Kansas City, Mo. – By the look of things, all those aches and pains were getting to Donovan McNabb. Philadelphia’s first three drives yielded two punts and a blocked field goal, and the Eagles were down 17-0 in the second quarter.
Turns out McNabb is as good leading a comeback as he is at enduring pain.
In rallying the Eagles to a 37-31 victory over the crestfallen Chiefs, neither a painful sports hernia nor a determined Kansas City defense could stop McNabb from doing something Sunday that no other Philadelphia quarterback had before: pass for more than 300 yards in three straight games.
McNabb, who was also playing with a chest bruise and a sore shin, completed 33-of-48 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles (3-1) scored 31 straight points.
“I was just doing whatever I had to help my team win,” McNabb said. “Nothing is easy in this game, especially when your body is in a position where you feel like you can’t do what you’re used to doing.”
Terrell Owens fueled the comeback by consistently getting open and making 11 catches for 171 yards and a TD.
The Chiefs (2-2) closed to within six points with 1:24 left on Trent Green’s 15-yard TD pass to Dante Hall, but the Eagles recovered the onside kick.
“He didn’t look like he was hurting one bit,” said Chiefs defensive lineman Lional Dalton. “He looked like the normal McNabb, one of the greatest quarterbacks in this league.”
McNabb took a few pretty good whacks, but nothing slowed him.
“It felt like I tweaked it a little,” he said. “Nothing major. This is just something I have to get used to.”
The Chiefs took a 24-6 lead with 4:27 left when Hall went 96 yards with a kickoff return following Sheldon Brown’s 40-yard return of an interception of Green.
After Sam Rayburn recovered a Larry Johnson fumble at the 50, McNabb hit Owens for 28 yards and then capped the drive with a 7-yard TD pass to the Eagles’ top receiver.
“It was like they got all the momentum right there,” Chiefs guard Brian Waters said. “But we just made too many mistakes, too many turnovers.”
Todd France, whose first NFL field-goal attempt was blocked, made good on a 44-yarder to bring the Eagles to within 24-16.
Then McNabb hit Owens twice for a total of 58 yards on a four-play, 60-yard drive capped by Mike Bartrum’s 3-yard TD catch.
A two-point conversion pass to Brian Westbrook tied it at 24 with 1:54 left in the third and hushed the sellout crowd that had become almost deafening minutes earlier.
