More on McNabbs injury

“It changes fast, doesn’t it?” backup quarterback Kevin Kolb agreed, in response to the first reporters who approached him in the visitors’ locker room.

McNabb broke a rib, coach Andy Reid said, after Carolina nose tackle Damione Lewis dived onto McNabb after the quarterback hit the turf. McNabb, hit by corner Richard Marshall at the goal line, spun off that collision and scored, only to get drilled rolling on the ground, in much the same way he suffered separated rib cartilage in the NFC Championship Game against the Panthers on Jan. 18, 2004. No penalty was assessed, either time. A source close to the situation indicated you can look for the Eagles to take up yesterday’s matter with the NFL.

If the McNabb injury wrinkle hadn’t intruded, we would be looking at some fairly major exuberance from the fan base, coming off a four-touchdown, season-opening win, with the Saints and the Chiefs visiting Lincoln Financial Field the next 2 weeks, ahead of the bye. Now there is an excellent chance the conversation shifts to what is likely to be Kolb’s first career start next week, with national speculation swirling about Michael Vick possibly stepping in for McNabb when Vick becomes eligible, for the Kansas City game. And suddenly, the whereabouts of A.J. Feeley seem much more pertinent. (He didn’t return a text message from the Daily News last night.)

Of course, we don’t know McNabb won’t be out there against the Saints next week, swathed in tape, though he seemed to be in quite a bit of pain, hunched forward on the bench late in the game, then walking stiffly toward the tunnel. Earlier, McNabb had to come back from the locker room after X-rays because Kolb, the Eagles’ only other eligible quarterback, was playing.

While McNabb lay on the turf after the hit, the TV cameras cut to Vick, wearing a suit and tie in what seemed to be the Panthers’ colors, standing in a luxury box behind team chairman Jeffrey Lurie.

McNabb did not speak to reporters afterward. Running back Brian Westbrook, who suffered a similar injury 5 years ago, sat out 1 week, then was ineffective the next week, said he would not rule out the possibility of No. 5 taking the field against New Orleans.

“No question, Donovan is resilient. He heals pretty fast. I think he’ll be able to play next week, it’s just how much will he be able to tolerate the pain? I’m sure he’ll be very sore,” said Westbrook, who showed little rust yesterday from missing the preseason. “He’s not going to get much sleep these next few days. But Donovan’s a tough guy.”

Reid said: “We’ll just see how he does here, in the next little bit . . . He’s sore . . . There’s a chance [he plays]. We’ll see.”

Kolb, who completed seven of 11 passes for 23 yards and was sacked twice, fumbling the ball away once, said “we don’t know for sure” if McNabb will sit vs. the Saints.

“If I do go, the Saints can put up some points. We’ve got to rock and roll. We don’t have time to stagger,” Kolb said.

Yesterday’s dominance had a lot to do with the Panthers’ mistakes, and their inability to deal with the way new Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott moved his troops around.

If we’d all known that Jake Delhomme was going to throw four picks and also fumble on a Trent Cole hit for Victor Abiamiri’s first career touchdown, during a sequence that also saw the Panthers unable to touch DeSean Jackson during an 85-yard punt-return touchdown, well, that would have made picking the opener a little easier. As Marty Mornhinweg noted last week, season openers are crazy. The Eagles haven’t reaped a bounty of seven turnovers since the 1999 season finale, Andy Reid’s first, played back on Jan. 2, 2000.

When did the Birds last roll to a 28-point victory on a day when McNabb threw for 79 yards?

There was a point when Carolina had seven first downs to the Eagles’ two – and the Birds were ahead, 24-7. Credit McDermott’s defense, but also understand that Delhomme, who ended last season throwing five interceptions in a horrible playoff loss to Arizona, was Mike McMahon-level bad before being pulled. This outcome might not herald a burgeoning Birds juggernaut, any more than last year’s season-opening 38-3 victory over the Rams did – especially given the McNabb injury. But it sure put smiles on some faces.

“It’s only one game, so you can’t say we’re there. We’re not there. But it was a step in the right direction,” said middle linebacker Omar Gaither, who managed half a sack, a hurry and a fumble recovery, playing in his hometown as he subbed for IR’d Stewart Bradley.

It was astonishing that McDermott’s pass rushers were able to rip through the highly regarded Carolina offensive line the way they did, sacking three Panthers QBs a total of five times. Panthers coach John Fox said that was why he didn’t “think that it was all Jake’s fault.”

“It gets like that when you make a team one-dimensional,” said defensive end-tackle Darren Howard, whose preseason groin strain was no problem. Howard notched two sacks, three hurries and a forced fumble.

Howard agreed that it seemed turnovers were more or less dropping out of the sky.

“There were times when we would go out there for one play, and then we were back on the sidelines . . . Everybody had an interception, everybody had a fumble recovery,” he said.

McDermott’s signature stroke of the day came with the Panthers leading 7-3, Delhomme facing third-and-10 from his 25. The Eagles arrayed themselves with defensive end Cole as the middle linebacker, and he blitzed untouched up the middle. Cole stripped the ball from Delhomme, who fumbled backward for Abiamiri’s gift touchdown.

“You guys had a great seat for a tremendous performance . . . a game-changing performance” from Cole, McDermott said.

That was the first play of the second quarter. By the time the clock ticked down to 3:16 remaining in the half, the Eagles had stretched their edge to 31-7, thanks to Jackson’s punt return, a touchdown set up by Sheldon Brown’s second interception of Delhomme, and the Birds’ first real drive of the day, ending with a 4-yard shovel pass score by Westbrook.

Remember when Winston Justice subbing for Shawn Andrews at right tackle seemed like such a big deal?

“It feels good,” said Justice, whose second career start was light-years better than his first, the night the Giants sacked McNabb a dozen times, Sept. 30, 2007. Justice looked a lot like Shawn Andrews yesterday, rampaging downfield to block for Westbrook (13 carries, 64 yards), rookie LeSean McCoy (nine carries, 46 yards) and DeSean Jackson (two carries, 33 yards). Ditto left tackle Jason Peters, who shook off a couple of early false starts.

“Jason and I are really athletic tackles. We both feel good getting out there and running,” Justice said. “God willing, we’ll have a lot more opportunities like this.”

Macho Harris at free safety, the first rookie Eagles safety to start the opener since Wes Hopkins in 1983?

“A little bit of jitters in the beginning of the game, that’s it. After a while, you get settled. Second series, I was settled,” Harris said.

Gaither in the middle? Westbrook, after the knee and ankle cleanouts?

No concerns raised in any of those situations, no controversy going forward.

But an injured franchise quarterback, well, that’s a concern.