will play again this season. There's even a chance he could return after missing just one game -- not that Minnesota has any need to rush its prized possession back into the lineup other than to keep fans in the seats.

Regardless of when Peterson returns to breathe life to the moribund Vikings offense, Minnesota fans have had their first taste of what is likely to be a history of injuries Peterson will have to fight through.

It's too bad, too, because Peterson is unquestionably one of the most exciting talents in the NFL. He's good for the Vikings, and he's great for the game in general. Here's to hoping we see his name associated more with records than with medical reports.

Lions & Giants NFC's paper tigers

A couple of NFC "contenders" got handed a heavy dose of reality Sunday.

The Lions and Giants, who entered Week 10 with 6-2 records, still have beaten a combined two teams that currently have winning records -- Detroit taking down Tampa Bay (5-4) and New York handling Washington (5-4).

Neither team's resume is particularly impressive, especially after Detroit was routed in Arizona and the Giants succumbed to Dallas for the second time this season. However, as the Cowboys and Packers continue to assert themselves as the only real class of the conference, the Lions and Giants exit the week still holding wild card spots.

The next litmus test comes when the Giants travel to Detroit next Sunday. But as two of only six NFC teams with winning records, even the loser at Ford Field has plenty of time to regroup for a playoff run.

"We know how good Detroit is," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin, "and we know that as the season gets shorter, all the games are tough. We have no excuses. We had our chances, our opportunities, and we just didn't play well enough to win. Not tonight. We were ineffective with the ball in the second half, we didn't get the quarterback pressure we wanted and it was a big game in our stadium and we couldn't control it."

There are a few quarterback situations worth keeping an eye on this week.

• Rex Grossman took over for injured Brian Griese and threw a game-winning touchdown for Chicago. Even if Griese's shoulder injury isn't serious, it will be interesting to see if coach Lovie Smith stick with Grossman.
• As the Ravens' season has unraveled, so has the play of Steve McNair. Coach Brian Billick declined to give him a strong vote of confidence, as he has in recent weeks. There's a good chance the Ravens make the switch to Kyle Boller this week.
• Getting knocked out of Sunday's lost to Denver was the only thing that kept the Chiefs' Damon Huard from being bench. Coach Herm Edwards is mulling starting Brodie Croyle in an attempt to spark his passing game averaging just 207.9 yards per game while throwing nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Chiefs' slim playoff hopes rest on L.J.'s foot

Thanks to the Jekyll and Hyde routine San Diego pulled during the first half of the season, Kansas City is inexplicably tied for the AFC West division lead.

While running back Larry Johnson's status for the stretch run remains cloudy due to a foot injury, there is no arguing the Chiefs' chances of pulling a playoff spot out of the proverbial hat are remote at best with each game L.J. misses.

Take Sunday, for example. Facing the league's worst run defense, Johnson would have been primed to control the game against Denver. K.C. could have played the field position game, avoided attacking cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Dre' Bly and eventually worn the Broncos down. Now the Chiefs are relying on 34-year-old Priest Holmes and rookie Kolby Smith to take pressure off their moribund passing game.

Johnson is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, a full yard below his career average. But that speaks far more about how much the Chiefs' offensive line has deteriorated than to any drop-off in Johnson's talent.

The Chiefs certainly still have a good shot of sneaking past free-falling Denver. But the offense is built around the running game, if for no other reason than opponents have almost zero fear of quarterback Damon Huard.

Down the stretch, Kansas City has games against Indianapolis, Tennessee and Detroit, all with run defenses ranked in the top half of the league. Granted, the Chiefs also play the Broncos twice and the Jets and Raiders, ranked 29th and 30th against the run, but how well can they exploit those weakness without L.J.? With no real passing game, they can't afford not to be successful on the ground. The bottom line is the Chiefs have a solid defense and a very one-dimensional offense. If they want to take advantage of the window the Chargers have left ajar, they need Johnson back in the lineup sooner than later.