McNabb Puts His Arm Where His Mouth Is

Donovan McNabb backed up a bold statement with another stellar performance.

McNabb threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Philadelphia Eagles clinch a playoff spot with their eighth consecutive victory, 36-10 over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

The Eagles (10-3), who have the best record in the NFC, can clinch their third division title in a row with two more victories or one victory and another loss by the Cowboys.

Philadelphia hasn’t lost since a 23-21 defeat at Dallas on Oct. 12.

The Cowboys (8-5) have lost four of seven.

All along, McNabb has insisted the Eagles are the team to beat in the NFC East. Maybe they’re the team to beat in the conference.

“We stayed confident, we stayed together and that’s important,” McNabb said.

Correll Buckhalter ran for 115 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that capped the scoring.

McNabb threw touchdown passes of 16 yards to Brian Westbrook, five yards to Duce Staley and six yards to L.J. Smith. He completed 19 of 35 passes and didn’t have a pass intercepted for the fifth time in the last six games.

After an 0-2 start, McNabb said the road to the NFC East title goes through Philadelphia. He didn’t back off his comments after the Eagles fell to 2-3 with a loss to the Cowboys two months ago.

“Even though things were shaky, it was no time for panicking,” McNabb said. “What you saw today was a team that wanted to defend its territory and move on.”

The worst-rated passer in the NFL through six games, McNabb has returned to his Pro Bowl form. He has thrown for 1,513 yards, nine touchdowns and only one interception in the last six games.

The Cowboys stayed close early and were tied, 10-10, at halftime.

But Quincy Carter had a pass intercepted on the third play of the third quarter and the Eagles turned it into a touchdown.

Sheldon Brown stepped in front of a pass to Terry Glenn and returned it 10 yards to the Dallas 27. Six plays later, Staley caught a shovel pass from McNabb and ran into the end zone for a 17-10 lead.

Carter was 15 of 24 for 93 yards and two interceptions.

“I made a mistake and it cost us,” Carter said.

Coach Bill Parcells clearly was upset with the Cowboys’ effort.

“I’m concerned about a lot of things right now,” Parcells said. “It’s pretty hard to have a full-blown crisis in your first year with a program. I don’t know what I’m expecting. I expected more maybe.”