Last meeting
Philadelphia got 263 passing yards and three touchdowns from Donovan McNabb to defeat New Orleans, 38-23, in Week 16 of the 2007 season.
Last week
Carried by a defense that produced seven takeaways, the Eagles blasted the Panthers, 38-10. ... Drew Brees passed for six touchdowns as the Saints dropped the visiting Lions, 45-27.
Keep your eye on ...
Who lines up under center for the Eagles: The one negative in an otherwise spectacular opener for Philadelphia was that McNabb suffered a cracked rib. His status is undetermined for Sunday and if he is unable to go, backup Kevin Kolb or the recently signed Jeff Garcia could take his place.
Brees' follow-up outing: The SaintsPro Bowl quarterback not only threw six touchdowns in Week 1, but he completed 26 of 34 attempts and finished with 358 yards passing. While those gaudy numbers are astounding, he will find it tough to duplicate them against the Eagles, who were nearly flawless against the pass vs. the Panthers.
Jonathan Vilma's tackling fundamentals: The middle linebacker is considered one of the better players at his position in the league and he had a strong outing for the Saints in Week 1 with four tackles and a sack. He will have to be at his best Sunday as the Eagles figure to use RBs Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy extensively on draws and screens with McNabb hobbling.
Did you know?
Since 2006, Brees has 14,268 passing yards and 94 TDs -- the most in the NFL over that time frame. ... Saints DT Sedrick Ellis has a sack in each of his last two road games. ... When Eagles CB Asante Samuel has an interception, his teams are 21-1. ... The Eagles are 40-1 when Donovan McNabb attempts at least 10 passes and has a 100-plus passer rating.
