Philadelphia Eagles 1999 McNabb was drafted in the first round as the second overall pick by the Eagles, behind first pick
Tim Couch, in the
1999 NFL draft. A group of Eagles fans known as the "Dirty 30" were sent to the draft by sports radio host
Angelo Cataldi and Philadelphia Mayor
Ed Rendell. The two believed the Eagles would select running back
Ricky Williams and they wanted the fans to cheer the selection. However, when the Eagles selected McNabb the "Dirty 30" ended up loudly booing McNabb when he appeared on stage. McNabb was the second of five quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks of a quarterback-rich class that was at that point considered the best quarterback draft since the famous
class of 1983. However, only McNabb and
Daunte Culpepper went on to have successful careers in the NFL; Tim Couch struggled with the
Cleveland Browns and officially retired in 2007 after being cut by the
Jacksonville Jaguars in a failed comeback bid, while
Akili Smith and
Cade McNown were out of the NFL by 2002. By 2006, only McNabb was still with the team that originally drafted him. McNabb saw his first NFL regular-season action in the second half against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 19–5 home loss on September 19. He made his first career start at home against
Washington on November 14, completing eight of 21 passes for 60 yards in a 35–28 win. He also had nine carries for 49 rushing yards and led the team to a pair of successful two-point conversions (one rush and one pass). He was the first Eagles rookie to start at quarterback since
Brad Goebel, and the first Eagles rookie draft pick to start since
John Reaves in 1972. With the win, McNabb became the first Eagles rookie quarterback to win his first NFL start since
Mike Boryla (December 1, 1974, against Green Bay) and the first Eagle quarterback to win his first start since
Ty Detmer (October 13, 1996, against the
New York Giants). McNabb threw the first touchdown pass of his career (six yards to
tight end Chad Lewis) against the
Indianapolis Colts in a 44–17 home loss on November 21, 1999. McNabb went on to start six of the Eagles' final seven contests (missing the December 19 home game against the
New England Patriots, a 24–9 victory, due to injury).
2000–2003: NFC East championship runs In his first full season as an NFL starter in
2000, McNabb finished second in the
Associated Press MVP voting (24–11) to
St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk, who set the NFL record for most touchdowns scored in a season. McNabb made his primetime debut on
ESPN against the
Atlanta Falcons at home on October 1, with his first 300-yard passing game in a 38–10 victory and the Eagles' first 300-yard passer since
Bobby Hoying against the
Cincinnati Bengals at home on November 30, 1997. McNabb's 55 pass attempts at
Pittsburgh in a come-from-behind 26–23 overtime victory on November 12 were then a career high and tied for the fourth-highest total in team history. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for 90.7% of the offense in a 23–20 victory at Washington on November 26. His 125 rushing yards were the most by an NFL quarterback since the
Chicago Bears'
Bobby Douglass rushed for 127 on December 17, 1972, and was the eighth-best rushing effort by a quarterback since 1940 when the
T formation was introduced. He threw a career-high 390 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 35–24 victory at the
Cleveland Browns on December 10 en route to his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. McNabb led the Eagles to their first playoff appearance since 1996, where they defeated the favored
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21–3 in the
Wild Card Round before losing to the
New York Giants 20–10 in the
Divisional Round. McNabb was selected as a first alternate to the
NFC Pro Bowl squad in 2000 (behind
Daunte Culpepper,
Jeff Garcia, and
Kurt Warner). When Warner was unable to participate due to injury, McNabb took his spot. He accounted for 74.6% of the team's total net yards in 2000, third highest in the NFL. Only
Carolina's
Steve Beuerlein (75.3%) and
San Francisco's Garcia (75.1%) had a higher percentage. His 629 rushing yards in 2000 led the Eagles, made McNabb only the third quarterback since 1970 to lead his team in rushing, and at the time was the fourth-highest season rushing total by a quarterback (968 by
Bobby Douglass in 1972, 942 by
Randall Cunningham in 1990, and 674 by
Steve McNair in 1997). His six rushing touchdowns in 2000 were the most by an Eagles quarterback since Randall Cunningham, who also had six in 1988. McNabb broke the club's single-season record for most attempts (569) and completions (330) in 2000, marks previously set by Cunningham (560 and 301, respectively) in 1988. He was named 2000 NFC Player of the Year by CBS Radio and the
