McNabb makes an impressive return

Donovan McNabb did everything but scramble Friday night.

Playing his first game since tearing a knee ligament last November against the Tennessee Titans, McNabb put on an aerial display in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 27-10 exhibition victory over the Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia.

The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback completed six of nine passes for 138 yards, including a 58-yard strike to tight end Matt Schobel. He led the Eagles to 10 points on four possessions, before giving way to backup A.J. Feeley.

Wearing a bulky protective brace on his surgically repaired right knee, McNabb hardly needed to escape the pocket. He was flushed out to the right once and threw an incomplete pass. On his final play, McNabb was sacked by Stanley McClover and Thomas Davis. He got right up and walked to the sideline.

McNabb came out throwing, completing a 27-yard pass to Kevin Curtis on the first play from scrimmage. He connected with Jason Avant for a 16-yard gain on the next play.

On Philadelphia’s second possession, McNabb threw an 18-yard pass to tight end Brent Celek. He then hit Schobel in stride with a perfect pass over two defenders down the right side. Schobel was tackled at the Panthers’ three, and Tony Hunt ran in on the next play to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead.

A week after not attempting a pass, Chad Pennington of the New York Jets had two ill-advised throws returned for touchdowns in a 37-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at East Rutherford, N.J.

Darren Sharper’s 40-yard return came on Pennington’s third pass, and Chad Greenway later brought one back 16 yards for the Vikings, who took advantage of nearly every mistake by the Jets.

Rookie defensive end Brian Robison returned a fumble for a touchdown, the Vikings’ third off a turnover. Rookie running back Adrian Peterson also had a big game for Minnesota, gaining 70 yards and a touchdown in eight carries.

After being benched for Tennessee’s exhibition opener for spending the previous night at his house instead of the team hotel, Vince Young was sacked four times by the New England Patriots. He also was tackled just short of the goal line on his final play in the Titans’ 27-24 victory at Foxborough, Mass.

John Vaughn’s 22-yard field goal provided the winning points with 1:49 left.

Young completed five of 17 passes for 102 yards and ran four times for nine yards.

New England played its second straight game without two key offensive starters -- wide receiver Randy Moss (upper leg injury) and running back Laurence Maroney (off-season shoulder surgery).

The Atlanta Falcons beat the Buffalo Bills, 13-10, pulling out the win when backup quarterback Chris Redman -- filling in for injured third-stringer D.J. Shockley -- threw a one-yard touchdown pass to George Cooper with 2:38 remaining at Buffalo, N.Y. The Bills’ lone touchdown came in the third quarter when rookie Trent Edwards of Stanford threw a 10-yard pass to Roscoe Parrish.

The Green Bay Packers released Robert Ferguson, a day after Coach Mike McCarthy said the receiver’s career with the team was over. The Packers drafted Ferguson in the second round in 2001. He played in 60 games, catching 116 passes for 1,577 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Ferguson started 26 games in six seasons, but injuries kept him from staying on the field for a full season. The only year he played all 16 games was 2002.