McNabb Points the Finger — At Himself

Eagles QB clarifies what he meant by “we showed our youth”

Calling out teammates isn't Donovan McNabb's style, so he isn't starting now.

Two days after saying “we showed our youth” in a costly 24-0 loss at Dallas, the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback blamed himself Tuesday and clarified his comments.

“It all starts with me. I have to raise my level of play, and everyone else has to as well,” McNabb said. “What I meant is, we have a young team, and a lot of things we were doing just were very uncharacteristic of what we did all throughout the year. I wasn't blaming it on anyone, by any means.”

The Eagles (11-5) would've clinched their sixth NFC East title in nine years and secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye with a victory over the Cowboys. Instead, Philadelphia was thoroughly dominated and dropped to the sixth spot. The lone bright side for the Eagles is they can exact revenge at Dallas (11-5) in a wild-card playoff game Saturday night.

D-Mac has struggled along with the rest of the offense in two losses to the Cowboys this year. Against the rest of the NFL, the Eagles have been nearly unstoppable, scoring a franchise-record 429 points this season.

Only 16 of those points came against Dallas.

D-Mac finished 20 of 36 for 223 yards and didn't throw a TD pass for only the second time this season on Sunday. He overthrew DeSean Jackson on a deep pass in the first quarter that would've tied the game. Later, he dropped a low snap from new center Nick Cole and lost the fumble inside the red zone.

But there also were several dropped passes, including two by Jackson and one by rookie Jeremy Maclin on a slightly off-target pass that should've been caught for a big gain and possibly a score.

Despite having one of his finest seasons, McNabb was criticized for his subpar performance against the Cowboys and got hammered for his statements afterward. Given an opportunity to explain, McNabb made it clear he wasn't pointing the finger at his young receivers or a reshuffled offensive line.

“I said it was my fault on the snap, and I said that I need to elevate my game,” McNabb said. “I think at times, too many people focus on just little things, and not focus on what the whole question and the whole answer is. I've never attempted or even tried or will ever throw anyone under the bus. That's just not me. I don't do that. For these young guys, these young guys are part of the reason why we're in the position we are. They've made a lot of plays for us, all throughout the year, and they will continue to make plays for us.”

Jackson, a Pro Bowl pick in just his second season, said he spoke to McNabb and has no issues with him.

“We talked, and you know, it's nothing big,” Jackson said. “We just have to keep it in-house and stick together as a team and don't let things like that break us up. We talked about it, cleared it up, and it's all right.”

Maclin doesn't have a problem with McNabb, either.

“I don't think he meant it that way,” Maclin said. “We got rattled. We got off our game plan. That wasn't just youth.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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