Terry Bradshaw Awards on Fox Sports and was named to the All-Madden team. In
2001, McNabb led the
Eagles to an 11–5 season and fourth-quarter comebacks in two wins against the defending NFC champion
New York Giants. At the Meadowlands on October 22, his 18-yard pass to
James Thrash with 1:52 remaining gave the Eagles a 10–9 victory, and their first win over the Giants in ten games. He also wiped out a 21–14 deficit on December 30, engineering two fourth-quarter scores as the Eagles clinched their first NFC East title in thirteen years with a 24–21 win. In NFC
Divisional Round against the
Chicago Bears on January 19, 2002, he was 26-of-40 for 262 yards and two touchdowns passing and adding 37 yards and a touchdown on the ground, which was also the final touchdown at the old
Soldier Field. He became only the fourth quarterback in Eagles history to pass for 3,000 yards in consecutive seasons –
Sonny Jurgensen (1961–62), Ron Jaworski (1980–81), and Randall Cunningham (1988–90) were the others. McNabb earned his second trip to the Pro Bowl (was originally elected as an alternate) following the 2001 season after combining for 3,715 yards of total offense and establishing career highs in touchdown passes (25) and quarterback rating (84.3). Including the playoffs, he threw touchdown passes in 15 of 18 games and two-or-more in 12 of those games. He was named by his teammates as the club's offensive MVP in 2000 and 2001. During the off-season, McNabb signed a new contract with the Eagles worth $115 million over 12 years, with a $20.5 million signing bonus. In 2002, McNabb was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, his first time receiving that award. During that month, McNabb led the Eagles to a franchise-record 140 points through four games. In that span, he accounted for 71.5 percent of the club's offensive production, and completed 92 of 150 passes for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns with three interceptions for a 92.2 passer rating. He also rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns. In week 11 of the
2002 season, McNabb suffered a broken fibula. On the third play of the game against the
Arizona Cardinals, he was sacked by the Cardinals'
Adrian Wilson and
LeVar Woods. He fumbled the ball, fell to the ground, and held his right leg. He went to the locker room to have his ankle taped, but returned for the Eagles' second drive. McNabb ended the game 20-of-25 passing with 255 yards and four touchdowns, putting him as the NFL's leader in total touchdowns per game where he remained for the rest of the season. McNabb's injury was initially reported to be a sprained ankle, however X-rays after the game revealed that McNabb's fibula was broken, and he was out for the remainder of the regular season. A dominant defense helped
A. J. Feeley and
Koy Detmer go a combined 5–1 to finish the season. McNabb returned to face the
Atlanta Falcons in the
Divisional Round of the playoffs, but he recovered slowly. The Eagles defeated the Falcons 20–6, but were upset at home 27–10 by the eventual champion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their top-ranked defense in the
NFC Championship. The Buccaneers' pass defense was so dominant that McNabb's passer rating in the game was poor (58.5), and other opposing quarterbacks fared even worse than McNabb (the respective passer ratings managed against the Buccaneers in the 2002 playoffs by
Jeff Garcia and
AP NFL MVP Rich Gannon were 35.9 and 48.9). In late September 2003, McNabb was the subject of very controversial comments made by
Rush Limbaugh, who worked as a commentator for ESPN at the time, stating that McNabb was overrated, and that, "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well". The comments came after the Eagles began the season 0–2, losing to defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers and eventual champion
New England, both losses coming in their newly opened stadium,
Lincoln Financial Field. Many responses from commentators, football players, coaches, and other public figures were sharply critical of Limbaugh. Within days ESPN issued a statement that the network communicated to Limbaugh his comments were insensitive and inappropriate, and Limbaugh resigned soon after. In 2005 the so-called "Rush Limbaugh Hypothesis" was tested by a review of more than 10,000 articles published in the 2002 NFL season, and offered no support to Limbaugh's position. The long-term negative social implications of the remarks were revisited in 2021 after Limbaugh's death from lung cancer. Despite the slow beginning in the
2003 season, McNabb had the highest quarterback rating (97.5) in the NFL for the second half of the season and also completed over 62% of his passes for over eight yards per attempt. McNabb again led his team to the NFC Championship, highlighted by the Eagles' comeback overtime win against the
