| | | Sunday, January 7 McNabb felt Giants eyes on him Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New York Giants compared
Donovan McNabb to Michael Jordan. On Sunday, the star quarterback
looked more like the second-string basketball guard he was at
Syracuse. For the third time this season, the Giants completely shut down
McNabb as New York advanced to the NFC championship game with a
20-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. "I wasn't aware who was spying me. At times, it looked like the
whole team was spying me," McNabb said. McNabb, the runner-up to Marshall Faulk for NFL MVP, couldn't
generate anything against a swarming defense. He was 20-of-41 for
181 yards and one touchdown, lost a fumble, was sacked six times
and had one interception that was returned for a touchdown. Philadelphia failed to register a first down on six of its nine
possessions in the first half and eight of its first 11. When the
Eagles finally got a first down, receiver Torrance Small fumbled,
setting up a 37-yard field goal by Brad Daluiso that gave the
Giants a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. "The supporting cast needed to make plays when they had the
opportunity," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "They did it
throughout the season. The opportunities were there and guys needed
to catch the ball." It was a disappointing ending to a surprising season in which
the Eagles went 12-6 after going 8-24 in the previous two seasons. Philadelphia was not in the lead or within range in the final
minutes of just three games this season -- all losses to the Giants. McNabb was 29-of-64 for 343 yards, two TDs, and one interception
against the Giants in the regular season. His worst game came when
he was 10-of-31 for 129 yards, one TD and one interception in a
24-7 loss to New York at the Meadowlands on Oct. 29. It was much of the same in the playoffs. McNabb, who led the league's quarterbacks with 629 yards
rushing, had nowhere to scramble on Sunday. The Giants took away
McNabb's running lanes, forced him to stay in the pocket or run up
the middle and made the tackles when he tried to escape. "They have marquee guys all over the place and they made
plays," said Chad Lewis, a Pro Bowl tight end who had just three
catches for 27 yards. "Once (McNabb) started to run, they were
effective popping in there, stopping him and making tackles." McNabb didn't get much help from his receivers. Na Brown dropped
what would've been a first-down reception on third-and-15 midway
through the first quarter. Brown dropped another potential
first-down pass on third-and-11 on the first series of the third
quarter. By the time McNabb hit Small for a 10-yard TD pass late in the
game, the Giants had built a 17-point lead. "It wasn't them. We just didn't do anything offensively,"
Small said. "We have to look at ourselves." It wasn't any consolation that the Eagles' offense outscored New
York's 10-6 -- the Giants scored touchdowns on special teams and
defense. McNabb threw for 3,365 yards and 21 touchdowns, and added six
TDs on the ground in his first full season as a starter. In last week's 21-3 wild-card victory over Tampa Bay, he went
24-of-33 for 161 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 32 yards and
one TD. "I don't look at it like I am the offense," said McNabb, who
accounted for 75 percent of the team's total yards this season. "I
look at it like I am the leader. I have to get the guys in the
right position. I have to get the guys going and it's my job to get
it to the guys who are open."
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