After a long, productive career, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Donovan McNabb is expected to be playing in his final game Sunday night versus the Chicago Bears, and many Bears players feel privileged to be a part of that.
“I respect the guy a ton,” said defensive end Israel Idonije. “Great player, at least he used to be. It will be humbling to be able to continue to embarrass him.”
McNabb has seen a precipitous drop in performance over recent years. He’s now merely a shell of the great QB who led many great Philadelphia Eagles teams. Many nicks and bruises over the years have also taken a toll on him to the point where he is quite fragile.
“It should be amazing,” said linebacker Lance Briggs. “You grow up dreaming about putting a career-ending hit on a great quarterback, but you never really think it will happen, you know?”
McNabb is averaging just under 170 passing yards per game this season and has only four touchdowns through five weeks. Both stats are much lower than his career averages.
“We appreciate this opportunity to try to end a great player’s career,” said head coach Lovie Smith. “There haven’t been many Donovan McNabbs in the game. I mean the old one. I mean, not the one who’s old now. The early career one, I mean. Anyway, we know he doesn’t have much left in the tank, and we look forward to blowing that tank up.”
