MCNABB’S LAST WORD ON THE OVERTIME ISSUE

It’s been more than twelve hours since we last mentioned the whole McNabb/overtime thing, and we were starting to get a case of the shakes. So here goes. McNabb’s “Yardbarker” blog has been updated, and he addresses the matter, apparently for the last time. Here’s what he says: “Everybody wants to know about the overtime situation. Whatever happened had no bearing on the outcome of the game. That’s all that matters. We all know the rules now. There is no need to waste any more time on the subject.” But, really, how do we know it had no bearing on the outcome of the game? If Bengals kicker Shayne Graham had made the 47-yard field goal attempt with thirteen seconds remaining in the extra session, the Eagles should have been scrutinized for throwing three consecutive passes on the preceding drive, which started from their own 13 with 110 seconds remaining in the game. Though the third throw was completed for a nine-yard gain, the first two landed incomplete, killing the clock. With the Bengals using their first of two timeouts after the third-down play, the Eagles took only 20 total seconds off the clock. After the punt, the Bengals got the ball back at their own 41, with 1:13 to play. If Eagles coach Andy Reid truly knew (and there’s a lingering question as to whether he did) that a regular-season game ends in a tie after one 15-minute overtime period, why didn’t he call a run on first down? Though playing for a tie isn’t an ideal strategy, going for the win (and in turn risking the loss) when starting from their own 13 with less than two minutes to play in a game in which the Eagles managed only three scores in 13 prior drives seems to be more than a little pie-in-the-sky optmistic. Then again, for all we know Reid called a run on first down and McNabb, not realizing that it might make sense to avoid giving the Bengals one last crack at winning the game, audibled to a pass. The irony is that, if the Bengals ended up with one last possession because Reid and/or McNabb assumed the game would continue for a second overtime session and if Graham’s kick had passed through the uprights, the question of whether McNabb knew about tie games would likely never have come up. So, basically, if McNabb’s ignorance had affected the outcome of the game, we never would have known about it.