Green Bay Packers in the
Divisional Round. The NFL placed this game at #69 on its list of 100 greatest games in the first 100 years of NFL history. McNabb became the first quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards in a postseason game, surpassing the previous NFL record which
Otto Graham held for over 50 years. He also completed the critical
4th and 26 pass to
Freddie Mitchell during the game-tying drive at the end of regulation. The 2003 NFC Championship ended in disappointment with Philadelphia's 14–3 home loss to the underdog
Carolina Panthers in the
NFC Championship. McNabb was injured with separated rib cartilage in the second quarter, when a sack by Panthers' defensive end
Mike Rucker was worsened by linebacker
Greg Favors tackling McNabb on the ground, because Favors was unsure if the play was over. McNabb sat out for one play before returning to the game. McNabb attempted to play through the injury but was much less effective afterward, completing only four of his next 12 passes including three interceptions, leaving the game for
Koy Detmer to play the fourth quarter. With this defeat, McNabb became the third quarterback (after
Ken Stabler and
Danny White) to lead a team to defeats in three consecutive conference title games. McNabb's cumulative
passer rating in the three games was only 50.5, and some assumed this was simply because McNabb "
choked" in big games. This is a common
cliché that often
oversimplifies reality. Examples in McNabb's case: it assumed a
false premise that the NFL's wild card and divisional playoff rounds were not big games; in the 2002 NFC Championship, McNabb's passer rating - though admittedly poor - was actually the highest that any quarterback could manage against the Buccaneers’ prolific
Tampa 2 defense in the 2002 playoffs, including
AP MVP Rich Gannon in
Super Bowl XXXVII; in the 2003 NFC Championship, McNabb’s play deteriorated sharply after he suffered a second quarter rib injury severe enough that he was eventually pulled for backup
Koy Detmer; in 2003, the playoff absence of key Eagles receiving target
Brian Westbrook due to a tricep injury was an additional obstacle; and so on.
2004: Super Bowl XXXIX McNabb finally amassed the kind of numbers that placed him firmly as one of the elite NFL quarterbacks statistically. He averaged 8.26 yards per attempt, completed 64.0% of his passes, threw 31 touchdown passes (he also ran for three more), and had only eight interceptions. These numbers translated to a season passer rating of 104.7, which not only set an Eagles franchise record, but was also 2nd in the NFC for 2004, surpassed the season-leading passer ratings of the NFL's most recent seasons at that time (2000–2003, and also 2005–2006), and tied
Steve Young for the fifteenth-highest single season passer rating up to that point in NFL history. Further, he became the first quarterback in league history to throw over 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a single season, and set a new NFL single season record with 20 completions over 40 yards. This dramatic improvement coincided with a massive upgrading of the Eagles' receiving corps, namely the arrival of
Terrell Owens, who caught 77 passes for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in only 14 games. Owens was the team's first Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver since before Coach Reid was hired (
Irving Fryar, 1997) and the team's first All-Pro wide receiver in almost 20 years (
Mike Quick, 1985). As a result, the Eagles won their first seven games of the season for the first time in franchise history, clinched first place in their division with five weeks still to play in the regular season, and won the NFC East by a record-tying seven-game margin in posting a 13–3 record, the franchise's best 16-game season ever. he led the Eagles to a 47–17 blowout victory. McNabb passed for an Eagles' then-record 464 yards and five touchdowns (all five in the first half), a 74.4% completion percentage, and a 147.8 passer rating. McNabb's performance was only the second game in NFL history with a quarterback passing for more than 450 yards, 5 TDs, and no interceptions, the first being
Y.A. Tittle in 1962. In the playoffs, McNabb led the Eagles to their second
Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, with victories over the
Minnesota Vikings 27–14 in the
Divisional Round and
Atlanta Falcons 27–10 in the
NFC Championship. McNabb completed 65.4% of his passes in the NFC championship for 180 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, 32 yards rushing, and a passer rating of 111.1. Owens did not play during the two playoff victories as he was recovering from a severely sprained ankle and injured ligament that occurred during a game against the Cowboys in week 15. McNabb became only the third
