Amazingly, This Is Actually An Important NFC Game

As insane as it might be to contemplate, the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that seemingly hasn't won in months, a team that is legitimately trying to figure out if they're going to start Jeff Garcia or A.J. Feeley, a team that its fans can't even muster up enough enthusiasm to hate properly ... this team, with a win tonight on "Monday Night Football" against the Carolina Panthers, can move into a tie for the final NFC wildcard slot. For all the talk about the difficulty of finding a good team in that conference, that's the best indictment we've seen yet. (Just a couple more wins, and the Buzzsaw will be back in the hunt!)

Anyway, as Eagles fans try to keep their sanity, we looked ahead to a game tonight that will indeed have a major effect on the NFC playoff picture, though clearly not in any way that's remotely close to what anybody imagined at the beginning of the year. The Panthers are as bipolar a team as you can imagine, but we kind of think that if they lose tonight, we shouldn't have to pay attention to them anymore.

The Kornheiser/Theismann/Tirico broadcast team death watch continues — things have gotten so rough that they're even letting Simmons take open shots at them now — and we are assuming whoever the celebrity guest in the booth is will be booed, and warmly.

If you're home tonight and looking for a good time, either call the number on the back of the urinal or just hang out with us throughout the game, leaving your comments, discussing recipes, taking advice for holiday gifts. The thread is now "open," so enjoy yourselves, and enjoy the game.