As if losing 48-22 to the New Orleans Saints wasn’t bad enough, the Eagles appeared to be justified in not picking up running back Brian Westbrook’s option for the 2011 season, as he sprained his surgically repaired right ankle on Sunday.

“It was just sore,” Westbrook said. “I tried to put a little weight on it. Tried to be effective out there on the field. You don’t want to go out there and hurt the team. As far as running, I wanted to make some cuts, and I just wasn’t able to do it.”

The injury to Westbrook was just one of many problems coming out of the Eagles’ home opener. Despite a better than expected first half out of quarterback Kevin Kolb, who was making his first ever NFL start in place of the injured Donovan McNabb, things seemed to simply fall apart for the Eagles after half time.

Headed into the locker room down 17-13 at the half, the game was well within reach. Kolb looked impressive, completing 14 of his 22 pass attempts in the first half for 196 yards and one touchdown, including a 71-yard pass to DeSean Jackson that ended in the New Orleans endzone. Westbrook had 45 yards on nine rushes, including a long of 16 yards. David Akers was two-for-two. The Eagles defense had held the potent Saints offense to just 17 points.

Then the third quarter started and everything fell apart. Ellis Hobbs fumbled on the opening kickoff return, giving the Saints the ball at the Eagles 22-yard line. Drew Brees would need just three plays to put New Orleans up 24-13.

The Eagles would cough the ball up again on the next drive, when Kolb threw the first of his three interceptions to the Saints’ Scott Shanle. Brees got the ball again inside the Eagles 30-yard line, and would need four plays this time to get the ball in the endzone. Score 31-13, Saints, with just 3:16 gone in the third quarter.

The Eagles mustered a touchdown at the end of the third quarter, and then a throw away safety less than four minutes remaining in the game, for their only second half points of the game.

Despite a rough second half, Kolb’s day was much better than I ever expected. While he technically threw three interceptions, only the first one was of any consequence. The second two came with less than a minute and a half left in the game and the Eagles down by 26 points. The third interception was the final play of the game, a 32 yard Haily Mary desperation heave. Kolb ended the game 31-for-51 with 391 yards passing and two touchdowns.

The real story of the game was the Eagles’ defense, and of course, the Saints’ high powered offense. Brees actually threw for less yardage on fewer attempts than Kolb did (25/34, 311 yards), but threw one more touchdown and got a lot more ground support than Kolb did. The Saints ground attack, led by Mike Bell, rushed for 133 yards for two touchdowns. The Eagles, on the other hand, rushed for just 85 yards all day with no touchdowns. Westbrook, the once potent ultimate weapon for the Eagles, mustered just seven yards in the second half, bringing his game day total to 52 yards rushing and 14 yards receiving.

Coach Andy Reid said that he believed Westbrook would be OK to play next Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, but that they wouldn’t be sure until later this week.

“I think we’ll be fine there,” Reid said. “We’ll find out the next day or 2.”

Westbrook indicated that the injury was “definitely not” as serious as the one he suffered last season