African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl after
Doug Williams in 1987 and
Steve McNair in 1999. McNabb led the Eagles against the
New England Patriots in
Super Bowl XXXIX. McNabb struggled at times as the Patriots' defense implemented a plan to stifle the Eagles' running attack and contain McNabb's mobility. The Patriots' plan mostly succeeded, limiting the Eagles to only 45 yards rushing for the game and zero rushing yards for McNabb. Almost half of those yards were gained on a 22-yard run by
Brian Westbrook as time expired at the end of the first half, and the Eagles ballcarriers averaged less than 1.5 yards per rush (23 yards on 16 carries) during the rest of the game. The Eagles' receiving corps was also depleted, as tight end
Chad Lewis missed the game due to injury, and wide receiver
Todd Pinkston was forced to leave the game due to dehydration after leading the Eagles' receivers in the first half with four receptions for 82 yards. The Patriots sacked McNabb four times, and McNabb threw three crucial interceptions (two of which were in New England territory, and one of those was inside the 20-yard line). The last was intercepted off a deflected pass thrown by McNabb from the Eagles’ own end zone with just 12 seconds remaining in the game. Some controversy followed the game, with rumors circulating that McNabb became ill and threw up in the huddle during the Eagles' last touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. McNabb denied the rumor and accepted blame for the defeat. The rumor persisted even though no Eagles player could confirm seeing McNabb become ill, and even though none of the extensive television coverage recorded such an incident.
Philadelphia Inquirer and
Bleacher Report later described the rumor as only a "myth" and an "NFL urban legend." McNabb accounted for almost 90% of the Eagles' yards from scrimmage with 30 completions for 357 yards, the third-highest total for both categories in Super Bowl history, and three touchdowns, the only points in the game for Philadelphia. Despite McNabb's efforts, the Eagles lost by a score of 24–21. For his 2004 efforts, McNabb was selected to his fifth consecutive
Pro Bowl, was named the NFC Player of the Year by
CBS Radio and also by the
DC Touchdown Club, and was named as the
101 Awards NFC Offensive Player of the Year.
2005–2007: Injuries McNabb's
2005 season began in turmoil and ended on the
injured reserve list. While not speaking to his main target, Terrell Owens (who was temporarily barred from the Eagles' training camp for insubordination, and would be suspended by the Eagles before season's end), and all the distractions that came with Owens' ongoing conflicts with the team, McNabb performed well in September despite a painful
sports hernia and was named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Month for the fourth time. McNabb threw 964 yards, eight touchdowns, and only two interceptions in three games, leading the Eagles to a 2–1 record. McNabb carried that momentum into October as he went 33-for-48 (68.8% completions), and threw 369 yards and three touchdowns en route to leading the Eagles to a memorable come-from-behind victory at an unfriendly
Arrowhead Stadium against the
Kansas City Chiefs 37–31. McNabb also nearly set an NFL record as he completed 25 consecutive passes in a single game against the
San Diego Chargers on October 23, 2005, but this record is not counted by the NFL as the completions were interrupted by a spiking of the ball to stop the clock at the end of the first half. The 2005 game was also noteworthy for Coach Reid calling for McNabb to have 25 pass attempts in a row, without interruption by a running play. McNabb and Owens, to their credit, did not appear to allow the off-the-field controversies to affect their play on the field: through week 7 McNabb led the NFL in passing yards, was tied for most passing touchdowns, and targeted Owens an average of 13.14 times per game (most in the NFL since 1999 when receiver "targets" were first tracked, and a still-current record as of 2023), with Owens second only to Panthers WR
Steve Smith Sr. in receiving touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards at that point in 2005. McNabb could not keep the team's momentum rolling, as the Eagles lost four straight games. Over that span, McNabb posted a
passer rating higher than 72 only once, on November 6, at the
Washington Redskins. After playing the season with a
sports hernia and sore thumb, McNabb's season ended with an injury on November 14 on Monday night during a 21–20 loss to the
rival Dallas Cowboys. McNabb was intercepted by
Roy Williams towards the end of the game, and tried to tackle the defender when
Scott Shanle came in and tackled McNabb to the ground. McNabb's groin was injured on the play and he was placed on the injured-reserve list later that week.
