Two Bills Drive

”’When you go into a hostile environment or someone else’s house, you want to treat it as your own,” quarterback Donovan McNabb said. ”It’s a challenge, and that’s what we feed off – challenges. Going into Buffalo, we know that it’s going to be a tough environment. We know that their fans are going to be fired up and they are going to be fired up, so we have to match that and be able to add a little more.”’

”’Everyone has been down on us, but we haven’t been,” quarterback Donovan McNabb added. ”That’s something we’ve all talked about – the fact that we’re the ones involved in this thing. We can change this thing. The attitude will be that we go out there, execute, open up some eyes, and just continue to feed off it.”’

‘In two games, Brady and Tampa Bay’s Brad Johnson have completed a total of 57 passes in 80 attempts, a 71.3-percent completion ratio, for 493 yards with five touchdown passes and just one tipped interception. Those numbers compute to a 102.8 quarterback rating.’

‘Buffalo, 28-24.’

‘The Eagles are 4-0 – 5-0 counting the playoffs – the week after a bye under head coach Andy Reid.’

‘It would be hard for them to run the ball less. The Eagles are passing the ball on seven of every 10 snaps, and their offense under Reid has never been this lopsided. Last year, the Eagles threw the ball 52 percent of the time. This year, after two games, they’ve thrown it 72 percent of the time. Even though the Eagles lost both games, they weren’t so far behind that they had to abandon the running game.’

‘"I wouldn’t imagine they’d run,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said with a smile. "I think they’re going to stay with the vertical passing game. They want to go deep. Their philosophy is to get the ball deep.”’

‘Bills 23, Eagles 17.’

‘Eagles 10, Buffalo 27.’

‘In a season-opening 17-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the tailbacks combined to gain 19 yards on 10 carries. In the 21-point loss to the Patriots the next week, they had 46 yards on 11 carries.’

Bills showing Eagles respect

‘This season couldn’t have started much worse for the Eagles, who many experts picked to finally take that last step and make it to the Super Bowl after 2 straight Championship Game losses. Injuries have crippled the defensive line and secondary. Quarterback Donovan McNabb is mired in the worst slump of his young career. They lost their first 2 games, both in their new stadium, by a combined score of 48-10 against the last 2 Super Bowl champions (Buccaneers & Patriots).’

‘Ken Simonton has been added from the practice squad.’

‘The Bills placed backup fullback Philip Crosby on injured reserve and he will miss the rest of the season.’

‘Seems the Eagles and the Bills have a lot in common as they prepare to face each other in Buffalo on Sunday. The difference is the Eagles have yet to win a game or look good trying to win a game. The Bills were off to a 2-0 start and had outscored their opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots, 69-17. It just goes to show how fast a team in the NFL can fall. The Eagles now have a chance to show just how fast a team in the NFL can rise.’