PHILADELPHIA — Playoff berths are so routine for the Philadelphia Eagles, they don’t celebrate anymore.
Donovan McNabb threw for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown, DeSean Jackson had 140 yards receiving and the Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers 27-13 on Sunday to clinch a playoff berth for the eighth time this decade.
None of the first seven trips produced a Super Bowl victory, however.
“It’s always good to clinch a spot early, but we’re still going to put our foot on the pedal,” McNabb said. “It’s an exciting time, but nothing to get overly excited about. One of our goals is to have a bye week and win the NFC East, and the only chance for that to happen is to win the last two games.”
The Eagles (10-4) have won five straight games and have a one-game lead over Dallas in the NFC East. Philadelphia visits the Cowboys in two weeks.
The start of the game was pushed back three hours because the city was still recovering from the second-largest snowfall it has seen since records began in 1884. A total of 23.2 inches of snow fell in Philadelphia on Saturday.
It didn’t seem that bad inside Lincoln Financial Field until some fans started throwing snow in the fourth quarter. Once LeSean McCoy scored on a 2-yard TD run to put the Eagles ahead 27-13, a few of the frozen die-hards celebrated by tossing snow up in the air. Some fans mixed in snowballs aimed at 49ers fans, but they quickly stopped when a warning was flashed on the video screen.
“We don’t need to throw snowballs,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “We’re a classy crew here in Philadelphia. Save that for the parking lots.”
Frank Gore ran for 107 yards, becoming the first player to surpass 100 yards against the Eagles in 24 games. But the 49ers (6-8) couldn’t overcome three interceptions thrown by Alex Smith.
McNabb finished 21-of-36, passing for 306 yards. He had two interceptions for just the second time this season.