Mike McMahon replaced him at quarterback, and went 2–5 as a starter, with the Eagles finishing the season with a 6–10 record overall. Though low for his standards, McNabb put up respectable numbers in 2005. In nine games, he threw 2,507 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. To go along with that, he completed 59.1% (211–357) of his passes and was the NFL's leader in total offense per game at the season's end. , October 12, 2008 McNabb and the Eagles began the
2006 season with a fast start to 4–1, at that time leading the NFL in six offensive categories with McNabb becoming the first NFL quarterback to start a season with at least 1,500 yards passing, 10-plus TDs, and no more than one interception through his first five games. The Eagles began to lose momentum, stumbling to 5–4 heading into a week-11 game against the
Tennessee Titans on November 19. At that time McNabb led the NFL in total offense per game, touchdown percentage, and yards per completion (also finishing the season as the NFL's leader in those three categories), and was among the NFL's top 3 quarterbacks for lowest interception percentage and highest TD-INT ratio. However, during the game, McNabb tore the
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his right knee while jumping out of bounds, ending his season, the third time in five years McNabb had gone down with six or more games remaining in the regular season. Eagles officials stated that his rehabilitation would likely last 8–12 months, which completely ended his 2006 season and even raised questions as to whether he would be ready to begin playing by the beginning of the 2007 season. In the meantime, veteran backup quarterback
Jeff Garcia took McNabb's place as the Eagles' starting quarterback. Garcia had success, leading the Eagles from 5–5 after the Tennessee game to 10–6 and winners of the NFC East Division. The Eagles went on to win their home playoff game in the
Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the
New York Giants, 23–20, with Garcia under center. However, in the following
Divisional Round, they were defeated by the
New Orleans Saints in the
Superdome, 27–24. Having played nearly up to full speed in the preseason games, it was decided that McNabb would return to the field several months short of the full year-long recovery expected of an ACL injury. In the season opener against the
Green Bay Packers, the Eagles and McNabb suffered a 16–13 loss. McNabb had his share of problems, completing less than half of his passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. The Eagles lost their first home game of the season to the rival
Washington Redskins, 20–12, though his numbers improved. As week 3 approached, skeptics had already wondered whether McNabb still had the skill that propelled him to success in the past. The Eagles defeated the
Detroit Lions in a 56–21 win in week 3. McNabb completed 21 of his 26 attempted passes for 381 yards. Four of those passes went for touchdowns (three of them went to
Kevin Curtis), all in the first half. He was 14 of 15 for 332 yards in the first half. His performance against the Lions was highlighted by his first perfect (158.3) quarterback rating game. However, week 4 did not prove to be as good as the Eagles thought it would be. The Eagles endured yet another loss, this time to the
New York Giants. The Giants' defense, led by
defensive end Osi Umenyiora, sacked McNabb a record-tying 12 times. The Eagles split their next four games. In Week 10, in the Eagles' second divisional game against Washington, McNabb passed for four touchdowns in the 33–25 victory. In the following game, against the
Miami Dolphins, McNabb injured his right ankle and missed the next two games. He finished the 2007 season with 3,324 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 14 games. During a win against the Cowboys, sideline reporter
Pam Oliver reported during the game that McNabb indicated that he did not expect to be back in Philadelphia for the 2008 season. McNabb later indicated that this was not true, and stated that although he believed rookie
Kevin Kolb's time would come, he would be an Eagle the next season.
