PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS: PART I

The first in a four-part series of comprehensive looks at each of the teams in Sunday’s NFC and AFC championship games.

PIVOTAL PLAYER

* Quarterback Donovan McNabb. As good as Terrell Owens was, before he got hurt, at gravitating to the ball, as good as Brian Westbrook is at performing, whether as a running back or receiver, none of it would matter if McNabb weren’t at the controls to deliver the ball. While the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning grabbed the headlines with his record 49 regular-season touchdown passes, McNabb set a mark of his own for efficiency. He is the first quarterback in league history to throw more than 30 TD passes (31) and have fewer than 10 interceptions (eight). And the man can run too. He was the team’s third-leading rusher with 220 yards.

FUTURE LOS ANGELES EXPANSION PICK

* Receiver Greg Lewis. The second-year player from Illinois tends to get lost in a crowd of talented receivers such as Owens, Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston, not to mention Westbrook out of the backfield. But McNabb found Lewis in the crowd Sunday for a 52-yard connection that set up Philadelphia’s second touchdown. Still, how many good receivers can a team afford to carry? By the time a team arrives to play in L.A. in 2008 or whenever, the Eagles will have to deal from a position of strength to shore up elsewhere.

WHY THE EAGLES WILL WIN

* Because it’s about time. Because after losses in three consecutive NFC championship games, they are due. Because a heavy snowstorm is expected for Sunday, one that could cause Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick to wish he had brought some skates.

WHY THE EAGLES WILL LOSE

* Because they always seem to find a way to fail in this game. Because the loss of Owens could finally catch up with them. Because although their biggest defensive strength this year was accumulating sacks (second in the league with 47), they may not be able to get to the elusive Vick if he can find a way to gain traction and skate free.

X-FACTOR

* Kicker David Akers. You can talk all you want about this quarterback’s downfield bombs and that running back’s unstoppable moves and the overwhelming power of a defensive line, but, as has been shown in each of the last two weeks, it often comes down to one leg, one kick. Ask the San Diego Chargers or the New York Jets, who will both be watching this game on television because of missed kicks. Akers is second in league history with an 83% success rate on field-goal attempts.

BREAKOUT OFFENSIVE PLAYER

* Running back Brian Westbrook. Is he a running back or is he a receiver? Philadelphia Coach Andy Reid likes to move Westbrook around to keep the defense off kilter. The only guarantee is that he will get his hands on the ball one way or the other. This season Westbrook had career highs in rushing attempts (177) and receptions (73).

BREAKOUT DEFENSIVE PLAYER

* Cornerback Lito Sheppard. Although no one disputes the running ability of Vick, his brilliance sometimes dims when he puts the ball in the air. And when a ball is in the air, nobody in a Philadelphia uniform is better at coming down with it than Sheppard, who led the NFC in interception returns for touchdowns (two), led his team in interceptions (five) and was named to his first Pro Bowl.

GOAT IN WAITING

* The defensive line. This is where it all begins against the NFL’s best rushing offense. And this is where the Eagles’ hopes of getting to the Super Bowl could end. If Vick, Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett run to daylight as they did last week against the St. Louis Rams, the blame will fall largely on the broad shoulders of Jevon Kearse, Corey Simon, Darwin Walker, Derrick Burgess and the other defensive linemen.

UNDER THIS COACHING REGIME

* Andy Reid keeps telling any and all who will listen that he takes full responsibility for his team’s three previous losses in NFC championship games. That’s admirable, but in a city where brotherly love doesn’t extend to the fans in the stands, no explanation for a fourth loss in a row will placate the angry natives.