Eagles-Cardinals: Donovan McNabb Comes Through When It Matters Most

Whether you love him or you hate him, you have to admit that Donovan McNabb came through when it mattered the most.

Donovan McNabb has taken more heat over the last two weeks than a Thanksgiving Day turkey in an oven.

First, there was his horrendous game against the Cincinnati Bengals. This was a game that the Eagles saw as a "gift." The 1-8 Bengals didn't even seem like they could match up against the Birds. In the end, the two teams ended up with a 13-13 tie, the first tie in the NFL since 2002.

McNabb's four turnovers were a hot topic after the game. However, the main topic everybody was talking about the following week was McNabb's press conference.

McNabb made comments about how he had no idea an NFL game could end in a tie. The media blew this situation out of proportion, saying a professional athlete should be aware of the rules in the sport they play.

Then, Warren Sapp went on to say how these statements would ruin McNabb's legacy. Why would a few comments about overtime rules determine a player's legacy? Isn't this the guy who has two Pro Bowls, five division titles, and four straight NFC Championship Game appearances?

What was even more frustrating about the McNabb/rules of overtime situation is that the media focused on him. After McNabb made these comments, a lot of players spoke up and said they had no idea about the rule either. Did that matter to the media? Of course not. All they wanted to talk about was McNabb.

Then came the drama from last weeks game against the Baltimore Ravens. Not only did McNabb record three turnovers in the first half, but he was benched in the second half.

This was a risky move by Andy Reid considering the Eagles were only down three points at halftime. Kevin Kolb played the entire second half, but it didn't really matter since the Ravens defense took over and beat the Eagles 36-7.

McNabb has had his bad Sundays in his career, what quarterback hasn't? We have even seen Brett Favre have some horrendous games. This time was different thought.

In 10 years, we have never seen McNabb benched because of his performance. When Andy Reid placed McNabb on the bench without even telling him, everybody started to question whether or not McNabb would be done as the Eagles quarterback for the remainder of the season.

Last Monday, Andy Reid addressed the media and said Donovan McNabb would be the starting quarterback in Thursday night's game against the Arizona Cardinals. When explaining his reasoning behind the benching of McNabb, he said that sometimes you have to take a step back in order to take a step forward.

Clearly, Reid knew what he was talking about.

All week, McNabb knew the pressure of performing well against the Cardinals. If he had his third straight poor performance, his career could have been done as a Philadelphia Eagle.

It's obvious McNabb still has what it takes to be a leader on this Eagles squad. On the first drive of the game, McNabb knew that he had to score right away. If the Eagles didn't score on their first possession, the fans would have booed him like crazy.

What did McNabb do? He took eight minutes off the clock and completed a five-yard pass to Brian Westbrook for the touchdown.

The Arizona Cardinals may not have the best defense in football. The defense of the Cardinals doesn't even compare to the defense of the Baltimore Ravens.

The only thing that matters is that McNabb came through when his Philadelphia career was in jeopardy. In the first drive against the Arizona Cardinals, McNabb looked calm as anything. Overall, McNabb had a solid game by throwing 27/40 for 260 yards and four touchdowns.

Over the years, we have all had our moments where we have hated McNabb. His final drive in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. His overall performance the last two weeks.

None of that matters. We have all had our moments where we have loved McNabb. His Monday Night Football performance against the Cowboys in 2004. The seasons where he led the team to the NFC Championship round.

For the last two weeks, everything we have heard about Donovan McNabb has been negative. The overtime rules, the poor performances, his future in Philadelphia.

After Thursday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, all we should hear about is the way he performed when it mattered the most.

Donovan McNabb is one of the best quarterbacks in football. He may struggle from time to time, but nobody is perfect. Favre's not perfect. Manning's not perfect. Even Brady's had his bad days. 

McNabb showed everybody this week what he is capable of doing as a quarterback. With all the pressure in the world on him, he came through and had one of his best performances of the season.

I would love to see some quarterbacks perform as well as McNabb did after all the criticism and pressure he has dealt with over the last few weeks.