Could Andy Reid just kick himself?

I didn't watch a whole lot of NFL playoff action yesterday. I missed all of the Colts-Ravens game, though when I looked at the box score and saw that Indianapolis won without Peyton Manning throwing a touchdown pass, I began to think that this might be their year.

My long-term memory might be failing me, but I don't recall the Colts winning too many games like that in their years of assorted playoff disappointments. Less than 200 yards passing for Manning? And only 100 yards rushing - as a team? Winning ugly can get you a long way...

But I did get home in time for the fourth quarter of Eagles-Saints. And based on what I was able to see, I really have only one question:

Why in the name of Ron Jaworski did Andy Reid decide to punt with less than two minutes left in the game?!?

Even with two time-outs to burn, did he really think the Eagles could get the ball back with time to drive for a game-tying field goal? With the way New Orleans (especially Deuce McAllister) was running the ball?

Maybe Marty "We'll take the wind!" Mornhinweg has a greater influence over Philadelphia's play-calling than we could ever have imagined.

And this was after Reid had opted to go for it when it was 4th-and-10, only to see Jeff Garcia's pass to Hank Baskett (which would've gotten a first down) wiped out by a false start penalty. At that point in the game, how much of a difference does five yards make?

"In hindsight, I guess maybe we should have [gone for it]," Reid said after the game, "because we didn't get the ball back. I thought we would be able to get the ball back."

It was an utterly baffling decision. Had he made such a call during the regular season, maybe it would've been understandable. Maybe it would've been a valuable exercise in seeing what your defense is made of. But with the season on the line? How could a team that played with such urgency on the way to a surprising NFC East division title suddenly turn so conservative when it needed to be most daring?

That's a hell of a question for Reid, his team, and Eagles fans to chew on from now until the beginning of training camp in late July.