McNabb's Keith Hernandez Game

I am hard-pressed to think of a singularly stellar athletic performance against such a backdrop of controversies and questions as the one by Donovan McNabb yesterday. Pressure? In a must win game for the 0-2 team, in the aftermath of the controversy about his HBO remarks about QBs and race, and the very real questions that were raised about the condition of his rehabilitated knee and whether his career was hastening to an end, Donovan McNabb made a statement on the field. Well, not exactly a statement. More like a declaration. Actually several bold declarations… with exclamation points:

 

“I’m Donovan McNabb!”

 

“Never Underestimate Me!”

 

“THIS TEAM WILL ALWAYS – ALWAYS- BE IN CONTENTION SO LONG AS I’M THE STARTING QUARTERBACK!!!!!!”

 

21-26. 381 yards. 4 TDs. No interceptions. A perfect passer rating of 156.3.

 

Of course, the 1^st half numbers were even more impressive. 332 yards passing, only one incomplete, and 3 TD passes

 

The smattering of boos that greeted #5 during his introduction had all turned to cheers by the end of the 1^st quarter.

Seriously, has there ever been a more complete offensive quarter and/or half of football under Andy Reid than the one yesterday? The McNabb naysayers, who were scurrying back into their little holes by 2:00 pm EDT yesterday afternoon, will no doubt suggest that the Lions defense was hardly a true test. 300 passing yards in one half against a professional football team is impressive by any standard. And the Lions were 2-0 coming into this game. McNabb and the Eagles scored 42 points in the first half. No other team in the league scored as many points as that in an entire games yesterday. It was dominating and McNabb was awesome. So were K. Curtis, B. Westbrook, and the defense. But the star of yesterday’s show was Donovan McNabb.

 

More about later.