Amile's Recap: Eagles--Vikings

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles got their bye a week early -- and not the way they wanted.

Joe Webb threw for 195 yards and ran for a touchdown in his first career start filling in for an injured Brett Favre, and the lowly Minnesota Vikings stunnedMichael Vick and the NFC East champion Eagles 24-14 in the NFL's first Tuesday game since 1946.

Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and a score, helping the Vikings (6-9) knock Philadelphia out of contention for a first-round playoff bye.

The Eagles (10-5) could've secured a first-round bye with a victory over the Vikings and Dallas and with a loss by either Chicago or Atlanta next week.

Now the Eagles are locked into the NFC's No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed on Jan. 8 or 9. Their final game against the Cowboys is meaningless in the standings, so it's likely Vick and most of the starters will rest.

Two days after a winter storm forced a postponement, there wasn't even a snowflake visible at the Linc. The game was switched from Sunday because of a howling storm that dumped about a foot of snow in the area -- perhaps a good idea considering Philadelphia's history of snowball-throwing fans.

But 42 years after fans got a bum rap for tossing snowballs at Santa -- the man in the costume said it was playful pelting -- the Eagles said snowballs didn't factor in the decision to move the game.

"There were a lot of issues considered, but that was absolutely not among them," said Pamela Browner White, the Eagles senior vice president of public affairs and government relations.

Nine days after rallying from a 21-point deficit in the final 7:18 to beat the New York Giants on DeSean Jackson's 65-yard punt return on the final play, there would be no miracle at the Linc for the Eagles.

Vick, selected as the NFC Pro Bowl starter shortly before the game, mostly struggled after his 3-yard TD pass to Clay Harbor in the first quarter gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead. He lost two fumbles, threw an interception and was sacked six times.

Trailing 17-7 to start the fourth quarter, the Eagles cut the deficit to 3 when Vick scored on a 10-yard TD run. But the Vikings answered on the ensuing drive. Peterson ran in from the 1 to put Minnesota up 24-14 with 6:43 left. The Pro Bowl running back showed no signs of the right knee injury that had him listed as questionable.

Favre was inactive for the Vikings because of a concussion, missing his second game in three weeks after an NFL-record 297 consecutive regular-season starts.

The 41-year-old Favre got hurt last week against the Chicago Bears and was listed as doubtful. Vikings interim coach Leslie Frazier said on Monday that Favre still hadn't passed initial concussion testing.

The Vikings tied it at 7 in the final minute of the first half when Antoine Winfieldsacked Vick, knocked the ball loose and returned the fumble 45 yards for a score.

Minnesota had a touchdown overturned on the opening possession of the second half. Webb's 2-yard TD toss to Sidney Rice was reversed when replays showed the ball was juggled out of bounds. Juqua Parker sacked Webb on the next play and the Vikings settled for Ryan Longwell's 30-yard field goal that put them up 10-7.

Webb made it 17-7 on an impressive run. He looked like Vick dodging and weaving through the defense on his way into the end zone for a 17-7 lead.

Vick fumbled late in the third quarter at the Minnesota 23 to end a drive.

Shortly after being selected to his fourth Pro Bowl, Vick came out strong. He connected with Jeremy Maclin on a 28-yard reception that put the ball on the 3, and he hit Harbor two plays later for a TD. Harbor dragged his feet near the back of the end zone and replays upheld his first career TD.

Many players thought the game should have been played Sunday night. So did Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who said Vince Lombardi would be "mocking us" for the postponement.

In 1989, even Rendell played a role in the misbehavior when he bet fellow fans at rambunctious Veterans Stadium that they couldn't reach the field with snowballs.

He lost, in more ways than one.

Rendell, then the city's district attorney, made good on a $20 bet, but later apologized when the story inspired bad press.

The Vikings were restless with the extra time in Philadelphia. They ate cheesesteaks, and acted like tourists.

It was a clear day, and the temperature was 32 degrees at kickoff. Lincoln Financial Field looked ready for an August preseason game. The clean up crew needed 1,300 truckloads to remove 2.64 million pounds of snow from the Linc.

This has been a miserable season for the Vikings, who nearly reached the Super Bowl last year. It was the third straight week they were affected by the weather. Their home game against the Giants on Dec. 12 was postponed a day after Minneapolis got 15 inches of snow. It was then moved to Detroit when the Metrodome roof collapsed.

Their game against Chicago last week was played at the University of Minnesota's outdoor stadium because of the damaged roof.

Despite having the day off Sunday, the Eagles secured their first division title since 2006 when the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 45-17.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Favre inactive, Peterson will play vs Eagles

PHILADELPHIA -- Brett Favre is inactive for the Minnesota Vikings' game Tuesday night with the Philadelphia Eagles because of a concussion.

Favre will not play for the second time in three weeks because of injury. He sat out a Dec. 13 game against the New York Giants because of an injured right shoulder, ending his record consecutive-starts streak at 297, dating back to 1992.

