updated 1:20 a.m. ET Feb. 7, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Donovan McNabb saved his jitters for the Super Bowl.

McNabb spent the week telling jokes, being loose and insisting he felt no pressure leading the Philadelphia Eagles against New England.

But the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback had a shaky performance in the most important game of his career Sunday, a 24-21 loss to the Patriots. McNabb turned the ball over three times, including a crucial interception in the first quarter and another in the fourth.

“We had so many opportunities,” McNabb said. “The ball slipped out of my hands a few times, but there’s no excuses.”

McNabb misfired on several passes early, held the ball too long in other instances and made several poor decisions. He finished 30-of-51 for 357 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions and was sacked four times. One of the best scramblers in the NFL, McNabb had zero yards rushing on just one carry.

“We just had to keep guys coming at him at all times,” Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest said. “The key was confusing him. Anytime you let a guy sit back there and throw passes, he’ll pick you apart.”

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After a 30-yard pass to Terrell Owens and a penalty gave Philadelphia a first down at the New England 8 in the first quarter, McNabb made terrible mistakes on consecutive plays. He took a 16-yard loss on a sack, and followed that with an interception that was nullified by a penalty.

On the next play, Rodney Harrison intercepted McNabb’s underthrown pass and the Patriots took over at their own 3.

“I don’t look at the three touchdowns. I look at the three interceptions. Those will kill you,” McNabb said.

McNabb rebounded from his rough start with a strong second quarter, finally leading the Eagles into the end zone after squandering several opportunities. His 6-yard TD pass to L.J. Smith gave Philly a 7-0 lead. McNabb threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Brian Westbrook to tie it at 14 in the third quarter.

But he made a critical error midway through the fourth quarter right after the Patriots took a 24-14 lead. After he connected with Owens on a 36-yard pass to the New England 36, McNabb badly underthrew Smith on the next play and was intercepted by Tedy Bruschi.

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.

“This game could’ve been a blowout,” McNabb said. “You take away those interceptions and we could’ve been up two touchdowns early.”

McNabb 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, became the first NFL player to throw for more than 30 touchdowns (31) and less than 10 interceptions (eight), and his passer rating of 104.7 was second in the NFC.

Often criticized for being inaccurate, he drastically improved his completion percentage — his 64 percent mark was almost six points higher than his career average — and broke an NFL record by completing 24 consecutive passes over two games.

But McNabb couldn’t deliver the Eagles’ first championship since 1960.

“We’ve had a special year,” McNabb said. “We overcame hurdles. We got close today, but you’ll be writing about us sooner or later.”