Benching Miffs McNabb, but Eagles Like the Results

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 11:45 pm

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Donovan McNabb completed 26 of 35 passes for 290 yards and 2 touchdowns with an interception in the 30-10 victory over the Browns on Monday night.

It could have been the death knell for a starting quarterback, or the masterstroke motivational tactic of the N.F.L. season.

So far, the decision by Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid to bench quarterback Donovan McNabb at halftime of the Nov. 23 game against the Baltimore Ravens has worked out better than almost anyone thought it would at the time. McNabb was stumbling and bumbling, and the Eagles were going down the drain with him. The benching — the first for McNabb in his pro career — lasted until the next day, when Reid reinstalled him as the starter.

McNabb is still struggling to hide how miffed he remains at the slight, but he has also been on fire ever since. He has led the Eagles (8-5-1) to victories over the Cardinals, the Giants and the Browns, propelling them back into the National Football Conference wild-card playoff race.

In those three games McNabb completed 72 of 104 passes for 741 yards and 7 touchdowns with one interception. He compiled a passer rating of 107.9. He had tossed seven interceptions in the four games leading up to the benching.

McNabb completed 26 of 35 passes for 290 yards and 2 touchdowns with an interception in the 30-10 victory over the Browns on Monday night. After the game, Reid said that he had expected the benching to have this effect. But at the time the move was clearly a last-ditch attempt to right a listing season.

“It tells you about the kid, what a great person he is, great guy and what a great football player he is, and I think that he’s playing right now as well as he’s ever played,” Reid told reporters on Tuesday. “I think it’s a tribute to him and the guys around him. I think that they’ve all stepped their game up a little bit.”

It helps that two of the three victories have come against teams — Arizona and Cleveland — without great pass defenses and that Reid has again turned more consistently to Brian Westbrook to run the ball.

Despite all of the signals, though, McNabb seems to remain unhappy that Reid, his champion since he entered the league in 1999, sat him down while other units of the team were nearly as underwhelming as he was. In an interview with ESPN shortly after the game Monday night, McNabb wondered aloud why he was made the scapegoat.

“I don’t go back to the benching because I personally don’t agree with the benching,” he said on television.

Later, he sounded softer: “I’m always happy. I’m happy to be out here just playing football, and that’s the most important thing. That’s something I told myself no matter what situation I’m in, I’m going to have a ball out here and the people around me are going to enjoy it, too.”

On the day of the benching, the Eagles were trailing the Ravens by 10-7 at halftime. McNabb’s backup, Kevin Kolb, struggled in the second half, and Baltimore rolled to a 36-7 victory.

Whether McNabb’s relationship with Reid has been irreparably harmed will not be known until after the season, when they will have to decide if they can — or want to — coexist for another season. The decision may be made easier depending on the team’s playoff fate. The Eagles must beat Washington and Dallas, teams that defeated them earlier in the season, and hope for a loss by either the Falcons or the Buccaneers to make the playoffs.