Birds use late heroics again

So much for referring to Donovan McNabb as Captain Choke.

For the second straight week, he rallied the Eagles, this time with two fourth-quarter drives in a 27-24 win over Washington. McNabb went 5-for-7 for 115 yards in the clutch, punctuating the game-tying drive with a shovel pass to LeSean McCoy for a two-point conversion. If the playoffs started today, the Eagles (7-4) would nab the first wild-card spot.

“When you have a talented team like we have, every now and then you have to bring that nasty attitude out,” said McNabb, who threw for 260 yards. “If it’s a spark by me, by what I say, or just maybe my play or even just me being there, that’s what I look forward to doing.”

After punting on three straight third-quarter possessions, the quarterback ripped into his teammates and told them, “We’re going to score.” Eldra Buckley’s 1-yard touchdown run and David Akers’ 32-yard field goal made the prophecy ring true.

“It’s my job to do that and I take pride in it,” McNabb said. “You got to try to get your point across, and there’s nothing that’s soft-spoken on the sideline.

“Not everybody has ‘it’ and we have a group of guys who have ‘it.’ You want to kind of built that chemistry with them.”