Philadelphia ? Donovan McNabb sat in a dark room with his two dogs and watched film of the Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to Carolina in last year’s NFC championship game.

“My dogs talked to me and told me to keep my head up, and I think I was all right,” McNabb joked.

As the Eagles (14-3) prepare for their fourth consecutive NFC title game against Atlanta (12-5) on Sunday, McNabb certainly doesn’t appear to be feeling the pressure of having lost the last three conference championships.

The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback cracked jokes, mimicked reporters and never stopped smiling in a 10-minute news conference Wednesday.

With snow already falling and a possible storm forecast for Philadelphia this weekend, a writer wanted to know how inclement weather affected a running quarterback.

“I wouldn’t know,” McNabb quickly shot back. “You like that one, huh?”

Though he’s one of the best scramblers in the league, McNabb never has considered himself a running quarterback. In fact, he’s always hated the label and prefers sitting in the pocket.

McNabb threw more and ran much less this season, finishing with a career-low 41 carries — 30 fewer than last season. Having All-Pro wide receiver Terrell Owens for the first 14 games made it easier for McNabb to stay in the pocket and have the best season of his six-year career.

McNabb 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, McNabb drastically improved his completion percentage to 64.0 percent — almost six points higher than his career average — and broke an NFL record by completing 24 consecutive passes over two games.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb jokes with reporters during a news conference. McNabb spoke Wednesday in Philadelphia.

“I thought Donovan was a great player before, but I think the Miami game last year is kind of where he had it and everything clicked,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said, referring to McNabb’s performance in a victory on Dec. 15, 2003, at Miami.

“He was seeing the whole field, he had complete control of the huddle and the defenses that were thrown at him. It has been uphill since then and he has done a great job with it.”

McNabb and the rest of his teammates were tired of hearing questions about playing without Owens, who went down because of an ankle injury last month and has an outside chance at playing in the Super Bowl if the Eagles win.

They silenced some of those critics with a convincing 27-14 victory over Minnesota in a second-round playoff game Sunday.

McNabb led the Eagles to touchdowns on three of the first four possessions against the Vikings, finishing with 286 yards passing and two TDs. Two of his three rushes were kneel-downs at the end of the game.

“He is playing with a chip on his shoulder that he wants to be the No. 1 quarterback in the league,” wideout Todd Pinkston said.