All rest and no play puts the Eagles at risk.(NFL)

The Eagles are the best team in the NFC, but coach Andy Reid made a mistake that I think will cost them in the playoffs.

Reid benched several of his key players, including Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and Jevon Kearse, for all or most of each of Philadelphia's last two games. Reid was being cautious, trying to limit his best players' exposure to injury as the Eagles enter the playoffs. After locking up the No. 1 seed in the NFC in Week 15, that was his prerogative.

But that's the wrong way to approach the playoffs. If your motivation for sitting regulars is concern about possible injuries, then you're living in fear, and that's no way to win a championship. Nor is it wise to show preferential treatment to certain players. And when you say, "Oh, no, we lost Terrell Owens; we'd better pull McNabb and Westbrook because we can't afford another injury," you're saying your team is built around one guy--that you're not a complete team that can overcome a loss. That's the wrong message to send to your team.

By the time the Eagles play in the divisional round of the playoffs, they will have gone a month without their starters playing competitive football. That's a long time to be sitting around. The Eagles are approaching the playoffs like many teams approach the preseason--sitting the ...