McNabb ain't so Terrell-ble without Owens after all

PHILADELPHIA -- On an afternoon that was supposed to belong to Terrell Owens, it was Donovan McNabb -- not T.O. -- who played the starring role.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, who refrained from responding to Owens' criticisms last season when the two were teammates, finally bit back. This time taking center stage in the Eagles' 38-24 defeat of Dallas here Sunday.

Donovan McNabb torches the Dallas D for 354 yards and two passing touchdowns. (AP)

He ran for one score. He threw for two others -- including an 87-yard back-breaker to someone named Hank Baskett midway through the third quarter. If you never heard of him, join the club. He's a rookie who took injured veteran Donte Stallworth's place in Sunday's lineup and joined such other luminaries as Greg Lewis and Reggie Brown at wide receiver.

Yet he wound up with 112 yards receiving, and McNabb finished with a season-high 354 yards passing.

"(McNabb) did a nice job," said a subdued Andy Reid, coach of the Eagles.

Nice? I'll tell you what was nice about his latest performance: He did it without a marquee wide receiver. There was no Stallworth, and there was no Owens, yet McNabb dissected what is regarded as a respectable secondary and did it with regularity.

There was that 87-yarder to Baskett. There was a 40-yard TD to Brown. A 60-yarder to tight end L.J. Smith. A 24-yarder to running back Brian Westbrook. Another 24-yarder to Lewis.

Hey, I thought this was supposed to be the guy who couldn't survive without Owens? Sure, and Cher couldn't make it without Sonny. All McNabb's done this season is throw for 300 yards three times, throw for 350 yards twice, produce an NFL-best 11 touchdown passes and announce himself as an early candidate for league MVP.

I'm not sure what more he can do, but we gained a demonstration on that picture-perfect pass to Baskett.

Rewind the videotape, and you find Baskett split wide left, with cornerback Anthony Henry a yard opposite him. As the ball is snapped, Henry blitzes the pocket, forcing Eagles tackle William Thomas to slide to his left to block him. That, in turn, opens the door to blitzing linebacker Greg Ellis, who has an unobstructed shot at McNabb.

And that's where the fun begins. McNabb steps forward, narrowly avoiding Ellis, and launches a bomb to Baskett just before he's hit by defensive tackle Jason Ferguson. Baskett catches the pass in stride, shakes off safety Patrick Watkins and scores.

Yeah, Andy Reid, that was nice.

But let's go back to the Eagles huddle before the catch. McNabb pulls Baskett aside, tells him the play they're about to run, then implores him not to break off his route if Henry blitzes. Normally, a rushing cornerback might force Baskett into an inside hitch, but McNabb tells his rookie wide receiver to watch out for Henry -- even though he hadn't blitzed all day -- and to run a stop-and-go, exactly as it's called.