Westbrook, Lewis, Levens help Eagles reach next level

<p>The final piece the Eagles needed to reach the Super Bowl turned out to be a healthy Brian Westbrook, rather than a hobbled Terrell Owens.</p><p>A year after an injured Westbrook watched helplessly from the sideline while Carolina upset Philadelphia in the NFC championship game, the speedy running back redeemed himself.</p><p>With Owens sidelined by a severe ankle injury, Westbrook ran for 96 yards and caught five passes to help the Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons 27-10 Sunday after three straight losses in the conference title game.</p><p>Tight end Chad Lewis made two TD catches and Dorsey Levens bulled his way for a 4-yard touchdown run, putting the Eagles in position to win their first NFL championship.</p><p>Westbrook became quarterback Donovan McNabb's main target and the offense's biggest threat. Meanwhile, Lewis, whose role had been reduced with the emergence of L.J. Smith, came up with TD grabs of 3 and 2 yards.</p><p>Lewis isn't known for his footwork, but made a nifty move to stay in bounds on his scoring catch in the second quarter.</p><p>Owens, the All-Pro wideout, was considered the player the Eagles needed to win the conference. He helped lead Philadelphia to a 13-1 start before going down in the 14th regular-season game.</p><p>Owens' injury was a devastating blow for Philadelphia, but Westbrook, McNabb and others proved this wasn't a one-man offense.</p><p>Owens has an outside chance of playing in the Super Bowl on Feb. 6. He was on the sidelines, leading cheers against the Falcons.</p><p>Westbrook caught as many passes as Philadelphia's wide receivers _ Todd Pinkston, Freddie Mitchell and Greg Lewis _ combined to grab against Atlanta. McNabb threw for 180 yards and two TDs, and outran Michael Vick 32-26.</p><p>Westbrook's neat 36-yard run in the first quarter set up Philadelphia's first score, a run by Levens. After not being involved much in the second quarter, Westbrook had runs of 8, 12 and 11 yards on three consecutive plays on the opening drive of the third quarter that resulted in a field goal that gave the Eagles a 17-10 lead.</p><p>Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter and Duce Staley formed Philadelphia's "three-headed monster" rushing attack last season, combining for 2,157 total yards and 29 touchdowns.</p><p>But after Staley signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason and Buckhalter went down with a season-ending knee injury in preseason, Westbrook became the primary back.</p><p>He quickly silenced critics who thought he was too small _ he's generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds in Philadelphia's media guide _ by running for 119 yards in the season opener.</p><p>Westbrook missed just one game with sore ribs, and was held out of the final two games because the Eagles had nothing on the line. He finished with 812 yards rushing and three TDs and was the team's second-leading receiver with 73 catches for 703 yards and six TDs.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/1/152906