--Rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson became only the second player in NFL history to open his career with two straight 100-yard receiving performances. He had six catches for 110 yards against the Cowboys. He should've had his first NFL touchdown in that game as well. But after catching a long pass from quarterback Donovan McNabb, he celebrated prematurely, tossing the ball away before he actually crossed the goal line. The Eagles ended up scoring anyway on a one-yard dive by running back Brian Westbrook. But Jackson got an earful from coach Andy Reid and several of his teammates, including Westbrook. "We told him you can't afford those types of mistakes," Westbrook said. "Because of the position he is in, we are depending on him a whole lot to do certain things for this team. He can't make those types of mistakes. I think he understands that, and I think that's something he will grow from and get better from."
--Safety Brian Dawkins didn't play well against the Cowboys. He got worked over by tight end Jason Witten, who caught seven passes for 110 yards, and also gave up a four-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens. When reporters suggested the soon-to-be 34-year-old may have lost a step or two, he said, "No, I can run. I can get to where I need to be in enough time to make the plays I need to make them without thinking about cheating too deep and putting my teammates in an awkward position. I play the game the way that I play the game.
"I am 34 years old and proud of it. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to get to 34 playing in the NFL. I am going to continue to play this game at a high level as long as I can. I am going to protect my body, make sure that I'm out there on the field for my guys, and I am going to play ball. I'm going to play ball at 34. I'm going to play ball at 35. And whatever else comes after that, I'm going to play ball. So if I give up a deep ball and you want to say I'm slow, go ahead."
--The Eagles are hoping to get starting wide receiver Reggie Brown back this week. Brown, who missed the first two games with a hamstring injury, practiced Wednesday and hopes to play against the Steelers. "I think he can make a big difference, I think he'll help in a major way," quarterback Donovan McNabb said. "Reggie is one of our top receivers. It'll be a bonus for us getting him back, because our (other) receivers have been playing well." The Eagles' other starting wideout, Kevin Curtis, also missed the first two games. He had surgery to repair a sports hernia last month and probably won't be back for another 3-4 weeks. Nevertheless, even without Brown and Curtis, the Eagles managed to score 75 points in their first two games, the most ever in the first two weeks of the season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think the Cowboys game was a physical game. It's probably one of the more physical games we're going to play this year. That's part of the game. Being physical is part of the game and we have to be ready for that every week." -- Running back Brian Westbrook.
BY THE NUMBERS: 4,302 - That's how many yards Donovan McNabb has thrown for in Weeks 1-3 since the start of the 2004 season. He's an extremely fast starter. He's also thrown 32 touchdown passes with just four interceptions in 520 attempts during those games.
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