Like any Eagles running back, Correll Buckhalter is used to a break in the action. Usually, the pause comes when Philadelphia coach Andy Reid calls 16 straight passing plays and relegates the backfield to blockers, short-gain receivers or sideline watchers. This time, it was an interruption in Buckhalter’s explanation why the Eagles should remain committed to the running game.

Peyton Manning took a different approach to earning a record-tying third Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback got hurt, struggled when he came back, then lost a bunch of games. Hardly vintage Manning. But when he rediscovered the touch that has made him one of football’s dominant players for a decade, Manning and the Colts were virtually unstoppable.

Most agree the game will be close on Sunday. Only one sees an Eagles loss. But who among the DN sports faithful is it?

Ed Stefanski likes to say he has spent his whole life "rooting for the helmet." He bleeds Eagles green. The same way he bleeds for the Phillies and the Flyers, not to mention the 76ers, for whom he is the current president/general manager.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - For most of the last 13 years, after the departure of former defensive coordinator Tony Dungy in 1995, the Minnesota Vikings focused more on annihilating a defense than actually fielding one.

EAGLES OWNER Jeffrey Lurie took a chance a decade ago when he hired Andy Reid, who had barely been a coordinator and had never been a head coach at any level.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Plenty of seats are still available for Sunday’s game in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Comcast SportsNet will kick off wild-card weekend with a playoff edition of "Inside the Eagles" at 4:30 p.m. today, followed by "Daily News Live."

DONOVAN McNABB, the quarterback, is the leader by definition. Brian Westbrook, the running back, is the most irreplaceable single piece. As the Eagles take the field on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings, these are just two of the roles that will be played.

There’s a decent chance the Eagles-Vikings wild-card playoff game this Sunday will be low-scoring, given that both defenses are accomplished - the Birds’ D ranked third in the NFL this season, the Vikings were sixth.