Nobody likes a know-it-all. So I will not gloat about correctly picking the Birds to fall on Monday night. That makes me 1-1 on the season; the Eagles now sport the same record.

Believe me, I was rooting for them to win, but I was not stunned that they did not. What fascinates me is the conundrum of Donovan McNabb. The guy played about as well as I've seen him play for the second week in a row.

The only problem was that Donovan seemed to turn off the switch after three quarters. With the money on the table and the game on the line, Donovan didn't deliver the goods.

In fact, he delivered them to the Cowboys, with a botched handoff to Brian Westbrook that remains stuck in the craw of Eagles' fans. Bottom line is the Birds had the ball in the hands of their two best players - and they coughed it up.

The Eagles will need Donovan to be every bit as good this week. The Eagles simply do not play the AFC teams well, and Andy Reid teams always struggle against 3-4 defenses - and the Steelers have a good one.

For those who take up the constant cry that Reid does not run the ball enough, this is not your week. If the Eagles are going to win this game, they'll do it via McNabb's right arm. Brian Westbrook likely will have more yards receiving then rushing.

I don't see it.

That's why I like the Steelers in a much less flashy encounter than what we witnessed Monday night.

Make it 19-16 Steelers.