PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was so ill in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl that a teammate had to call a play in the huddle, center Hank Fraley said.

"He fought to the end. He gave it his all," Fraley told Comcast SportsNet on Monday. "He could hardly call the plays, that's how exhausted he was trying to give it his all. If you remember back when we played Jacksonville two years ago and he ended up puking, it was close to that scene. He exhausted everything he had.

"He didn't get a playcall in one time. He mumbled and (wideout) Freddie Mitchell yelled out the play we were trying to bring in. He was puking at the same time trying to hold it in."

McNabb was shaky in Philadelphia's 24-21 loss to the England Patriots on Sunday, throwing for 357 yards and three touchdowns, but also getting picked off three times.

McNabb misfired on several passes early, held the ball too long in other instances and made several poor decisions. One of the best scramblers in the NFL, McNabb had zero yards rushing on just one carry and was sacked four times.

McNabb struggled in the fourth quarter, throwing an interception to Tedy Bruschi right after the Patriots took a 24-14 lead.

McNabb tossed a 30-yard TD pass to Greg Lewis to cut the deficit to 24-21 with 1:48 left, but he threw another interception in the final minute that sealed the loss.

An Eagles spokesman said Tuesday that McNabb wasn't injured. However, he said McNabb could have been feeling sick - he had been fighting a cold earlier in the week.

McNabb's agent did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday.

McNabb left Tuesday for the Pro Bowl where he will start for the NFC on Sunday. He had the best season of his six-year career, leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl for the first time in 24 years after three straight losses in the NFC championship game.

He set a team record with 3,875 yards passing and became the first NFL player to throw for more than 30 touchdowns (31) and fewer than 10 interceptions (eight). His passer rating of 104.7 was second in the NFC.