McNabb hits defense hard over the top

Vikings safety Darren Sharper knew Donovan McNabb hadn't exactly set the world on fire this season. That is what made the passing performance by the Eagles quarterback Sunday so frustrating.

"We watch tape and see other teams matched up good against [McNabb] and see him struggle," Sharper said. "Then he comes in here and picks us apart, which might be letting us know we are not as good as we think we are. A guy comes in that against other teams struggles and he comes in here and plays well. That is saying it all right there."

Sharper spoke shortly after McNabb had thrown for 333 yards in the Eagles' 23-16 victory. It marked the fourth time in seven games the Vikings have been burned for more than 300 yards through the air; the Eagles had four plays that went for 30 or more yards.

"Defensively we are definitely not satisfied with that," cornerback Antoine Winfield said. "We are very upset about giving up so many big plays. If we do that, we really do not stand a chance. ... On the outside corner position, we are just giving up too many deep balls."

A lack of consistent pressure up front gave McNabb too much time to find receivers, and in a few cases eventually coverage broke down. On others, the Eagles receivers simply won the matchups. Replacing rookie Marcus McCauley with Charles Gordon as the nickel back did little to help.

The Eagles made their big plays count, starting with McNabb's 50-yard completion to Greg Lewis in the first quarter. That drive ended up with David Akers' field goal. "Chicago didn't give us anything downfield [last Sunday]," said Eagles receiver Kevin Curtis, who made a highlight-reel 31-yard catch against Vikings corner Cedric Griffin in the final quarter. "Everything was underneath. Today we knew we were going to have shots downfield."

McNabb finished 23-for-36 with a touchdown, connecting on five passes of 25 or more yards. In each case, Philadelphia ended up getting points on the series. The Eagles also converted on 46 percent (6-for-13) of third downs. The Vikings have held only one opponent -- Detroit in Week 2 -- to under 40 percent on third down.

Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier acknowledged he made some halftime adjustments in blitz packages to try to slow McNabb.

"It felt like we needed to do a little bit more than our four-man rush and our guys did a lot better job the second half of making him have to move around," Frazier said. "But he still made a couple of plays like he can do."

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com