McNabb breaks ankle, keeps playing in 38-14 romp
By Todd Zolecki and Aaron Knox
Inquirer Staff Writer and Philly.com
More photos
Cardinals LeVar Woods (right) and Adrian Wilson sack Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, forcing a fumble in the first quarter. The Cardinals recovered the fumble, but McNabb broke his ankle on the play. Inquirer photograph by Jerry Lodriguss.
Donovan McNabb didn't let a broken ankle keep him down, playing almost the entire game with a fracture as the Eagles routed the Arizona Cardinals 38-14 Sunday at Veterans Stadium. Now he's likely to miss at least six weeks.
Limping badly on a heavily taped right ankle, McNabb capped four first-half scoring drives with touchdown passes as the Eagles rolled to a 31-14 rout of the Arizona Cardinals.
McNabb's right ankle was thought to be sprained until after the game ended, when Eagles medical personnel announced that X-rays revealed the ankle had, in fact, been fractured. McNabb's status for Monday's game against the San Francisco 49ers and the rest of the season is uncertain, but head coach andy Reid said the injury typically sidelines a player for six to eight weeks. (that's the season--max)
That could be devastating to the Eagles, whose Super Bowl aspirations rest heavily on their star quarterback. Backup Koy Detmer, who replaced McNabb for the last few minutes of Sunday's game, has attempted just two passes this season, completing one for minus-3 yards.
Completing just 56.8 percent of his passes entering the day, McNabb was 20-of-25 for 257 yards, even though scrambling was not an option after he sustained the injury on the game's third play.
Another strong running game by the Birds and solid play by the offensive line helped. Duce Staley ran for 134 of the Eagles' 211 rushing yards, and McNabb was not sacked despite being nearly immobile on the field.
McNabb had just two touchdown passes in his previous four games, but he equalled his career high in the first half. He went to the Eagles locker room for medical treatment after the last score, a nine-yard TD pass to Staley with 1:02 left in the half.
It capped a gutsy first half for McNabb, who completed 13-of-18 passes for 180 yards in the first 30 minutes despite obvious pain.
On the Eagles' first possession of the game, McNabb was injured when he lost a fumble on a third-down scramble on the cool, rainy afternoon.
McNabb was flushed from the pocket despite ample time to throw, and came down awkwardly on his right ankle as the ball fell free with just 1 minute, 27 seconds elapsed in the game. Arizona's Kyle Vanden Bosch recovered at the Philadelphia 43-yard line.
The Cardinals (4-6) were quick to capitalize, scoring eight plays later as Jake Plummer hit Jason McAddely for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 9:18 remaining in the first quarter.
The turnover was a small concern compared to the injury to McNabb, the one player nearly everyone agrees the Eagles (7-3) cannot afford to lose.
Detmer, warmed up on the sidelines but McNabb came back onto the field after a 48-yard kickoff return by Brian Mitchell, his right ankle heavily taped.
McNabb limped noticeably, but drove the Eagles to a tying touchdown when he found James Thrash from two yards out with 6:25 to play in the period. The drive covered 43 yards in six plays, and the first quarter ended with the 7-7 tie.
McNabb was 4-of-6 passing the ball in the first quarter, with all four completions going to Thrash for a total of 40 yards.
Plummer was as effective, hitting on his first six passes for 32 yards. The Cards also ran for 37 yards in the opening period, but both their scores came on short drives after McNabb turnovers. Plummer finished the day 21-of-36 for just 171 yards.
The Birds went to the running game on their first drive of the second quarter, using some nice runs by Staley and Brian Westbrook to drive deep into Arizona territory. Staley then took a short screen pass from McNabb and went 28 yards to the Cardinals 6-yard line with 11 minutes left in the period.
Another Staley run took it to the 3, and Dorsey Levens scored fom there on a shovel pass from McNabb with 9:56 remaining to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead.
The ankle continued to bother McNabb, though, and he had trouble putting weight on his lead foot on deeper throws. He was intercepted by Arizona's Adrian Wilson when attempting to pass out of his own end zone midway through the second quarter and Wilson returned the ball 35 yards to the Eagles 2.
The Cardinals tied the game at 14-14 on the very next play, when Plummer hit fullback Joel Makovicka with 7:43 remaining.
The Eagles were unfazed, mixing the rush with short passes on their next possession before McNabb found Todd Pinkston on a perfectly thrown pass down the left sideline for a 27-yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead.
The screen pass, long dormant in the Birds' offense, fueled the Eagles' fourth scoring drive.
Staley scooted 45 yards on a screen from McNabb to take the ball to the Arizona 13 with 1:15 left in the half. He then caught another McNabb pass at about the 2-yard line, and fought through three Arizona defenders to get across the goal line and give the Eagles their 28-14 halftime lead.
McNabb went to the Eagles locker room after that score to receive medical attention, but the fracture apparently was not detected at that time.
Staley had 83 receiving yards in the first half and also ran the ball nine times for 43 yards. He finished the game with 217 yards in total offense.
The Eagles extended their lead to 31-14 in the third quarter, capping a time-consuming drive with a 34-yard field goal by David Akers with 5:55 left in the period.
The Birds took possession at their own 3-yard line, but drove 81 yards on 11 plays in 6:28 to set up Akers' kick. Levens ran for 40 yards on the drive and Staley added 22 on the ground.
The Cardinals saw a chance to get back in the game go for naught later in the third quarter when Darwin Walker and Blaine Bishop combined to throw running back Marcel Shipp for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-one from the Eagles 12 with 3:30 left in the quarter. Shipp's 56-yard run had moved the Cards into scoring range.
Another long drive cinched it for the Birds in the fourth quarter. with McNabb still on the field but passing only when necessary, the Eagles drove 82 yards in 16 plays, eating a whopping 9:55 off the clock before Thrash scored on a reverse from four yards out with 8:21 to play for a 38-14 advantage.
McNabb finally called it a day after that score, but not before completing 12 straight passes to cap his impressive afternoon. After scoring touchdowns on just three of their previous trips to the red zone, the Eagles were five-for-five against the Cards.
The 38 points by the Eagles was their second-highest scoring outburst all season and the most they have scored in a game since ripping the Dallas Cowboys 44-13 in the season's third week.
The Eagles figure to face another stern test next week, when they travel to San Francisco for a Monday night game against the 49ers.
The 49ers entered Sunday with a one-game lead over the Eagles in the battle for home field advantage in the playoffs.
The Cardinals suffered their fourth straight setback. The Birds have not dropped consecutive games since 1999, Reid's first year as head coach, and have now won 12 straight games following a loss. |
