The rematch is here and the Eagles are still seeking their first Vince Lombardi Trophy while the Patriots have won two more since that one and are going for No. 6.
McNabb’s disputed upchucking actually upstaged Terrell Owens’ remarkable performance in the big game. Owens defied his doctor’s advice and was in the starting lineup just 6+ weeks after ankle surgery. He caught nine passes for 122 yards against the Patriots, but the Eagles couldn’t overcome numerous mistakes in a 24-21 loss.
McNabb threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns but also had three interceptions, another that was nullified by penalty, took four sacks and didn’t have any yards rushing.
Former Eagles coach Andy Reid’s clock management was a major issue in that game. Down 24-14, the offense got the ball back with 8:35 left. They inexplicably huddled up instead of running a hurry-up offense and McNabb threw an interception.
They were slow to the line again when they regained possession and took 3:45 to drive 79 yards for a touchdown. After the onside kick failed, the defense held and the Eagles got the ball again at their 4 with no timeouts and 46 seconds remaining.
The comeback bid ended when Rodney Harrison picked a deflected pass.
”When you talk about managing time and things of that nature, that’s up to the head coach, offensive coordinator and the quarterback,” Owens told The Associated Press this week.
”As a quarterback, as a seasoned veteran, the quarterback really should be the guy assessing what we should be doing Andrei Svechnikov Jersey , how much time is on the clock, what time we need to be running the play. I was on the outside once I left the huddle. Once the play is called, I’m gone.”
Owens, in town as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and to promote a commercial for Febreze, has moved on from the loss. He was dismissed from the Eagles in November the following season after feuding with McNabb and management over a new contract.
”What I did was bigger than the Super Bowl for me,” Owens said. ”I understood the ultimate goal was to win the game and that was definitely heavily on my mind. Coming out of the tunnel for the first time, the media was waiting on me to run around the field to see if I was limping, how I was cutting on the ankle. I wanted everyone to know my faith in God was the No. 1 reason I did what I did.”
Former teammate Brian Westbrook, who had 144 yards from scrimmage and a TD catch in that game, still has regrets.
”I don’t think you ever get over losing the Super Bowl,” Westbrook said. ”It’s one of those things when you look back on your career, you want to have that ring Authentic Ronnie Harrison Jersey , you want to flash the Giants fans, the Dallas fans that ring but sometimes things don’t work out.
”But the biggest memory is playing in the game, being part of the big show. You work so hard to get to that point in your career and I was lucky enough to get there. We just didn’t seal the deal.”
Westbrook defended McNabb, who took several hard hits, including a few that appeared late. McNabb was bent over after a crushing hit from Richard Seymour during the late drive and it’s unknown whether he was getting dirt and grass off his face and helmet or regurgitated.
”The quarterback is always going to get so much of the credit and so much of the bad things,” Westbrook said. ”That negativity, a lot of it is centered around Don for whatever reason but he was the reason we were playing in that game.
”He did a great job. I wish, as a team, we could’ve put him in better position to be successful. When you’re playing the Patriots and make those kinds of mistakes, you don’t have a chance.”
That remains true now. It’s a different team, but Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are still there.
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AP NFL website:
WASHINGTON — A pair of old friends will reconnect when the Boston Red Sox visit the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
Former teammates Rick Porcello (9-2, 3.60) of the Red Sox and Max Scherzer (10-4 Authentic Patrick Omameh Jersey , 2.04) square off for the first time in the opener of a three-game series.
Porcello and Scherzer spent five seasons together with the Detroit Tigers, reaching the 2012 World Series before losing to the San Francisco Giants.
Since leaving Detroit, Porcello won the 2016 American League Cy Young Award and Scherzer is making a strong case for his third straight National League Cy Young. Both have been aware this matchup was coming.
“Looking forward to it. We’ve been texting back and forth,” Porcello told the Boston Globe. “We’ve had a good time with it and I’m sure we’ll both get a kick about going against each other once the game starts.”
Scherzer is looking for his first win since June 5, though he’s pitched well enough to win each of his past four starts, allowing two earned runs or less in each outing. The Nationals are 1-3 in those starts and were shut out in each loss.
“I think everybody’s been punched in the face before of not having success,” Scherzer told The Washington Post after his last start, a 1-0 loss to the Marlins. “This is the big leagues; they are going to keep coming down your throat and keep attacking you.”
Scherzer, Washington’s only dependable starter of late, is 4-4 with a 6.05 ERA in 10 starts versus Boston.
Porcello allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings last time out in a no-decision against the Angels.
He’s 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his lone start against Washington, an eight-inning effort in April of 2015.
The Nationals (42-40) squandered an early 3-0 lead in Philadelphia on Sunday and fell 4-3 in 13 innings on Andrew Knapp’s pinch-hit walk-off home run as Washington dropped a second straight weekend series to their division rivals.
Washington managed only four hits in eight innings against the Philadelphia bullpen in the finale.
“Offensively, we’ve got to do more Saints Game Jerseys ,” outfielder Adam Eaton told The Post. “That’s plain and simple. We score early and then we can’t coast. We can’t take our foot off the accelerator. We got to keep going.”
The Nationals are now 6-15 in their past 21 games and fell six games behind Atlanta in the NL East.
In each of their last nine losses, they’ve scored three or fewer runs.
“We’ve got to start striking out less,” manager Dave Martinez told MASN, “putting the balls in play, driving in runs when we have the ability to drive in runs.”
Boston (56-29) finished a three-game series against the Yankees on a forgettable note Sunday night, getting routed 11-1 behind starter David Price as New York blasted six home runs, including three by Aaron Hicks.
Price allowed eight runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
The Red Sox dropped two of three and travel south percentage points behind the Yankees in the AL East.