The first rule for backup quarterbacking is also the only rule for backup quarterbacking and Mike McMahon figures that as long as he obeys, he someday will have a chance to obey it again. The rule begins with W and it ends there, too. He is the Eagles? No. 2 quarterback, and he has an opportunity now to keep it that way. Signed for another year, but with no guarantees, he is auditioning to be the reason Andy Reid can sleep at night next year without being haunted by the prospect of more games without Donovan McNabb. McMahon is 26 and he is trying to make sure he is employed, preferably by the Birds, at 27. "I don?t know about that," McMahon said. "I am just doing what I can now to help this team win games." So, he did Sunday, despite one of the more depressing boxscore lines a quarterback might yield. He didn?t throw for triple figures, setting for 97 passing yards. He was intercepted three times. He had no completion longer than 17 yards. He was sacked four times. He fumbled once, though the Eagles recovered. He had 17 rushing yards, but 15 of those were on one play.

Before Terrell Owens was banished from the Philadelphia Eagles, the All-Pro wide receiver told GQ magazine that some of his teammates didn't want him to play in the Super Bowl last February. "A lot of people, they doubted me," Owens said in the January issue of GQ. "Some of my teammates didn't want to see me come back, but I came back. "That's why I felt so ultimately disrespected, because I knew how hard I worked to get back on that field to help them. Had I not played, who knows, we probably would've gotten beat worse." Owens defied his doctor's advice and played against New England in the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, just 6? weeks after undergoing ankle surgery. He had nine catches for 122 yards, but the Eagles lost 24-21. "When I was rehabbing, they called me selfish for trying to get on the field to play," he explained. "I said, 'You guys are labeling me selfish for rehabbing, trying to play in the biggest game of the year?' If Brett Favre had done it, you would've said he was a hero, would've given him an 'ironman' award or something like that.

Donovan McNabb is still taking shots -- the latest from an NAACP leader who criticized the quarterback's leadership skills and said he "played the race card" in explaining why he no longer runs the ball. J. Whyatt Mondesire, who publishes a newspaper for blacks and is the president of the Philadelphia branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, recently wrote that the Eagles' star quarterback failed as a team leader and choked in the Super Bowl. McNabb responded sharply, but Mondesire hasn't changed his stance. "He doesn't get it," Mondesire said Wednesday. "If he got it, I wouldn't have written the article." Mondesire, publisher of the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, criticized McNabb in a column in his newspaper on Dec. 4.

Running back Brian Westbrook is finished for the season after the Eagles placed him on injured reserve Monday. Westbrook, however, doesn't need surgery for his foot injury, called a Lis Franc sprain. "This should heal up," coach Andy Reid said Monday. "It may take six to nine weeks to get right." Westbrook is the fourth Pro Bowl player Philadelphia has lost in the last month, joining quarterback Donovan McNabb, cornerback Lito Sheppard and left tackle Tra Thomas. Also, All-Pro wideout Terrell Owens was suspended and sent home for the rest of the season. Westbrook hurt his foot in the first half of last Monday night's 42-0 loss to Seattle. Rookie Ryan Moats had 114 yards rushing and two TDs on just 11 carries in an overtime loss to the Giants on Sunday.

Mike McMahon will start at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Giants on Sunday despite being benched after throwing two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns against Seattle. "I like Mike's mobility," coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. "It's important everybody does their job. The quarterback gets the brunt of it. I'm not going to point fingers. Everybody had a piece in it." Koy Detmer replaced McMahon in the second quarter of Monday night's 42-0 loss to the Seahawks, but didn't fare much better. McMahon was awful against Seattle. He completed 4 of 10 passes for 61 yards and the two picks. On the first interception, McMahon stared down receiver Greg Lewis and tried to force a pass between two defenders. Andre Dyson stepped in front, picked it off and ran untouched 72 yards for a score. However, it's possible Lewis may have run the wrong route or didn't make the proper adjustment to the ball.

Running back Brian Westbrook will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury, the fourth Pro Bowl player the Philadelphia Eagles have lost for the season in the last month. Westbrook injured his foot in the first half of Monday night's 42-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. An MRI exam Tuesday confirmed Westbrook has a Lis Franc injury, an injury more common in automobile accidents and equestrian sports. Westbrook joins quarterback Donovan McNabb (sports hernia), cornerback Lito Sheppard (ankle) and left tackle Tra Thomas (back) on the injured list.

Mike McMahon, who started his third game for the injured Donovan McNabb, was benched after throwing two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Koy Detmer wasn't much better, throwing two picks and losing a fumble. Coach Andy Reid hasn't decided which of the two mediocre quarterbacks will start Sunday when the Eagles (5-7) host the NFC East-leading New York Giants (8-4). "I want the best guy out there to do the job," Reid said Tuesday. "That's where you look No. 1. Who I think can be most effective against the team that you're playing, I guess you take that into some consideration."

For the second time in five months, the Philadelphia Eagles have requested that exiled wide receiver Terrell Owens repay part of the signing bonus that he received when the club signed him to a seven-year, $49 million contract in 2004. And this time, team sources said, the Eagles plan to collect. Those sources confirmed that the Eagles last week apprised Owens in writing of their intent to recover $1.725 million of his original $2.3 million signing bonus. Team officials have forwarded the pertinent paperwork to the league alerting NFL officials of their intentions. And there is a chance that the club will garnish Owens' wages for the final five games of the season, or $191,176 per week, as part of the repayment.

The Philadelphia Eagles have withdrawn a tampering complaint against the Cowboys filed after Dallas owner Jerry Jones suggested on a radio show that his team is often interested in players such as suspended wide receiver Terrell Owens. "At the time, the Eagles were concerned that the nature and timing of the comments could affect the outcome of the arbitration hearing involving Owens," the team said in a statement Friday. "We have now had the opportunity to review the full transcript of the interview and in light of the fact the comments obviously had no effect on the outcome of the hearing, the Eagles have since contacted the National Football League in order to withdraw their request to have the league pursue this matter." Owens was suspended for four games by the Eagles on Nov. 5 for criticizing quarterback Donovan McNabb, fighting with team "ambassador" Hugh Douglas and other actions deemed detrimental to the team. The suspension was upheld by an arbitrator.

The doctor who performed season-ending surgery for a sports hernia on Donovan McNabb said the Eagles quarterback should "take it easy" before returning to the field. Dr. William Meyers, who operated Monday at Hahnemann University Hospital, said McNabb had multiple tears and needed surgery immediately. Normal recovery time is eight to 10 weeks, though McNabb won't play again this year after he was placed on injured reserve. McNabb had played through several injuries and hoped to delay surgery for the sports hernia until after the season. "It was at the point of the season where he was having more damage there and I said, 'That's enough. You've got to have surgery,"' Meyers said Thursday. Citing patient confidentially, Meyers did not get into too many specifics of McNabb's injury, the surgery or recovery. He did not think McNabb would have returned this season even if he had the surgery earlier in the year. "He had a tough injury," Meyers said. "For him to get right back would have been tricky."