Who has been criticized more than Norv Turner and Andy Reid for clock-management and play-calling down the stretch of a close game? Which QB, Phil Rivers or Donovan McNabb, has been second-guessed more for failing to come up big in crunch time?

Well, as fate would have it, we will now have a match-up featuring all four of “America’s Most Wanted” in a prime-time football Sunday matinee.

At 4:15 PM EST, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego will host the 5-3 Philadelphia Eagles against the 5-3 San Diego Chargers. Norv Turner and the Chargers are aiming at their 4th consecutive AFC West title. Anything short of the Super Bowl will be a let-down. Andy Reid and the Eagles are in a very similar boat. If Reid does not get his Eagles back to the Super Bowl in 2009, his legacy will be irreparably tarnished as the coach who won the most games but never got a league championship ring.

Rivers is a great QB, among the best in the business, but always seems to fall short in the playoffs. McNabb has the same rap. This is one contest a true NFL fan does not want to miss: two head coaches who are constantly criticized for their play-calling and clock-management gaffes, and two QB’s who are constantly bad-mouthed for their failures to come up huge in championship games.

A backdrop to this game coming up on Sunday is the recent depletion of the Eagles’ secondary and kickoff return corps. The Eagles have lost dime CB and kickoff return extraodinaire Ellis Hobbs for the season due to a neck injury suffered in last week’s loss to Dallas. Free Agent Ramzee Robinson, formerly with Detroit, has been signed to take Hobbs’ place on the roster. Meanwhile, nickel CB Joselio Hanson has been banned for the next 4 games after testing positive for an illegal diuretic in a drug test taken last year after the NFC championship game. All of Hanson’s appeals and protests made by his lawyer have been exhausted. So, CB Jack Ikegwuonu was activated from the practice squad to take his place for the San Diego game.

Both the Chargers and the Eagles need a win to keep pace with their playoff hopes. With the obvious depletion of the Eagles’ secondary, the advantage goes to Phil Rivers and Norv Turner. Rivers and his key receivers WR Vincent Jackson and TE Antonio Gates will be chomping at the bit to run match-up routes against the Eagles’ diminished secondary.

San Diego has a great passing offense, and Phil Rivers will be throwing the ball all over the yard. He’s got many superb targets: WR Vincent Jackson (6-5, 230) and WR Malcom Floyd (6-5, 220) are very tall and very athletic, and will be a huge challenge to the Eagles’ smaller CB’s. TE Antonio Gates (6-4, 260) is probably the best pass-catching tight end in the league, and will present incredible problems to both the Eagles’ LB’s and CB’s. It doesn’t help the Eagles’ cause that LB Akeem Jordan, their best coverage linebacker, is hurt and out for this game and next week too. But there is some solace in the fact that LB Chris Gocong is expected to be ready to play in Jordan’s place. DE Vic Abiamiri is also expected to be ready to play and put some much-needed pressure on Phil Rivers in the pocket.

I haven’t forgotten about RB Darren Sproles, who represents the biggest challenge for the Eagles defense, not only as a running back with great speed but also as a receiver. Sproles is an incredibly dangerous performer, and he leads the league in all-purpose yardage, which includes 801 yards in kickoff returns alone.

And, of course, there’s “LT”–LaDainian Tomlinson–to deal with. Unbelievably, the future Hall-of-Fame RB has not yet burst loose this season with the big run production you’d expect. In fact, the Chargers are only averaging 70 rushing yards per game so far this season. But you can never rule out “LT”’s ability to bust a game wide open with a massive running gain. The Eagles’ front defensive line and LB’s must constantly be aware of “LT”’s presence.

Is it possible to get pressure on Phil Rivers to get him to flinch or make bad plays? Yes, because as good as Rivers is, his O-line has given up 16 sacks and 29 “QB hits” so far this season. The Eagles should be expected to stay in their 4-3 base and blitz Rivers constantly, with the Eagle LB’s dropping back into a zone coverage of the Chargers’ intermediate routes. What Rivers does to react to the blitz will remain to be seen.

The Chargers have won their last three games, including a stunning upset of the Giants, largely due to their increasingly stout defense. San Diego has only allowed 14 points-per-game on average during their win streak. The Chargers run a 3-4 base with their OLB’s Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips combining for 9 sacks during the win streak. CB Antonio Cromartie and CB Quentin Jammer are both ball-hawks and potential All-Pro’s who will capitalize on any mistake Donovan McNabb or his receivers may make.

This has been the most bizarre Eagles’ season I have covered regarding roster turnover and the losses of personnel suffered in training camp and the unexpected events such as the death of DC Jim Johnson and the signing of Michael Vick. One can only wonder if the Eagles can respond to the most recent losses of key defensive personnel, or if the return of Brian Westbrook at all-purpose RB will help McNabb find his balance and return to elite QB status. McNabb was superb and consistent against the Giants, but nervous and tentative against the Cowboys. Maybe going up against his equally-criticized counterpart in the AFC West will bring out the best in McNabb. Rivers needs to win a Super Bowl to quiet his critics; so does McNabb. Norv Turner needs to get his team to the Super Bowl to shut up his second-guessers—so does Andy Reid. These notions make this game a classic turning point in the professional careers of two QB’s and two head coaches.