2008 , in August 2008 At the conclusion of the 2007 season, McNabb faced criticism for asking for "playmakers" on his yardbarker blog. He did, however, deny he was taking a shot at anyone in particular, saying "We were 8–8. There is room for improvement." McNabb caused another mild stir in camp when he suggested that the Eagles should not have lost a game to any of their NFC East opponents the previous season. He felt that they were just a few plays away from being a playoff team. He even went on to say, "I still put us at the top of the NFC." In week 1 of the
2008 NFL season, McNabb threw for 361 yards (the most of any quarterback that week) and three touchdowns, which included a 90-yard toss to
Hank Baskett at the end of the second quarter. This performance led to him receiving the
FedEx Air Player of the Week award. In week 3 against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, McNabb threw his 176th career touchdown, passing Ron Jaworski and becoming the Eagles' all-time touchdown-pass leader. McNabb set a career high with 58 passing attempts (completing 28), and tied a career high with three interceptions in the NFL's first tie game in six years, when the Eagles faced the
Cincinnati Bengals and ended up with a 13–13 tie. McNabb later admitted that he was not aware that an NFL regular-season game could end in a tie, leading to controversy because this could have affected game strategy. After the game, he stated "I never even knew that was in the rulebook. It's part of the rules, and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to the next opportunity to get out there and try to win the game. I hate to see what happens in the Super Bowl, and I hate to see what happens in the playoffs, to settle with a tie." After the tie, McNabb struggled in a game against the
Baltimore Ravens, going 8-of-18 for 54 yards with two interceptions and a fumble, and being sacked twice. In the second half, Andy Reid decided to go with Kevin Kolb, who was in his second year in the league. This was McNabb's first time being benched for something other than injury or a meaningless game. In the game, Kolb threw an interception that was returned 108 yards for a touchdown by safety
Ed Reed, breaking Reed's own previous record. Despite his up-and-down season, McNabb helped the Eagles reach the playoffs for the seventh time in his nine seasons as a starter. He also set a career high with 3,916 yards passing, led the Eagles to a franchise-record 416 points, and set a new NFL record for lowest career interception percentage, 2.09%, breaking the previous record of 2.11% set by
Neil O'Donnell in 1995. At that time, McNabb's career touchdown-to-interception ratio was third-best in league history (2.16), behind only
Tom Brady (2.29) and
Steve Young (2.17). On January 11, 2009, McNabb and the Eagles upset the defending champions, the
New York Giants, on the road in the
Divisional Round of the playoffs. The Eagles won 23–11 and advanced to the
NFC Championship against the
Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles defeated the Cardinals earlier in the season but recognized them as a dangerous opponent, in part because the Cardinals were only the third team in NFL history with a
trio of 1,000-yard wide receivers from the regular season. The Eagles traveled to Arizona for their third straight road game, hoping to become only the fourth wild card team since 1970 to win three consecutive road games to play in the Super Bowl. The Eagles trailed 24–6 at halftime, but stormed back in the second half to take a 25–24 lead in the fourth quarter. However, the Cardinals retook the lead with a late touchdown and prevailed 32–25 in McNabb's last appearance in a conference championship game. McNabb was 28 for 47 for 375 yards passing (388 yards of total offense), three touchdowns, an interception, and a passer rating of 97.4. McNabb's 388 yards of total offense were the third-most by a quarterback in any conference championship game up to that point in time (NFC or AFC), and the most up to that point in the history of the NFC championship game.
