Eagles bench McNabb; starter for next game undecided

Football Betting Lines

11/24/2008 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donovan McNabb found himself in an unfamiliar position coming out of the locker room trailing 10-7 against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Eagles' franchise quarterback of 10 seasons was benched in favor of Kevin Kolb, who the club selected with its second-round pick in the 2007 draft.

The Eagles went on to lose the game, 36-7, but what's more is that McNabb may not start under center on Thursday against Arizona. Head coach Andy Reid gave no indication as to whether McNabb or Kolb would start against the Cardinals.

"There's no time for a competition right now," Reid said. "We don't have a lot of time here, so it's got to be done by tomorrow."

McNabb was less than stellar in Sunday's game against the Ravens, as he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while hitting a mere 8-of-18 throws for 59 yards.

It follows up a poor performance in Philadelphia's 13-13 tie with the Bengals in Week 11: McNabb completed 28-of-58 throws with one TD and three interceptions, and admitted after the game that he didn't know ties occurred in the NFL.

Reid decided to make the switch after the intermission, though he let another coach inform McNabb of his status in the second half.

"At halftime, I heard about the move from our quarterbacks coach, Pat Shurmur," McNabb said. "My first reaction was 'Wow.' Then, I knew I had to go along with it, and I tried to get our guys to rally behind Kevin Kolb."

The gutsy move failed to pay dividends as Kolb completed 10-of-23 passes for 73 yards and two interceptions -- one of which Ed Reed returned an NFL-record 108 yards for a touchdown.

"It was something I thought needed to be done at the time," Reid said of the switch.

The loss places the Eagles in last in the competitive NFC East with a 5-5-1 record.

The Eagles have not made the postseason with McNabb, who turns 32 on Tuesday, under center since a Super Bowl appearance in 2004 -- a 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots. Jeff Garcia filled in for an injured McNabb in 2006 and finished the regular season with five consecutive wins to bring Philadelphia to the playoffs.

The Eagles finished last season 8-8.

"Sometimes with a player, you can step back an inch and maybe you can go forward a mile," Reid said after the game. "So I was able to step back and again, I haven't made any decisions. I was able to step back and look at it from another perspective. It's important that he plays the way I know he can play and that the guys around him do the same thing."

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