TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

McNabb Finally Back In Playoffs

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: January 2, 2009

Donovan McNabb watched the Philadelphia Eagles play their last playoff game like most fans, sitting in front of a television, cheering and chomping on food.

McNabb was sidelined by a knee injury two years ago when Jeff Garcia stepped in and led the Eagles to an NFC East title and a playoff win against the New York Giants, before their run ended against New Orleans.

It's been four years since McNabb even took a playoff snap, in the Super Bowl. He's most remembered for vomiting - depending on whose version of the story you believe - in the fourth quarter of that 24-21 loss to New England.

Much has happened to the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback since that game, and most of it is negative. McNabb was dissed by Terrell Owens and labeled a choker. He's missed 15 games to injuries and watched the Eagles draft his eventual successor. He got benched, booed and written off only to play his best football down the stretch in crucial games. Now, McNabb is back in the playoffs, eager to lead the Eagles (9-6-1) against the Minnesota Vikings (10-6) in a wild-card game Sunday.

"It wouldn't take three or four years for me to say I missed it," McNabb said. "You miss it after a year. Even when we made it when Jeff took over, I wanted to be in there. I just continued to rally with the guys and tried to motivate them in any way.

"When the time comes, you just don't want it to end. You want to take care of each opportunity or take care of each chance that you can while you're in to stay in. That's something that, obviously, we're looking forward to this playoffs."

VIKINGS TICKETS AVAILABLE: Plenty of good seats are still available for Minnesota's playoff game against Philadelphia.

The Vikings reported 8,000 tickets remaining at noon New Year's Day for Sunday's game against the Eagles. The NFL has granted an extension until 3:30 p.m. local time today to reach a virtual sellout, but the possibility of a local TV blackout looms.

The blackout would not only encompass the Twin Cities, but secondary markets in the region as well. It includes satellite, cable and over-the-air systems, so nobody in the area could watch the game unless they're in attendance at the Metrodome.

CARDINALS GET ANOTHER

EXTENSION: The NFL has granted a second, final 24-hour extension of its television blackout deadline for the Cardinals' wild-card playoff game vs. Atlanta on Saturday.

The team has until 2:30 p.m. local time today to sell its remaining tickets. A sellout crowd is necessary for the NFL to lift its blackout of the home TV market.

The NFL had already extended the deadline 24 hours to 2:30 p.m. Thursday. In a news release, the team said 3,700 tickets remained.

The Associated Press

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT