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Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a retired who played in the (NFL) for thirteen seasons. Before his NFL career, he played football and basketball for . The Eagles selected him with the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL . He is currently an analyst on NFL Network and Fox .

Donovan McNabb was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Mount Carmel High School where, as a sophomore, he was a teammate of future NFL players Simeon Rice and Matt Cushing. Together, they helped Mount Carmel win the 1991 State Championship over Wheaton North High School, with McNabb scoring the final of the game.[2][3] As a senior, he led the team to a Chicago Prep Bowl championship. He also excelled in track and field during his high school years, and played on the school basketball team with Antoine Walker. In a controversial move, McNabb played volleyball his junior year, helping to establish the program in its first year at the school.[citation needed]

Though McNabb was approached by recruiters from numerous colleges, only two schools—Syracuse University and the University of Nebraska—offered him scholarships to play as a quarterback.[4] He initially leaned toward attending Nebraska, as he relished the idea of being coached by Tom Osborne. Eventually, however, he decided to attend Syracuse and play for the football team, principally because he wanted to prove he was a competent "pocket passer", but also for academic reasons.[5]

McNabb was named the Big East's offensive player of the decade for the 1990s,[10] and Big East Offensive Player of the Year an unprecedented three times from 1996–98,[8] as well as the first-team all-conference vote earner in each of his four seasons. Later, he was named to the Syracuse All-Century Football team.[11] He also spent two years as a reserve on the school's nationally ranked basketball team, including the 1996 squad that lost to Kentucky in the National Championship game.

McNabb was drafted second overall by the Eagles, behind first pick Tim Couch, in the 1999 NFL Draft, a choice which was famously booed by Philadelphia fans present at the draft, most of whom were pushing for their team to draft University of Texas .[15] McNabb was the second of five selected in the first 12 picks of a quarterback-rich class that was at that point considered the best quarterback draft since the famous Class of 1983. However, only McNabb and would go on to have successful careers in the NFL; Tim Couch struggled with the and officially retired in 2007 after being cut by the in a failed bid, while and Cade McNown were out of the NFL by 2002. By 2006, only McNabb was still with the team that originally drafted him.

McNabb saw his first NFL regular season action in the second half against the in a 19-5 home loss on September 19. He made his first career start at home against Washington on November 14, completing 8 of 21 passes for 60 yards in a 35-28 win. He also had nine carries for 49 rushing yards and led the team to a pair of successful two-point conversions (one and one pass). He was the first Eagles rookie to start at quarterback since , and the first Eagles rookie draft pick to start since in 1972. With the win, McNabb became the first Eagles rookie quarterback to win his first NFL start since (December 1, 1974 against Green Bay) and the first Eagle quarterback to win his first start since (October 13, 1996 against Giants).[16]

McNabb threw the first of his career (six yards to tight Chad Lewis) vs. Indianapolis in a 44-17 home loss on November 21, 1999.[17] McNabb went on to start six of the Eagles' final seven contests (missing the December 19 home game against New England, a 24-9 victory, due to injury).

McNabb earned his second trip to the (was originally elected as an alternate) following the 2001 season after combining for 3,715 yards of total offense and establishing career highs in touchdown passes (25) and quarterback rating (84.3). Including playoffs, he threw touchdown passes in 15 of 18 games and two-or-more in 12 of those games. He was named by his teammates as the club's offensive MVP in 2000 and 2001. During the off-season, McNabb signed a new contract with the Eagles worth $115 million over 12 years, with a $20.5 million signing bonus.

In week 11 of the 2002 season, McNabb suffered a broken ankle. On the third play of the game against the Cardinals, he was sacked by the Cardinals' Adrian Wilson and LeVar Woods. He fumbled the ball, fell to the ground, and held his right leg. He went to the locker room to have his ankle taped, but returned for the Eagles' second drive. His injury was reported to be a sprained ankle, but X-rays after the game revealed that McNabb had broken his fibula in three places. During the game, however, he was 20-of-25 passing, with 255 yards and four . McNabb was out for the last six weeks of the regular season. A dominant defense helped A. J. Feeley and go a combined 5-1 to finish the season. McNabb returned to face the in the playoffs, but he recovered slowly. The Eagles defeated the Falcons 20–6, but were upset at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27–10 in the NFC championship game.

In late September 2003, McNabb was the subject of very controversial comments made by Rush Limbaugh, who worked as a commentator for ESPN at the time, stating that McNabb was overrated and that, "I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well".[19] The comments came after the Eagles began the season 0–2, losing to defending champion Buccaneers and eventual champion New England, both losses coming in their newly opened , . There had been much discussion about the merit of these comments, which resulted in Limbaugh's resignation from ESPN. Football writer Allen Barra argued that Limbaugh's comments were in line with McNabb's statistical performance at the time.[20]

Despite the slow beginning in the 2003 season, McNabb again led his team to the NFC Championship game. Although the slow start hindered his overall statistics for 2003, McNabb had the highest quarterback rating (97.5) in the NFL for the second half of the season and also completed over 62% of his passes for over eight yards per attempt. With Philadelphia's 14–3 home loss to the underdog in the 2003 NFC championship game, McNabb became the first NFL quarterback since Danny White of the Cowboys (1980–1982) to lead a team to three consecutive defeats in conference title games, prompting some observers to conclude that McNabb "chokes" in big games (his cumulative in the three conference championship games was 50.5 - a figure that is approximately 10 points lower than what the worst quarterback in earns over the course of a typical year). McNabb was knocked out of the NFC title game after being hit on the ground by Panthers' Greg Favors after he had been tripped up on a broken play.

McNabb's success during this period came despite arguably the worst contingent of wide receivers in the NFL,[21] and perhaps in modern professional football history.[citation needed] In 2003, Philadelphia's wide receivers caught only five touchdown passes, tying the record for fewest in a 16-game season. By going the entire months of September and October without having a catch a touchdown pass, the 2003 Eagles became the first NFL team since 1945 not to have gotten a touchdown pass from any of its wide receivers in the first two months of a season.

McNabb finally amassed the kind of numbers that placed him firmly as one of the elite NFL quarterbacks statistically. He averaged 8.26 yards per attempt, completed 64.0 percent of his passes, threw 31 touchdown passes (he also ran for three more), and only eight . These numbers translated to a passer rating of 104.7. Furthermore, he became the first quarterback in league history to throw over 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a single season. This dramatic improvement coincided with a massive upgrading of the Eagles' receiving corps, namely the arrival of , who caught 14 touchdowns. As a result, the Eagles won their first seven games of the season for the first time in franchise history, clinched first place in their division with five weeks still to play in the regular season (becoming only the third team in modern NFL history to do this) and won the NFC's Eastern Division by a record-tying seven-game margin in posting a 13-3 record, the franchise's best 16-game season ever.

McNabb's finest moment of the season and of his career came that year in a week 13 game with fellow Super Bowl contenders the . After starting the game completing his first 14 passes (an NFL record), he led the Eagles to a 47-17 victory. McNabb passed for an Eagles record 464 yards and 5 touchdowns, which all came in the first half. In 2010, it was ranked #1 by Eagles fans as the 'game of the decade.'[citation needed]

In the playoffs, McNabb led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl trip ever, with victories over the 27-14 and Atlanta Falcons 27-10. Owens was not in the lineup during the two playoff victories, and was recovering from a broken ankle. McNabb became only the third African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl after Doug Williams in the 1987 season and Steve McNair in 1999.[22]

McNabb led his team against the in Super Bowl XXXIX. McNabb struggled at times, throwing three crucial interceptions. Two of these were thrown in New England territory, and one of those two was inside the twenty-yard line. The final was during a last-gasp Hail Mary at the end of the game. He was also sacked four times. Controversy surrounded the end of the game, as center Hank Fraley claimed that McNabb was seriously ill. Wide receiver claimed that he had to call a few plays due to McNabb's illness. However, in an interview with NBC, McNabb said he was not sick and did not throw up. He just said he was tired.[23] Some reports claim that McNabb had the wind knocked out of him by an earlier hit while others assert that he was unduly fatigued (interestingly, McNabb also suffered from a bout of nausea at the conclusion of a 2002 regular-season game played at Alltel Stadium, where Super Bowl XXXIX was contested). An article written by a staff member of the Philadelphia Inquirer refuted allegations of McNabb throwing up during the Super Bowl and even labeled the alleged incident "a myth".[24] Both and McNabb have denied any physical problems that led to the puzzlingly slow pace of play, but they did not address mental problems. McNabb finished the game with 30 completions for 357 yards, the third highest total for both categories in Super Bowl history, and three touchdowns, in addition McNabb threw 3 interceptions. The Eagles lost 24–21.

McNabb and the Eagles began the 2006 season at 4-1 before stumbling to 5-4 heading into a week 11 game with on November 19. At that point, McNabb had been having an up-and-down season. His weekly passing ratings ranged from a lofty 113 all the way down to 65. Overall, the team was struggling. During the game, McNabb tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his right knee while jumping out of bounds, ending his season, the third time in five years McNabb had gone down with six or more games remaining in the regular season.[26] Eagles officials stated that his rehabilitation would likely last eight to twelve months, which completely ended his 2006 season and even raised questions as to whether he would be ready to begin playing by the beginning of the 2007 season. In the meantime, veteran backup quarterback took McNabb's place as the Eagles' starting quarterback. Garcia had success, leading the Eagles from 5-5 after the Tennessee game to 10-6 and winners of the NFC East Division. The Eagles went on to win their home playoff game in the round of the playoffs against the , 23-20, with Garcia under center. However, in the following divisional round they were beaten by the Saints in the Superdome, 27-24.

McNabb caused another mild stir in camp when he suggested that the Eagles should not have lost a game to any of their NFC East opponents the previous season. He felt that they were just a few plays away from being a playoff team. He even went on to say, "I still put us at the top of the NFC."[31] In week 1 of the 2008 NFL season, McNabb threw for 361 yards (the most of any quarterback that week) and three touchdowns which included a 90-yard toss to at the end of the second quarter. This performance led to him receiving the FedEx Air Player of the Week award. In week 3 against the Steelers, McNabb threw his 176th career touchdown, passing and becoming the Eagles' all-time touchdown pass leader.

McNabb set a career-high with 58 passing attempts (completing 28), and tied a career-high with three interceptions in the NFL's first tie game in six years, when the Eagles played the and ended up with a 13-13 tie. McNabb later admitted that he was not aware that an NFL (regular-season) game could end in a tie, leading to controversy because this could have affected game strategy.[32]

After the tie, McNabb struggled in a game against the , going 8-of-18 for 54 yards with two interceptions, a fumble and being sacked twice. In the second half, Andy Reid decided to go with , who was in his second year in the league. This was McNabb's first time being benched for something other than injury or a meaningless game. In the game, Kolb threw an interception that was returned 108 yards for a touchdown by safety , breaking the record he previously held for longest interception returned for a touchdown.

Despite his up-and-down season, McNabb helped the Eagles reach the playoffs for the seventh time in his nine seasons as a starter. He also set a career-high with 3,916 yards passing and led the Eagles to a franchise-record 416 points. The Eagles defeated the 44–6 in the final week of the regular season to clinch the final playoff berth in the NFC.