The countdown makes its return with another moment from the Eagles and Cowboys rivalry. Things were a little one sided in terms of wins this decade, with the Eagles finally getting the edge over Dallas. While this moment took place in the midst of a great season for Philadelphia and a poor one for Dallas, the fact that it even happened, coupled with the game being shown on Monday Night Football, made it one of the lasting images of the NFL in this decade.
Moment #15: The Scramble-November 15, 2004
It's no secret that the 2004 Eagles were the best Eagles team this decade. After dropping three straight NFC Championship games, Andy Reid went out and added the wide receiver everyone knew the team needed in Terrell Owens. Through the first seven games of the season, things were great, as the Eagles ripped through everyone they played, only scoring less than 27 points twice on their way to a 7-0 start. Then, cracks started to show in a terrible loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Eagles were dominated in every facet of the game, and Owens and Donovan McNabb seemed to have words on the sideline at one point.
Following that loss, the Eagles had to travel to Dallas, where the Cowboys were sitting with a 3-5 record, but every Eagles fan knew that they would like nothing more than to knock off the birds on Monday Night Football with the entire country watching. With new drama between McNabb and Owens, a lot of people were nervous about what might happen if this game went the same way that the Pittsburgh game went the week before. A loss to Dallas might splinter the bond between quarterback and wide receiver and send the season into a free fall.
Luckily, things didn't take long to start going the Eagles' way. The first time Terrell Owens caught a pass, it was a 59 yard touchdown bomb from McNabb to put the Eagles up 7-0. From there, the Eagles started to pound the Cowboys, going up 28-7 in the second quarter before Dallas scored again to cut the lead to 28-14. With just over three minutes to play in the first half, and the Cowboys getting the ball to start the second half, the Eagles wanted to score again to prevent any idea of a comeback from gaining momentum. Two quick McNabb incomplete passes didn't help matters, but then came Moment #15. On third and ten, McNabb dropped back to pass again, but lineman Leonardo Carson was able to break through the offensive line, forcing him to scramble. With Carson chasing him, McNabb broke to the right, then turned around and cut back across the field. The offensive line managed to keep the Cowboy defenders from getting to McNabb, and that gave him enough time to run all the way to the left side of the field, where he launched a perfect pass, on the run, about 55 yards downfield. Waiting for it was Freddie Mitchell, who made the catch and then gained another five yards before being brought down at the Dallas 15 yard line. From the time the ball was snapped to the time McNabb threw the pass, 14.1 seconds had gone off the clock. It honestly looked like something out of a video game by the time the play was over.
Even though most of the focus on the play landed on Donovan McNabb, a lot has to be said for the play of the offensive line and the wide receivers as well. Normally, on a play like that, at least one offensive lineman will be illegally downfield, negating the play. This time, all five guys stayed at home and continued to block for McNabb, giving him enough time to scramble all over the field and make the pass. I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm giving credit to Freddie Mitchell as well. Wide receivers have a tendency to stop running their routes once a quarterback is under that much pressure, but Mitchell kept going and allowed McNabb to find him downfield for a huge gain. Without those two pieces coming together, it wouldn't have mattered how long McNabb scrambled for, the play wouldn't have happened.
Of course, the drive wasn't over yet. Brian Westbrook would score from a yard out with 32 seconds to play in the half, putting the Eagles up 35-14. Philadelphia would add two more touchdowns in the second half and go on to a 49-21 romping of the Cowboys. McNabb finished the game completing 15 of 27 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns. Terrell Owens caught three of those touchdowns, and while Freddie Mitchell only had the one catch in the game, it was a big one. The Eagles wouldn't lose another game until the second to last week of the regular season, when they had already wrapped up home field advantage and were resting their starters. The 13-3 record that they put together in 2004 is still the best regular season mark in Eagles history. Meanwhile, the Cowboys would continue to limp along, and finished the 2004 season with a record of 6-10.
This moment wouldn't be complete without a little video, so enjoy watching Donovan McNabb act like a video game quarterback.
There's still one more moment between the Eagles and Cowboys on this list, but that isn't coming for a little while. Up next is our first trip into the 2008 World Series, where a pitcher decided to pick up a bat and enter into history.
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