Philadelphia ? Wendell Davis was running a deep pattern for the Bears in a game against the Eagles 10 years ago when he suddenly fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

Davis, a wide receiver for Chicago, tore the patella tendons in both knees on the same play, the most infamous of all the injuries claimed by the concrete-like turf at Veterans Stadium.

The Eagles have a plush new stadium now, Lincoln Financial Field, and it includes a more forgiving Kentucky bluegrass surface, among many other exceptional features.

But even though the Linc is an enormous improvement over the Vet, it could cost the Eagles some of their home-field advantage.

Opposing players hated playing on the Vet’s surface even more than they despised playing before Philadelphia’s hostile fans. Some Eagles fear the Linc won’t be as intimidating as the Vet.

“I think that automatic psychological advantage might not be there like with the Vet because you don’t have to worry about the field, the turf and all those types of things,” Eagles linebacker Ike Reese said.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first opponent to test the Linc when they play the Eagles tonight in a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game. The Super Bowl champion Bucs closed out the Vet with a stunning 27-10 victory and are eager to christen the Linc in similar fashion.

“The best thing was hearing that crowd go silent,” Bucs tackle Kenyatta Walker said. “But this year it’s a whole different game. It’s definitely going to be loud again; it may even be louder than it was before.”

The natural grass surface isn’t the only difference between the Vet and the Linc. The new stadium holds 68,532, 3,180 more than the Vet. And the seats are much closer to the field — the front row is 60 feet from the sideline, half the distance at the Vet.

The Linc has 83 more luxury suites, a new club level, wider concourses, cupholders on every seat, plenty more restroom facilities, and behind each end zone are 96-foot scoreboards featuring distributed-sound speakers.