Close but no hurrah for McNabb

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- This was certainly an improvement on 1981 for the Philadelphia Eagles. Donovan McNabb, in fact, thought the Eagles could have wrapped up a victory in the first half of their 24-21 loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl last night.

But McNabb took the blame for three interceptions, the last by Rodney Harrison clinching the result on a third-and-9 play. But, at least the Eagles were not blown out as they were in a 27-10 loss to Oakland in their only other Super Bowl appearance.

"This could have possibly been a blowout," McNabb said. "Take away the interceptions, it could have been 14-0 at halftime. But give them credit, they capitalized and made big plays.

"We had so many opportunities. After interceptions you have to stay aggressive. But I am making no excuses. When you are that close . . . but tip your hat to them, they made the big plays when they needed to. I am not going with my head down, my head is high. We have been in this position before, losing in the NFC championship, now we lost the Super Bowl. But we will be back.

"I said all week turnovers would be the key and they were for [the Patriots]. As a quarterback you want to make sure you take care of the ball -- turnovers kill you."

The Eagles' early failures became magnified in the late going. On their third possession, the Eagles advanced to the Patriots 8. But McNabb lost 16 yards on a sack and threw an interception to Harrison two plays later, the pass wobbling in the breeze. On their next possession, Eagles tight end L.J. Smith lost a fumble, and though those turnovers did not result in Patriot points, they deprived the Eagles of opportunities to score.

McNabb, though, remained optimistic. He sparked a drive on the Eagles' first possession of the second quarter, his 6-yard pass to Smith providing a 7-0 lead. McNabb rallied the Eagles to a 14-14 tie with a 10-yard pass to Brian Westbrook on their final possession of the third quarter.

And McNabb led the Eagles to within the 3-point final margin with a 30-yard scoring pass to Greg Lewis.

"When we got [the ball back] people were on the edge of their seat with 50 seconds left," McNabb said. "We could have possibly won the game.

"In a situation like this, when you get so close, and could have come out with a win, it's tough," McNabb said. "We've had a special year. This is a year where no one expected us to do this. And when we got here, no one ever gave us a chance. We overcame [Terrell Owens's injury], we won the NFC East faster than anyone has ever won it, won the NFC, we had a wonderful year."

McNabb also threw an interception to Tedy Bruschi in the fourth quarter, as he appeared to lose his grip on the ball.

"One got caught up in the wind, another slipped out of my hand, but I am making no excuses," McNabb said. "You are in control as a quarterback."

The Eagles also seemed indecisive on their final possessions, unable to smoothly transition into a no-huddle offense.

"In a situation where you have the ball and you've got five minutes left, you want to make things happen," McNabb said. "We went to the hurry-up offense. The referees stopped things up once, then guys are running 15-20 yards downfield and, obviously, they have got to run back."

McNabb said he congratulated Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after the contest.

"He has what every quarterback wants, he has Super Bowl rings," McNabb said. "Tom Brady has been exceptional and the Patriots have been exceptionally good at playing well together. But you will be writing about us sooner or later."