Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Josh McCown was visibly limping throughout the second half of his team’s wild-card playoff loss to Seattle. Now, we know why.
According to multiple reports, McCown was playing with a torn hamstring. The injury reportedly happened in the second quarter. McCown is 40 and was coaxed out of retirement by the Eagles at the start of the season to serve as the backup to Carson Wentz.
McCown entered the game in the first quarter after Wentz suffered a concussion. Philadelphia did not have an active third quarterback, so McCown stayed in the game. He played fairly well, completing 18 of 24 passes for 174 yards, but was sacked six times.
McCown isn’t the first player to keep playing through a painful injury and he won’t be the last. Here’s a look at nine other players who continued playing through serious injuries:
Steve McNair
In a Sept. 26, 2004 game against the Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans quarterback suffered a bruised sternum. McNair spent two nights in the hospital, but returned to play in five more games before finally agreeing to have surgery.
Byron Leftwich
We’re going to bend the rules a bit an include an incident from Leftwich’s college days. Leftwich had a journeyman NFL career, but was a Heisman Trophy candidate at Marshall. In a November 2002 game against Akron, Leftwich broke his left tibia. After a quick trip to the hospital, Leftwich returned to the game. He often was carried down the field by offensive linemen Steve Sciullo and Steve Perretta between plays.
Donovan McNabb
In Week 11 of the 2002 season, McNabb suffered what turned out to be a broken fibula when he was sacked by Adrian Wilson and LeVar Woods on the first drive of a game against Arizona. McNabb downplayed the injury, telling trainers it was just a sprained ankle and all he needed was a tape job. He returned in time for the next drive and finished the game with 255 passing and four touchdowns. After the game, X-rays revealed McNabb had broken his fibula in three places. He missed six weeks, but returned for the playoffs.
Philip Rivers
The San Diego Chargers quarterback played through the AFC Championship Game in January 2008 with a torn ACL. He also had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee just a week before the game. Rivers completed 19 passes for 211 yards in a 21-12 loss to the Patriots. He had major surgery to repair the ACL three days after the game.
Terrell Owens
The Philadelphia receiver suffered a broken fibula on Dec. 19, 2004 on a horse-collar tackle by Dallas’ Roy Williams. Owens had surgery and had a screw inserted into his leg. The Eagles said a best-case scenario was that there was an outside chance Owens might be able to return if the team made it to the Super Bowl. The Eagles did make it to Super Bowl XXXIX and Owens was able to play. He wound up catching nine passes for 122 yards in a loss to New England.
Ronnie Lott
The San Francisco safety badly broke his left pinky finger in a 1985 game against Dallas. He came out of the game briefly, but returned. He also played with the finger taped heavily in a season-ending loss to the Giants. After the season, doctors wanted to perform multiple procedures to restore full use of the finger, but the recovery time would have been lengthy. Instead, Lott chose to have the tip of his finger amputated.
Walt Garrison
In a 1970 playoff game, the Dallas running back broke three ribs in the first quarter. He left the game briefly, but returned and rushed for over 100 yards to help the Cowboys on their way to Super Bowl V.
Chris Simms
On Sept. 24, 2006, the Tampa Bay quarterback briefly was removed from a game against Carolina after taking several big hits. But Simms returned to the game and even led a scoring drive. He was playing through obvious physical distress. After the game, Simms was rushed to the hospital where it was discovered he had a ruptured spleen. He underwent emergency surgery to have the spleen removed. After the fact, Simms said he lost five pints of blood and that doctors said the injury could have been fatal if he had gone 45 more minutes without treatment.
Jack Youngblood
Although he’s a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, Youngblood is probably best remembered for playing through pain. In the 1979 season, he suffered a broken left fibula. But he played throughout the postseason, including Super Bowl XIV. The Los Angeles Rams defensive end even played in the Pro Bowl – which was then held the week after the Super Bowl.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
