McNabb gets his revenge
Donovan McNabb was anything but perfect but the former Eagles quarterback did enough to lead the Redskins past his old team, 17-12, upon his return to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
McNabb, cheered during his introduction, essentially clinched the game when he scrambled 18 yards for a first down on third-and-four from his own 22-yard line. The Eagles had narrowed the Redskins' margin to five with a little over four minutes left, but McNabb guided his offense into Eagles territory and milked the clock down to close to a minutre left.
Kevin Kolb, who replaced the injured Michael Vick in the second quarter, could not drive the Eagles to the winning touchdown. He had 1:07 to work with and had to travel 74 yards with no timeouts left.
After a roller coaster first half, but defenses ruled the day as McNabb struggled and Kolb and the Eagles offense failed to generate a spark.
McNabb completed only 8 of 19 passes for 125 yards. He threw a beauty of a 32-yard score to tight end Chris Cooley in the first half, but tossed an interception in the third quarter.
The game took a dramatic turn when Vick left with a rib/chest injury after he ran for a near-touchdown. That play, however, was reversed when Eagles guard Max Jean-Gilles was called for holding.
The game-turning moment, however, had to be when Eagles coach Andy Reid failed to realize just before the half when the officials had re-started the game clock after he called a timeout on fourth-and-one on the Washington 1-yard line. The Eagles were pushed back five yards and had to settle for a field goal and a 17-6 deficit at the half.