EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Donovan McNabb finally acknowledges the Philadelphia Eagles’ comeback from nowhere started in Baltimore. That just happens to be the game in which he was benched in the second half of what became a blowout loss.

“After the Baltimore game, we all talked as a team,” he said after the Eagles reached their fifth NFC championship game this decade by dethroning the New York Giants on Sunday in the first 23-11 game in NFL history.

“We realized we were pressing too much. It’s much easier to win when you’re playing relaxed.”

No kidding.

The Eagles were 5-5-1 when they left Baltimore, written off by almost everyone, including their fans and by that very vocal section of the Philly media that has opinions on everyone and everything. The overriding conclusion was that McNabb would be better off next season in Minnesota or Chicago, and that Andy Reid, the coach who benched him in the second half against the Ravens, had overstayed his tenure, now 10 seasons long.

They are 6-1 since, including two victories over the Giants and another by 48-20 over the Arizona Cardinals, the upstarts they must travel west to play in the title game next week.

They still needed the most improbable of circumstances just to make it into the postseason, most notably a win by the normally dismal Oakland Raiders in Tampa.

The defense is one reason Philly has turned it around. McNabb is the other, although his sparkling 10-2 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions over that run was sullied a bit Sunday when he threw two picks and was nailed for a safety by grounding the ball in the end zone.

One interception was a heave downfield that worked as well as a punt, and the other on a ball tipped by New York linebacker Chase Blackburn into the hands of defensive tackle Fred Robbins.

But McNabb also did what his New York counterpart, Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, couldn’t: accept the vagaries of the Meadowlands winds and bounced back to make plays.

The turning point came at the end of the first half, after the Giants had taken an 8-7 lead and Philadelphia had less than 40 yards of offense. The Eagles’ one first-half TD came after an interception by Asante Samuel put the ball at the New York 2-yard-line.

Starting from his 25 with 1:24 left, McNabb drove the Eagles 68 yards into the wind, a drive capped by David Akers’ 25-yard field goal. That sent Philly into the locker room up 10-8 and feeling a lot better about its chances. And especially feeling better about McNabb and the offense.

“We were taking seven-step drops and looking to go long,” said McNabb. “During that drive, we got into a rhythm, hitting passes over the middle, getting back to timing routes.”

In fact, McNabb handled the fickle winds a lot better than the home quarterback. The Giants’ Super Bowl drive last year, all on the road, may say a lot about what Manning thinks about his home field in December and January. If Manning seemed frustrated when a gust knocked down a throw or carried it over the head of a receiver or wide of him, McNabb just accepted it and went on to the next play.

McNabb, who has been coming to the Meadowlands for games for a decade, also was patient with the foibles of his receivers.

After a wide-open Kevin Curtis dropped what probably would have been a touchdown pass, he apologized to his quarterback after he returned to the huddle.

“I said, ’Let it go, and let’s move on,’ “ McNabb said. “I don’t want people to lose their confidence. You have to have a short memory in this game.”

Curtis later made two first-down catches much tougher than the one on which he dropped the ball, showing his short memory.

McNabb presumably showed his after his benching in Baltimore, although there still are questions whether he resents that Reid sat him down for inexperienced second-year man Kevin Kolb against one of the league’s most ferocious defenses.

Reid doesn’t think so.

Although he didn’t tell McNabb he was benched — that task fell under the chain of command to quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur — he did talk to him immediately after that game.

On Sunday, Reid gave his quarterback the ultimate testimonial.

“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL,” Reid said. “It’s my job to get him in gear.”

Then Reid hesitated and added: “No. He IS the best quarterback in the NFL. He’s the reason we’re going to our fifth NFC championship game. I don’t think I have to say anything more than that.”

The Eagles are now two wins away from their first Super Bowl victory. They’ve been this far four times before since 2001 with no success. Who knows? If they beat the Cardinals, they might get those Ravens again.

This time bet on McNabb playing the entire game.

 

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