It’s shocking to find out that ten-year veterans like Donovan McNabb still don’t know some of the rules of the game that they play for a living.

In case you missed it, Week 11 of the 2008-09 NFL football season gave the league its first tied game since 2002 when the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals played to a 13-13 tie at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

For the Cincinnati Bengals, they were more than happy to end the game tied. After all, they were coming into this one at 1-8 playing a team from the NFC East, arguably the best division in football today and if they can’t add a game to that win column, they might as well just get it even and wait for the final horn.

For the Philadelphia Eagles, losing out on beating a lowly Bengals team was unfortunate, considering that this game was an opportunity for them to catch-up to their division rivals like the Giants and the Redskins. Sure, a tie is still better than a loss but since the Eagles are in a very competitive division, winning is the only thing that matters there.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, for some reason, had no idea that NFL games can end in a tie, probably because he was never been part of one during the ten years he spent in the NFL. But after last Sunday’s game, you can bet your ass this is the first rule he’ll be teaching his kids when he wants them to walk daddy’s footsteps.

‘’I've never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book,'’ Donovan McNabb said after the game. ‘’It’s part of the rules, and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie.'’

For what it’s worth, Eagles coach Andy Reid is taking the blame for McNabb’s stupidity.

‘’I'm sure there are plenty of rules that guys don’t understand, but I don’t think that has any factor whatsoever to do with the outcome of this game and how they played in the overtime,'’ Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

‘’I think that’s absurd,'’ Reid added, referring to the notion that the outcome may have been different if his players knew that games can end in ties. ‘’You play to win in that time, whether you think you have another overtime period or you don’t. And you play your heart out to win it in that time, and that’s how we approached it and that’s how the players approached it.'’

‘’I'll take the responsibility for that.'’

Who will win Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

New York Giants 17.00

New England Patriots 4.50

Dallas Cowboys 7.00

Indianapolis Colts 8.50

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Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb