Donovan McNabb The quarterback played one of the worst games of his career, throwing three interceptions in Cincinnati territory, including one that led to the offensively challenged Bengals' only touchdown of the game.

McNabb threw two other passes that should have been picked off, including one that probably would have turned the tie that felt like a loss into an actual defeat. There were other errant throws that could have led to big gains, including a hideous overthrow on a screen to Brian Westbrook in the fourth quarter.

Having said all that, this wasn't entirely the quarterback's fault.

As Eagles coach Andy Reid would say, "Everybody has a piece of the pie." McNabb's receivers dropped four passes, and twice on third and 1 his throws were batted down by defensive linemen.

At times, the play-calling also left a lot to be desired.

Fifty-eight throws and 18 runs is an awful lot of pressure to put on the quarterback. The second-quarter flea-flicker into a blustery wind had about as much chance of succeeding as a hypnotist hired to convince Reid that running the Football has its advantages.

Still, there were times when McNabb looked as if he were a rookie again.

The worst of McNabb: He finished the first quarter 1 for 5 for zero yards, badly missing on two throws in the first series that set the tone for another pitiful beginning for the offense. Each of his interceptions was awful and inexplicable. But the worst two were the first and third ones, which were badly underthrown passes intended for L.J. Smith.

The quarterback's best play of the game came with just over 10 minutes left in the third quarter, when he stepped up and away from immediate pressure, released the Football just behind the line of scrimmage, and completed a 16-yard pass to Hank Baskett, who turned it into a 57-yard gain after applying a nasty stiff-arm on safety Marvin White. That, in fact, was the Eagles' best offensive play of the day.

The next play was a nicely designed 4-yard touchdown pass to Smith. It had an effective pitch fake with lots of attention being paid in the backfield to Westbrook and rookie DeSean Jackson.

There were other good passes for McNabb, but they were far outweighed by miserable moments.

Brian Westbrook The Fox announcers get more information from the Eagles and other NFL teams during their weekend briefings than the reporters who cover the team daily. There's nothing wrong with that because Fox is helping to pay the NFL's bills.

Apparently, the Fox team of Kenny Albert and Moose Johnston was told that Westbrook wasn't close to being 100 percent. The Eagles' star running back hasn't fully recovered from his ankle and rib injuries earlier this season and is now having knee problems as well.

That's fine, but there's still no reason to throw the Football 58 times when you're going against the NFL's 10th-ranked pass defense and 25th-ranked running defense.

And this isn't a good answer, either: "One of their weaknesses, we felt, was against the pass," Reid said. "The pass game had to be a factor here. We want it to be a factor. And then, I will say that we weren't quite as successful in the first half running the Football as we needed to be."

That's an understatement. The Eagles ran five times for 5 yards, with Westbrook accounting for 6 yards on four carries. Conversely, the Eagles threw 23 times in the first half.

"Could we have dialed more up?" Reid said. "Absolutely."

There were certainly blocking breakdowns on the running plays (read about Max Jean-Gilles below), but the lack of trying was a huge problem, too.

If Westbrook isn't entirely healthy, why not give the ball to Correll Buckhalter a few more times? There's this thing called the two-back system that's working for a lot of NFL teams, and all Buckhalter ever seems to do when given a chance is make plays.

Another indication that Westbrook isn't playing at his highest level came early in the fourth quarter when he whiffed on an assignment picking up the blitz, which led to a sack of McNabb by Chris Crocker. That play forced the Eagles to punt after they had entered Cincinnati territory.

Westbrook finished the game with 14 carries for 60 yards and three catches for 11 yards, but has not been a major factor on offense since the Eagles' game last month against Atlanta.

Max Jean-Gilles The question everybody wants to know as the Eagles' running game sputters along week after week is: How much does this team miss two-time Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews?

It's a difficult question to answer because Andrews' physical dominance along the line of scrimmage also is helpful to center Jamaal Jackson at times.

Like every member of the Eagles' offensive line, Jean-Gilles is better at pass protection than run blocking. McNabb was sacked only twice by the Bengals, and he got off 58 passes, so that's good work.

The Bengals, however, batted down two passes on third and 1 to force punts, and each time it was a player being blocked by Jean-Gilles that made the play.

Jackson and Jean-Gilles were both engaged with defensive tackle Domata Peko when he knocked down a pass that forced a punt in the second quarter. Robert Geathers got his hand above the Eagles guard in the fourth quarter to knock down a McNabb pass intended for Kevin Curtis on third and 1.

Jean-Gilles had some decent plays, too, with his best one being a solid block on Peko to help spring Buckhalter's 44-yard screen pass in the second quarter.

But back to the big question: Do the Eagles miss Andrews?

Absolutely.

Contact staff writer Bob Brookover

at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.