PHILADELPHIA -- Don't blame this one on T.O.
Sure, there was another misunderstanding in Philadelphia between the quarterback and wide receiver, only this time Terrell Owens wasn't in the house.
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| Donovan McNabb, who will have an MRI Tuesday, says he misread the route. (AP) |
It may have cost them the season.
The Eagles won't admit it, nor should they. But after blowing a 21-20 decision to Dallas on Monday night, they have to face facts, and the facts are these: They just lost a game they should have won; they just lost their third consecutive game and fourth in their last five tries; and they may have just lost McNabb.
The star quarterback bowed out for the final series after complaining of groin and abdominal injuries and walked with pain afterward. Coach Andy Reid said he expected McNabb to undergo an MRI on Tuesday, but it's a post-mortem on a disastrous call Monday night that's demanded first.
I'm talking, of course, of that play -- that one lousy play -- that ruined a perfectly wonderful night for the Eagles. Ahead 20-14 with 2:53 left, the Eagles took a gamble that backfired and had McNabb and Brown called to the witness stand afterward. Both were asked about a McNabb pass that was meant for Brown, but that landed instead in the arms of Dallas safety Roy Williams, who returned the interception 46 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
McNabb later said he misread the route, while Brown said, no, he was the one to blame because he should've caught a subsequent pass that would've set up a game-winning field goal. The truth is, neither of these guys should have been put in position to answer questions because the play never should've been called.
Now let's go back to the scene of the crime.
Ahead by six points with less than three minutes to go, the Eagles seemed in control. No, they were in control. They dominated a critical game with a perfect mix of run and pass and were one first down from putting away the contest and re-emerging in the NFC East race.
So they did what they should have done. They ran, with Lamar Gordon carrying the ball on first down to force Dallas to burn its first timeout. He gained three yards to the Philadelphia 38. Then, they did what they shouldn't have done. They threw on second-and-7 -- and you know what happened.
Brown said he read the route as a "go" after he was pressed on the line of scrimmage. That, it turns out, is what he was supposed to do. But McNabb misinterpreted the route and threw the ball into the flat, where there was no one but Williams.
"It was a hitch route converted to a fly route," Reid said. "The right route was run. They just weren't on the same page there."
