Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb: The Odd Couple Behind Eagles-Redskins Thrashing

(Nov. 16) -- Football is perhaps the least intimate of major American sports. The players, bedecked in pads and helmets, are distinguishable only by the names and numbers on their backs. There are no one-on-one encounters like baseball, showdowns tailor-made for the silver screen.

The quarterback-receiver connection is a tenuous one. For every Montana-Rice there are a dozen contentious pairings like that of Terrell Owens and, well, any of the quarterbacks he's played with. Can you imagine Karl Malone, beneficiary of so many John Stockton passes, writing a book called "Just Give Me the Damn Ball," which was the title of Keyshawn Johnson's entry into the literary canon. After a game -- even the Super Bowl -- football offers up little more than a cursory handshake between coaches.

Michael Vick had a great game Monday night on football's brightest regular-season stage, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 59-28 rout of the Washington Redskins. His foil was Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb, the former 11-year Eagle, whom Vick backed up last year after serving 18 months in jail for running a dog-fighting ring.

Vick, who wasn't a starter at the beginning of this season, scored six touchdowns -- four passes and two runs. If there's redemption to be found on a football field, Vick found it.

McNabb threw two touchdowns and three interceptions, another bumpy game in a fine, if not spectacular, career. McNabb could have ensured a different outcome to the game -- not on Monday but last year, when Vick was looking for a team that would take a risk on a rusty player and a public relations nightmare. McNabb, the Eagles' starter, wanted Vick on his team.

"I pretty much lobbied to get him here," McNabb said. "I believe in second chances, and what better place to get a second chance than here with this group of guys."

Before Monday's game, he spoke more about his relationship with Vick with ESPN's Mike Tirico:

Mike is like a little brother to me. I've known Mike since he was a senior in high school. When he got out, I wanted to talk to Mike and let him know that everything he set as his goal is still reachable, that you're going to work extremely hard, keep your nose clean and you'll get yourself back to where you want to be. He told me he would, and look at him now.

The two quarterbacks embraced after the game. And while McNabb lost, there was a silver lining: Hours before kickoff he signed a five-year, $78 million extension with the Redskins. The friends will meet again.

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