You had to know that the Cincinnati Bengals would be involved in the NFL's first tie game in six years. It's been that kind of year for the boys in orange and black.
They say that a tie is like kissing your sister. I guess the Bengals and Eagles better pucker up: the two set football back years before settling for a 13-13 tie.
The odd thing is that this was a kind of winning feeling for both teams. For the Bengals, anything that doesn't show up in the loss column is a positive experience. The Eagles, who didn't know games could end in a tie, have to feel good about not coming up with a loss since they played like they should have been pounded.
Donovan McNabb went 28-for-58 for 339 yards (that will happen when you throw it a career-high 58 times), one touchdown and three interceptions. The Eagles as a whole coughed it up four times which turned into ten of Cincinnati's 13 points.
All that throwin' meant Brian Westbrook had just 14 carries for 60 yards and was basically a non-factor.
They also allowed Cincy's T.J. Houshmandzadeh to walk all over them. Housh caught 12 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.
Despite (or in spite of) how they played, the Eagles have to be elated that they came out of this thing with the tie. They trailed the Bengals all day before a David Akers field goal tied the game with just over five minutes left. In overtime, Philadelphia gave up good field position after a three-and-out deep in their own territory and a poor punt.
On the Bengals first play after the punt, the Eagles were called for a roughing the passer penalty which put Cincinnati in field goal range. Three plays later, Shayne Graham came on to miss a 47-yard field goal wide right. After a desperation heave by McNabb fell incomplete, the game ended with the dreaded tie.
It isn't the worst thing for Philly since it happened outside the conference. With either the Redskins or Cowboys losing tonight (uh, unless they tie), their status in the division shouldn't change. If Dallas beats Washington ... and with Atlanta, Chicago and Minnesota all losing ,,, the Eagles would be just a half game out of a NFC wildcard berth.
Interesting stat: The Eagles have still never won a game in Cincinnati (0-3-1)
Eagles 13, Bengals 13: Sister Kissing Time! originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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