As a rookie, wide receiver DeSean Jackson burst onto the scene with two 100-yard receiving games to start his NFL career. And while he enjoyed one of the more stellar rookie years in the league, he was never able to cross the 100-yard mark again in 2008.
This season, Jackson wants to prove that he can maintain the pace he set with his Pro-Bowl-caliber first half of the season that established him as one of the game's most dangerous weapons. Jackson is second in the NFL among qualified players with an 18.3 yards-per-catch average.
But as much as he wants to cement his status as an elite player, Jackson is more focused on team success.
"That's the biggest thing," Jackson said. "It's great to catch passes. It's great to have all the stats and stuff, but when you're not winning it's not fun.
"The biggest thing obviously is that it comes down to winning the games. We're trying to do the best we can to put ourselves in the best position to go out there and take advantage of the situations that the defense is putting out there. We have to take advantage of the red zone and score points. We can't be satisfied with coming out with three points. So that's where we're at right now."
Jackson might have an opportunity to shine on Sunday night against the Chicago Bears. Although the Bears are eighth in the league passing yards allowed per game, they've already allowed 100-yard receiving games to five opposing receivers this season. If he were to top the 100-yard mark, it would be his third time this season.
Furthermore, Jackson and quarterback Donovan McNabb seem to be on the same page recently, having connected for eight completions last week against the San Diego Chargers.
"Our rhythm of what we were trying to do (on the field) definitely worked in a pretty good way (last week)," Jackson said.
But still, the second-year receiver's main priority is getting his team to 6-4 and avoiding the playoff logjam that the Eagles went through last season.
"You definitely want to set yourself to be in a position where you don't have to be worrying about other teams losing and us having to win," he said. "As long as we take care of business like that then we should be straight. It's a long season still, and it's still real early, but it's getting to that crucial point so if we take care of business we'll be alright.
"We're never tucking our tails or hiding under the table, we're still calm and collected. We know what we have at stake, just going off of last year. Knowing how tough it was for us last year has definitely helped us out. So there's no panic button, we're just going to keep playing football."
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 11:19 a.m., November 20