2009 In the
2009 NFL draft, the Eagles picked
Missouri Tigers star wide receiver
Jeremy Maclin to add to McNabb's receiving corps, with Kevin Curtis and
DeSean Jackson. While Curtis only caught 77 yards, Maclin had 773 yards and four touchdowns in a respectable rookie season, and Jackson was selected to the Pro Bowl after his first 1,000-yard season. Jackson's selection was only the second time that an Eagles wide receiver was named to the Pro Bowl during McNabb's years with the team. Another reliable target for McNabb was the new starting tight end Brent Celek, with whom he connected 76 times for 971 yards and eight touchdowns. McNabb also encouraged the Eagles to sign quarterback
Michael Vick to the team as a backup upon his release from prison for his part in a criminal
dog fighting operation. McNabb had hosted and befriended Vick years before during Vick's recruiting visit to
Syracuse University, and
The New York Times described McNabb's role in Vick's signing as "an act of selflessness not often seen among professional athletes." In the season opener, McNabb led the Eagles to a 38–10 win over the
Carolina Panthers. He completed 10 of his 18 passes for a total of 79 yards and two touchdowns. However, Andy Reid said the following Monday that McNabb broke a rib while rushing for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Eagles were hopeful McNabb would start in the week-2 game against the
New Orleans Saints, but he was kept on the sidelines in both weeks 2 and 3. Kevin Kolb replaced him, and the Eagles lost to the Saints, but beat the
Kansas City Chiefs the next week. Following the Eagles
bye week in week 4, McNabb returned in the week-5 game against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completing 16 of his 21 attempts for 264 yards and three touchdowns and being responsible for 210 of the 219 yards that the Eagles offense managed in total in the first half. McNabb reached 200 career touchdowns and 30,000 career yards passed in a win against the
Washington Redskins on October 26, 2009, with a 45-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson. Philadelphia met the
Dallas Cowboys in week 17 with the winner becoming the NFC East champions. The Eagles previously lost to the Cowboys in week 9, and then lost the season finale in a 24–0 shutout, setting up a rematch the following week in Dallas in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. The
Wild Card Round rematch with Dallas proved to be just as disastrous for the Eagles as the season finale. McNabb struggled early and was unable to get the offense into a rhythm, and after a scoreless first period the Cowboys outscored the Eagles 27–7 in the second quarter. Philadelphia fell 34–14 to Dallas, marking the first time McNabb and the Eagles were winless in a playoff appearance. McNabb faced speculation about his future with the Eagles, with some considering his possible trade value if the team began a transition at quarterback from McNabb to backup and former second round draft pick
Kevin Kolb. McNabb earned Pro Bowl honors for the sixth and last time in his career, with the 2009 season being statistically one of his most productive seasons.
NFL.com noted in the offseason that McNabb finished the 2000s as one of the decade's top quarterbacks in several offensive categories even though the Eagles' most productive receiving target - by a “stunning” margin - was a running back (
Brian Westbrook), followed next by two tight ends (
L.J. Smith and
Chad Lewis), and credited McNabb for having done much “with so little.” In 2023, others reached similar conclusions, crediting McNabb for much “heavy lifting” during his years with the Eagles, noting that none of the team's three most productive wide receivers of the McNabb years -
Todd Pinkston,
James Thrash, and
Reggie Brown - had any 1,000-yard receiving seasons among them.
