Donovan McNabb meets Carson Wentz, gives playoff prediction

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Think the Eagles are a playoff team?

Donovan McNabb does. 

"Absolutely," McNabb said while visiting the Eagles' locker room after their 34-7 razing of Arizona (see breakdown). "It's the funny thing about the NFC East. You really can't tell until about Week 12 or Week 13 because they pound each other so much. I think they have everything they need to make it to the playoffs, and it's going to be a great year."

Sixty-nine percent of teams winning four of their first five games have made the playoffs (234 out of 339). However, the Eagles are one of the 105 teams that failed to make the playoffs after a 4-1 start (2014 when they finished 10-6).

But that year, they didn't have Carson Wentz, who picked apart the Cardinals and became the first Eagles QB to throw four touchdowns in a game in Philadelphia since ...

McNabb, who did it in 2008 in another rout of the Cardinals, 48-20, on Thanksgiving. McNabb always could throw a great deep ball, and if there's been one area of concern with Wentz, that's it.

Not Sunday (see story).

Wentz threw a pretty ball over the middle to Torrey Smith for a 59-yard score. Then he hit Nelson Agholor, who used a couple jukes to finish a 72-yarder and capped with a tribute to one of McNabb's former deep ball targets, DeSean Jackson.

The last Eagles QB to throw two touchdowns of at least 50 yards in a game? McNabb, who did it in 2006 against Washington.

"It's been impressive the way he's been playing this year," McNabb told NBC Sports Philadelphia's Derrick Gunn. "I know people think I've been down on him a little bit, but the thing I wanted to see was after Week 4. After Week 4 of last year, things kind of changed. And you can see they're continuing to rise. I like what I'm seeing from the passing attack."

For McNabb, one of the most memorable moments of the day came when he sent his son over to Wentz with a ball to be autographed.

"I might sell it in 20 years, make me some big money," McNabb said. 

"It's an experience for my kids. My kids were all born here while I was playing for the Eagles. My son, same locker, came in, and I had both of them just sitting there with me. I think it was after a loss. I was sitting in the chair in the same locker. They were sitting behind me. It's an experience they can continue to grow with. To follow a guy like Carson — he's got a promising career."

The feeling was mutual.

"I’ve met Donovan before. He’s a great dude," Wentz said. "Now to meet his kids, that was really cool. That was really cool and it’s cool to see him come back too, come back to a game and still show his support for the team and for the city.”

As quarterbacks, McNabb and Wentz share one trait: mobility. When Wentz eluded several defenders before hitting Agholor for a 58-yard touchdown in the season opener against Washington, it brought back memories of McNabb's 14.2-second scramble and heave to Freddie Mitchell at Dallas in 2004.

While both can escape pressure, McNabb sees one key difference in their means of doing so.

"I had a little bit more pizzaz. I had more swagger," he said jokingly. "But again, it doesn't matter how you get it done. He's getting it done. No one really expected it, but the whole thing about it is, he's a ballplayer. There's a reason he went No. 2."

Just like McNabb.

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