Background and career
Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football for the Syracuse Orange, winning Big East Offensive Player of the Year three times and receiving four first-team All-Big East honors. McNabb was selected second overall in the 1999 NFL draft by the Eagles, where he spent 11 seasons. He also spent a year each with the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings. As the Eagles' starting quarterback from 1999 to 2009, McNabb led the team to eight playoff appearances, five division titles, five NFC Championship Games (including four consecutive from 2001 to 2004), and one Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX. McNabb ranks ninth in quarterback rushing yards and was the fourth NFL quarterback to amass over 30,000 passing yards, 200 touchdown passes, 3,000 rushing yards, and 20 rushing touchdowns. He is also the Eagles' franchise leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, attempts, and completions. For his accomplishments in Philadelphia, he was inducted to the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame in 2013.
McNabb was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Mount Carmel High School, where as a sophomore, he was a teammate of future NFL players Simeon Rice and Matt Cushing. Together, they helped Mount Carmel win the 1991 State Championship over Wheaton Central High School. In 1993, as a senior, he led the team to a Chicago Prep Bowl championship. He also excelled at track and field, and played basketball with Antoine Walker.
Though McNabb was approached by recruiters from numerous colleges, only two schools, Syracuse University and the University of Nebraska, offered him scholarships to play college football as a quarterback. He initially leaned toward attending Nebraska, as he relished the idea of being coached by Tom Osborne. Eventually, however, he decided to attend Syracuse and play for the Syracuse Orange football team, principally because he wanted to prove he was a competent "pocket passer", but also for their broadcast journalism program. After redshirting in 1994, his first year at Syracuse, McNabb went on to start every game during his college career, compiling a 35–14 record. As a freshman, he completed the longest touchdown pass in Syracuse's history—a 96-yard throw against West Virginia University—in a game where he accounted for 354 total yards of offense; he was named the Big East Conference's rookie of the year at the end of the season. McNabb amassed 2,892 yards of total offense in his junior season to set a school record. As a senior, he led Syracuse to a berth in the Orange Bowl against Florida, as he completed 157 of 251 passes (62.5%) for 2,134 yards; he also pushed the eventual champions, the Tennessee Volunteers, to the limit in a very close game. His 22 touchdown passes tied the school's single-season record, set by former Eagle Don McPherson in 1987. McNabb also rushed 135 times for 438 yards and eight touchdowns. He ranked sixth in the nation with a 158.9 passing efficiency rating and 22nd in total offense, with 233.8 yards per game. He tied a school record with four touchdown passes against Cincinnati, and scored five touchdowns against Miami (three rushing and two passing). McNabb was also teammates with future NFL star Marvin Harrison for one season at Syracuse. McNabb was named the Big East's offensive player of the decade for the 1990s, and Big East Offensive Player of the Year three times from 1996 to 1998, as well as the first-team all-conference vote earner in each of his four seasons. He was a finalist for the 1998 Heisman Trophy. Later, he was named to the Syracuse All-Century football team. McNabb was also a walk-on for two seasons for the Syracuse basketball team under head coach Jim Boeheim. He spent two years as a reserve on the school's nationally ranked basketball team, including the 1996 squad that lost to Kentucky (a team led by his former high-school teammate Antoine Walker) in the National Championship game. During his junior year, McNabb hosted Michael Vick when Vick visited Syracuse during a recruiting visit, and the two remained friends afterward.
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).
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's Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship for the first time since 1980, losing to the heavily favored St. Louis Rams. 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. Later analysis published in 2012 by Advanced Football Analytics and the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports determined that the Eagles' odds of tying the score under those conditions was "a whopping 1 out of 175." 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.
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. McNabb ended the season 1 TD short of tying the Eagles' single season records for passing TDs and total TDs, in large part because he only played sparingly in the team's fifteenth game (attempting and completing three passes, with 1 TD), and the team rested McNabb for the season finale. McNabb had arguably his most productive game of the season in a week-13 game against the Super Bowl-contending Green Bay Packers. After starting the game completing his first 14 passes (setting an NFL record with 24 consecutive passes completed over a two-game span), 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.
