McNabb suffered a bruised chest in Monday night's 14-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Tests showed no structural damage to his sternum,
but he was in a lot of pain Tuesday and Wednesday and was kept out of practice
on Wednesday. He was listed as questionable on the Eagles' Wednesday injury
report. Still is.
"If you ask me, there's no doubt about it. I'll be out there (Sunday),"
McNabb said Thursday after practice. "Physically, it feels OK. It's still sore."
The Eagles medical staff wants to see how McNabb feels Friday after
practicing Thursday.
"I wanted to get on it and just kind of work on timing and see everything
that you can possibly see to prepare yourself for the game. We'll see how it
kind of reacts to everything tomorrow."
McNabb suffered the injury early in the game Monday night when the Falcons'
Chad Lavalais hit him in the chest with his helmet. McNabb stayed in the game,
but didn't move around much.
If he plays Sunday, he'll be going up against a 49ers defense that notched
seven sacks in a win over the St. Louis Rams last week.
PLAYER NOTES
--QB Donovan McNabb practiced Thursday and said he expects to play Sunday
against the 49ers. He's nursing a bruised chest that kept him out of practice
Wednesday.
--FS Brian Dawkins practiced again Thursday and doesn't seem to be having
much difficulty running on his sprained ankle. He expects to play against the
49ers.
--RB Ryan Moats, the Eagles' third-round draft pick, wasn't activated for
Monday night's game against the Falcons because he still hasn't learned the
offense well enough to suit coach Andy Reid. He likely won't be activated this
week, either.
--RB Lamar Gordon, who had just one carry against the Falcons Monday night,
is expected to get a heavier workload this week against San Francisco as the
Eagles strive for a better run-pass balance.
--DT Mike Patterson played exceptionally well in his pro debut last week and
likely will see his snaps increase this week.