Donovan McNabb looks for an open man in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field – (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images).

If there was any doubt who is he best quarterback on the Eagles roster, those doubts were erased after just two offensive plays.

Donovan McNabb, injured in the season opener in Carolina, showed outstanding form from the start, first running 13 yards for a first down on the opening snap then airing it out on a 51-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin, who caught the ball in the end zone.

McNabb, who suffered a broken rib in that game, was unable to move the ball on the next two series but came back with a vengeance in the second quarter when he drove the Eagles to a touchdown – a 20-yard pass to fullback Leonard Weaver – and a 14-0 lead. The drive went 76 yards on six plays in just 2:27.

The other highlight of the drive was a 37-yard completion to tight end Brent Celek who hurdled safety Ronde Barber to earn the last five yards of the play.

The Buccaneers got on the board when Bucs quarterback Josh Johnson hit Kellen Winslow with a nine-yard touchdown pass with 1:55 left in the half.

With 1:40 left until intermission, McNabb made it 21-7 when he found Maclin again for a 40-yard touchdown strike.
In all, McNabb finished the half with an off-the-charts 142.4 quarterback rating and finished with an even higher rating of 157.2.

McNabb was 16 of 21 for 264 yards three TDs and no interceptions. He was sacked three times but led the team with 30 yards rushing on two attempts.

Maclin finished the game with six catches for 142 yards and two TDs.

McNabb said he believes the Eagles “base” offense is really clicking.

“I think right now, at this point, [with] our base offense, we’ve been very effective getting the ball to the [TE] Brent Celeks, the DeSean Jacksons, the Maclins, the [RB Brian] Westbrooks, the [RB LeSean] McCoys,” MCnabb said. “Now you’re able to show the defense something different, but still have that base offense mentality. DeSean had a great rookie year last year, [WR] Reggie [Brown] had a great rookie year his rookie year, and now you’re seeing Maclin really open it up for himself. Teams now have to pay attention to him. Now it’s not just drop back and throw it to one guy – we’ve got four or five guys that can make plays for us.”

The Bucs made a bid for another TD in the first half but Johnson was intercepted by Asante Samuel in the end zone.

The Bucs got that chance by virtue of a heads up play by guard Donald Penn. With :19 left on the clock and the Bucs at the Eagles 23, Johnson went to fire a pass down the middle of the field, but the pass was deflected by Darren Howard. The ball popped into the air and right into the arms of the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Penn who showed lightness of foot as he ran for a 15-yard gain and a first and goal at the eight-yard line with 0:10 left in the half.
The Bucs were never in this really game. Their new coach, 33-year-old Raheem Morris is trying to rebuild a team that is struggling at just about every position of the field.

Second-year quarterback Josh Johnson showed signs he can be a good signal caller in the league but he is going through growing pains. Against a potent Eagles defense, the 6-3, 205 pounder was 26 of 50 for 240 yards, two TD passes and three interceptions. He was sacked three times and had least six passes dropped.

Wide receiver Michael Clayton, who caught just three passes for 25 yards, said the process of getting the Bucs back to being a contender is painful.   

“It’s a time now that we’ve got to weather the storm, a lot of things are going wrong,” Clayton said. “We’ve got to stay positive. It don’t look good right now. But we’ve got to continue to fight. We’ve got enough leaders on this team, enough guys to keep our mentality level.”

Clayton said he and his fellow playmakers must perform at a higher level in order for Johnson and the offense to be successful.

“If we are able to make some plays early, I feel as a receiver it easy for you,” Clayton said. “We weren’t able to do that. We dropped some early ones. The one (to me) down the sideline, I’ve got to find a way to come up with that play. That was a drop. But we’ve got to keep fighting.”

Eagles all pro running back returned to limited action. The for Villanova standout rushed six times for 18 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 17 yards.

Westbrook says he understood why coach Andy Reid kept his touches to a limit. But he wants more going forward.

“I definitely felt really good,” Westbrooks said. “The few opportunities I got, I think I did really all that I could do with those carries, those catches. I think just now, [I] just had the opportunity to get my feet wet with this game. Now I’m looking forward to more touches next week.”

Reid said he was impressed with McNabb’s performance especially seeing his quarterback get hit a few times and show no iff effects of his rib injury.

“He felt pretty good,” Reid said. “He took a couple of hits, but not many. There weren’t a lot of times that he got hit. He tweaked it a little bit, and from a confidence standpoint, you never want him hit, but it was good that [he did get hit] and felt comfortable coming out of it. I saw him run the football, and I wasn’t sure that would be quite as much of his game today as it was early. He did a nice job with it and was smart getting out of bounds.”