The 41-year-old Favre suffered a concussion last week against the Chicago Bears and was listed as doubtful.

Joe Webb will make his first career NFL start.

Not even an extra 48 hours could help Favre. The Vikings-Eagles game was switched from Sunday night to Tuesday night because of a winter storm.

Vikings interim coach Leslie Frazier said on Monday that Favre still hadn't passed initial testing.

While the delay didn't help Favre, it allowed running back Adrian Peterson's bruised thigh to heal enough for Peterson to suit up Tuesday night.

Peterson injured his left thigh two weeks ago when he collided with quarterback Tarvaris Jackson on a handoff. He missed the game against Chicago, the first time he's sat out since missing two games with a knee injury his rookie season in 2006.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brady, Michael Vick to start 2011 Pro Bowl

NEW YORK -- Michael Vick's sensational comeback now includes a Pro Bowl start.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, who sat out two seasons while serving a federal sentence for dogfighting, will start for the NFC in the Jan. 30 Pro Bowl in Honolulu. The honor is yet another major step in Vick's resurgence.

Aloha, All-Stars

The rosters for the 2011 Pro Bowl have been announced. See who made the annual All-Star game from your team:

AFC and NFC rosters

Vick made three Pro Bowls with Atlanta before he was suspended by the league and served jail time for running a dogfighting ring. This season, he has gone from a seldom-used backup to the NFC's leading passer, the catalyst for Philadelphia's dynamic offense. The Eagles had five players selected.

Atlanta, which leads the NFC with a 12-3 record, had the most Pro Bowlers with seven, including quarterback Matt Ryan, receiver Roddy Whiteand defensive end John Abraham.

New England (13-2), the AFC leader, had six Pro Bowlers, led by QB Tom Brady, the league's top passer who will make his sixth trip to the game -- providing the Patriots don't make the Super Bowl. The game will be played the Sunday before the title game at Cowboys Stadium.

Baltimore, Green Bay and Dallas also had five players voted in by players, coaches and fans.

Four rookies were chosen, with DT Ndamukong Suh of Detroit a starter for the NFC. Cornerback Devin McCourty of New England, kick returner Marc Mariani of Tennessee and center Maurkice Pouncey of Pittsburgh made the AFC squad.

The only teams not represented were Buffalo, Cincinnati, Seattle and Tampa Bay.

Also chosen from the Eagles were receiver DeSean Jackson, tackle Jason Peters, cornerbackAsante Samuel and placekicker David Akers. Philadelphia was playing Minnesota on Tuesday night and Vick was not available before the game to comment.

The other Falcons were tight end Tony Gonzalez, fullback Ovie Mughelli, running backMichael Turner and special teamer Eric Weems.

Joining Brady in Honolulu from the Patriots will be McCourty; guard Logan Mankins, who missed a portion of the season in a contract dispute; linebacker Jerod Mayo; safety Brandon Meriweather; and nose tackle Vince Wilfork.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki to have MRI on sore knee

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki will have an MRI exam Tuesday morning on his sore right knee after he missed nearly all of the final three quarters of the Mavs' 103-93 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

X-rays taken during Monday night's game were negative. Afterward, Nowitzki said for the first time that the knee had been bothering him for about two weeks.

"So maybe that's why it gave in a little bit," Nowitzki said. "Hopefully it's just a strain, and hopefully I'll be back in action soon."

His status for Tuesday night's home game against Toronto is uncertain with a home game against Southwest Division leader San Antonio looming Thursday.

Nowitzki left Monday's game at the 9:10 mark of the second quarter after his momentum from a fallaway jumper caused him to stumble backward to the floor. He was fouled on the arm by Thunder center Serge Ibaka, but it appeared that Nowitzki tripped over his own foot, causing him to fall.

Despite taking a while to get up and walking gingerly, Nowitzki made the free throw for a 42-36 Mavs lead and then headed to the locker room.

"It was just a scary play," Nowitzki said. "The foul was on my arm so it was just on the landing. I landed awkward and strained it more than I guess it already was. It [the knee] kind of gave in. I don't know what really happened, I've got to look at the play. But, for some reason my knee gave in."

Nowitzki, who is averaging 24.5 points and 7.6 rebounds, had 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting when he exited the game. After he left, the Mavs scored just 14 points and were outscored by the Thunder 20-14 to go into halftime tied 56-56.

After trailing 81-79 after three quarters, the Mavs held the Thunder to 12 points in the fourth quarter to seal their fifth consecutive victory and improve to 24-5.

The 7-foot Nowitzki has been dogged by ankle sprains throughout his career, but none have kept him sidelined long. Nowitzki has remained mostly free of knee injuries with the exception of a left knee sprain that forced him out of the 2003 Western Conference finals for the final three games that the Spurs eventually won in six.

"I'll take an ankle sprain over this any day just because this is a weird injury," Nowitzki said. "I never had it, so from a rolled ankle I probably would have walked it off and came right back out there. We'll look at it and see what it is tomorrow and [take it] kind of day-to-day from this point."