Up and down the Eagles squad, from Donovan McNabb to ailing Sheldon Brown, these Birds seem to agree on one thing. Sunday night's prime time affair with the Bears is a "must-win."

I didn't know there were any NFL games that were not must-win. They only play 16 of them,.

But the Birds find themselves in crisis mode. And they have only themselves to blame for it. If nothing else, this team personifies its coach, who insists on never seeming to learn from past mistakes.

So the Eagles fail to convert on short yardage situations, they simply won't run the ball, instead throwing 55 passes, as they did last week against a team that was ranked 26th against the rush all year and had been carved up in the red zone by most teams. The Eagles get to the red zone and see red lights, grinding to a halt. They continue to take lousy penalties at the most inopportune times.

Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says you are. The Eagles are 5-4. Seems about right. I have this team pegged as slightly better than .500.

That said, I still think they win Sunday night. But they had better get an early lead. If they fall behind, you can turn out the lights, as opposed to waiting for Reid to use all his timeouts by the middle of the fourth quarter and watching another team run out the clock from the 4-minute mark on.

For some reason, I think the Eagles rise to the challenge Sunday night.

Make it Eagles 24, Bears 23.

Last Week: I was on the money thinking another trip across the country to the West Coast would be too much for a team that continues to shoot itself in the foot with the same mistakes over and over again..

Season Record: 5-4, I'm even with the Eagles. Let's face it, this team is a possible playoff contender, but they really aren't going anywhere.