It's Thursday. Do you know where your football team is?

Have they returned to their perch atop the NFC pack? Their Week Two dismantling of the 49ers would seem to say so.

Or, since they played a horrific team, are they merely a gridiron mirage? Considering they fell flat on their faceguards against a legitimate conference contenda in Week One, you may be excused for thinking so.

The only thing that's certain about this Sunday's Moss/T.O. grudge match is this: You're gonna find out what the Birds are made of with a quickness.

Sure, they're gonna knock the shakes right out of Kerry Collins and put some points up on Oakland's 0-2 defense as they go for their record-padding Bay Area sweep. Under normal circumstances, that'd be enough to tap the ATM heavy and lay the points. But hold up, big fella; one blowout does not a season make.

Granted, the Birds won't fall into the normal stumbling block of looking ahead. The following week's trip to a tough Kansas City is daunting, but not a distraction. Kicker David Akers' hammy woes qualify as a serious concern too, but extra points won't decide it.

Nope, the Eagles will lose a game the old-fashioned way: The Raiders — specifically LaMont Jordan — will just run the ball down their throats. Jordan, who scored one touchdown and had another 56-yard six-point trot called back last weekend, is the kind of player who's traditionally given the Eagles big problems. By handing the ball off to Jordan time and again (and again), Oakland will keep the Birds' offense off the field for a massive chunk of the game. Yeah, the Eagles O will score when they're out there, but sometimes, even that ain't enough.

This, captain, is one of those times.

Oakland 27, Eagles 24.