"It didn't feel like anything special.

Once the game started, "Tuesday Night Football" felt the same as "Sunday Night," "Monday Night" or "Thursday Night Football."

The extraordinary circumstances that brought us to Lincoln Financial Field last night for the first NFL game played on a Tuesday since 1946 remained, but in the end it was football.

And, frankly, considering the lackluster fight the Eagles put up against a Minnesota Vikings team that's been waiting for weeks for the season to end, this game certainly isn't going to find its way into Eagles lore.

In fact, after a 24-14 loss that officially locked the Eagles into the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs, most fans are probably wondering why they had to wait an extra 48 hours to witness it.

Because of the unique circumstances, the Eagles had a chance to do something special in a game that will be memorable if only because it was played on a Tuesday night in front of a national-television audience. For a team that has been fairly consistent in its motivation, it was shocking to see the Eagles play so listlessly.

The only way to accurately describe the Eagles' performance was disinterested.

"It was an absolutely pathetic job on my part of getting my team ready to play," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We didn't coach well and we didn't play well.

"It was a complete tail-whipping."

From the obvious lack of preparation to the lack of execution to the lack of passion, it was hard to believe that this was a team that went into the game with the intent of staying in contention for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and the accompanying first-round bye.

Instead, the Eagles played like a team with nothing to gain, and now they are locked into the third seed and will host a wild-card game in 2 weeks.

The only possible benefit is that it makes Sunday's season finale against Dallas moot.

For all intents and purposes, Reid, if he chooses to, could actually use the Dallas game as a bye and sit some key players - specifically quarterback Michael Vick - to make sure they are fresh for the playoffs.

Immediately after the game, Reid said his squad was not "good enough" to afford to rest players, but in all reality, with the way his team is beat up, it's an opportunity he can't afford to pass up."