PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Sore ribs, four sacks, a few big drops and an unwise throw or two doomed Donovan McNabb’s third straight attempt to win the NFC championship game.

McNabb didn’t even get a chance to finish the Philadelphia Eagles’ 14-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, watching from the sideline with separated rib cartilage as backup Koy Detmer directed the team.

A driving hit late in the third quarter aggravated the injury in the first half, ending a day of frustration that was largely beyond McNabb’s control.

McNabb finished 10-for-22 for 100 yards with three interceptions – all by Panthers rookie Ricky Manning. One of the picks was jarred from the hands of receiver James Thrash, and Duce Staley and Todd Pinkston had big drops that stymied promising scoring chances in the first half.

McNabb was sacked eight times last week by Green Bay, and the most painful one this week came when Mike Rucker burst quickly through the line, sending McNabb tumbling backward onto the turf. Linebacker Greg Favors, unsure if the play was over, then jumped on and sent McNabb into an awkward roll, bending McNabb’s left leg into the quarterback’s chest.

McNabb walked off the field under his own power, holding his rib cage with his left hand. Detmer entered the game and completed a screen pass for minus-3 yards before McNabb returned to huge cheers.

At the time of his injury, McNabb was 6-for-10 for 58 yards. On his first play back, he completed a 10-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell to set up a field goal.

McNabb was sacked again on the Eagles’ next possession, which ended with his first interception in 84 attempts. In a hurry in the two-minute drill, McNabb underthrew a pass to James Thrash, and Manning read it perfectly.

McNabb was late coming out of the tunnel at halftime. Detmer was warming up on the sideline just before kickoff, but McNabb entered the game on Philadelphia’s first drive of the second half.

That series ended when Manning made a great play to step in front of Pinkston on a quick out, killing the drive inside Carolina’s 20.

It was McNabb’s last great scoring chance.

He was done for the night after he was driven into the ground by blitzing safety Jarrod Cooper on the Eagles’ final play of the third quarter. McNabb slowly walked off

the field, again clutching his ribs, and Detmer finished the game.

The Eagles, aiming for their first Super Bowl berth in 23 years, became the first team to lose three straight conference championship games since the Dallas Cowboys from 1980-82.

The reason, more than any other, is that they’ve yet to get that special championship game performance from their very special quarterback.

McNabb ran just twice for 10 yards, a week after setting an NFL playoff record with 107 yards rushing against the Packers.

In three NFC championship games, McNabb is 54-for-101 for 514 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions, and just nine rushes for 53 yards.

AP-ES-01-18-04 2214EST