Washington Redskins In the press conference following the Eagles' loss to Dallas, and even up to April 1, Andy Reid stated that McNabb would remain the starting quarterback in Philadelphia for the 2010 season. However, on April 4, the Eagles traded McNabb to the
Washington Redskins in return for a second-round (37th overall) pick in the
2010 NFL draft and a conditional third- or fourth-round pick in the
2011 NFL draft. The conditional pick became a fourth-round pick in 2011, which was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a lower fourth-round pick in 2011 and a fourth-round pick in 2012. The fourth-round pick in 2012 was then traded, along with a 2012 third-round pick, to the
Houston Texans for a lower 2012 third-round pick, which would be used to select quarterback
Nick Foles, and linebacker
DeMeco Ryans. In the first week of the 2010 season, McNabb and head coach
Mike Shanahan led the Redskins to a 13–7 victory over the
Dallas Cowboys. In week 2, McNabb nearly engineered a victory over the
Houston Texans, passing for 426 yards (third-most of his career), but came up just short of a victory when the Texans prevailed 30–27 in overtime. In week 4, on October 3, McNabb played against the Eagles for the first time, returning with the Redskins to
Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Although McNabb posted only pedestrian statistics, the Redskins won 17–12. During pregame introductions, McNabb received a standing ovation from Eagles fans, then hugged former coach Andy Reid at their postgame handshake. In week 5, McNabb struggled for the first three quarters, but rallied the Redskins to a 16–13 overtime victory against the eventual
Super Bowl champion
Green Bay Packers at
FedExField. He was 26–49 for 357 yards with one touchdown and one interception. In week 6, McNabb was 29 of 45 for 246 yards. He threw one touchdown and was intercepted twice, with the second interception coming on fourth down in the last minute of the fourth quarter against the visiting
Indianapolis Colts. The Redskins fell to the Colts 27–24. McNabb's passer rating was 67.5. In week 8, Shanahan stated in a press conference that McNabb would remain the Redskins' starting quarterback. On November 15, 2010, McNabb signed a five-year extension worth $78 million ($3.5 million guaranteed) with a chance to make it $88 million by completing incentives. The deal stated that if McNabb was not cut or traded at the conclusion of the 2010 season, he would receive a $10 million bonus. The same day, the Redskins suffered a 59–28 loss to his former team, the Eagles, at home on
Monday Night Football. McNabb finished the game going 17 of 31 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. On December 17, 2010, head coach Mike Shanahan relegated McNabb to the third quarterback position for the rest of this season, stating that he wanted to evaluate backup
Rex Grossman in game play. McNabb had perhaps one of the worst years of his career since 1999, posting career lows in season passer rating (77.1) and TD-INT ratio (0.9). However, at the time McNabb was demoted to third string, he was on pace to total 4,156 passing yards for the season, which would have broken the Redskins' all-time franchise record, and been the first time he had exceeded the 4,000-yard mark in his career. McNabb was ranked 100th in the first ranking of NFL players by their peers on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2011, placing 7th among the NFC's quarterbacks and 12th overall.
Minnesota Vikings On July 27, 2011, the Washington Redskins and
Minnesota Vikings came to an agreement on terms for a trade. After restructuring his contract, Washington traded McNabb to Minnesota in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2013. McNabb was rumored to be a possible addition to the Vikings for the past three years, in part due to his relationship with then-coach
Brad Childress, the former Eagles offensive coordinator. Vikings punter
Chris Kluwe agreed to give McNabb his number 5 jersey, in exchange for a $5,000 donation to Kick for a Cure, McNabb to promote Kluwe's band "Tripping Icarus" during a press conference, and an ice cream cone. After starting the
2011 season with a 1–5 record, on October 18, it was announced that McNabb would no longer be the starting quarterback for the Vikings, as the job was given to rookie
Christian Ponder for the remainder of the season. McNabb requested and was granted his release from the team on December 1, 2011. Potential destinations for McNabb included the
Houston Texans,
Kansas City Chiefs, and his hometown
Chicago Bears, all three of which lost their starting quarterbacks for the season to injury, but were still making playoff pushes. The Texans had signed
Jake Delhomme and expressed no interest in McNabb, while the Bears and Chiefs put in waiver claims for
Kyle Orton, who ended up with the Chiefs. The Bears subsequently signed
Josh McCown, who had been unsigned since September but had familiarity with the
Mike Martz offensive system run in Chicago. They decided that it was too late to add McNabb for the playoff hunt, as it would be tough to grasp the complicated offense in the short period of time. On July 29, 2013, McNabb officially retired from professional football as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. ==Career statistics==