Here we are, with just two moments to go on the list. Before the 2008 baseball season, this moment was a clear Number 1, but now, it has to settle for being the second best moment of the decade. The Philadelphia Eagles took all of us on one hell of a ride during the past ten years, and the peak was back at the end of the 2004 season, when finally, it all came together.
Moment #2: The Philadelphia Eagles win the NFC Championship-January 23, 2005
Coming into the 2004 NFL season, the Eagles had made it to the playoffs four years in a row, but had never been able to make it over the hump. In 2000, they lost to the New York Giants in the Divisional Round, then followed that up with three straight trips to the NFC Championship Game. In 2001, they were the underdogs to the powerhouse St. Louis Rams, and they lost, 29-24. The next two season, the Eagles had homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, but they failed to take advantage of it. The 2002 season ended with a horrible 27-10 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while 2003 ended with a 14-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Three straight trips to the NFC Championship had resulted in three straight losses, and things were getting rough.
It was like rooting for the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s, without the satisfaction of actually getting to a Super Bowl. That's what it was like as an Eagles fan during the early part of this decade. The teams were good enough to get to a certain point, then fell apart when it mattered the most. In 2004, that changed. Jevon Kearse and Terrell Owens were brought in during the offseason, and the mood around the city became "Super Bowl or bust." There was no other option. The season started out the way many expected it, with seven straight wins. A loss to Pittsburgh was followed up with six more wins before the starters were rested for the playoffs.
It wasn't like the Eagles were winning the games by close scores, either. The team outscored their opponents by 126 points in 2004, and Donovan McNabb had his best season ever, throwing for 31 touchdown passes compared to only eight interceptions. The Eagles suffered a huge loss, however, when Terrell Owens was lost with a broken leg in a late season game against the Dallas Cowboys. The starters wouldn't play a full game again for almost a month, and when they did, they beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27-16, in the NFC Divisional Playoffs, setting up a matchup with the most dynamic player in the NFL.
The Atlanta Falcons weren't one of the best teams in the NFC on paper in 2004. In fact, they were downright average. What made them a special team was the man at quarterback. Michael Vick had come back from a lost 2003 season and put up the best numbers of his career. While he only threw for 14 touchdowns, he rushed for over 900 yards, and Warrick Dunn and TJ Duckett helped lead the top rushing attack in the NFL. That was why, even though the Falcons had lost a game during the season by 46 points, people were picking Atlanta to send the Eagles home in the NFC Championship Game for the fourth straight season. The thought of Michael Vick, along with the loss of Terrell Owens, was just supposed to be too much for the Eagles to handle.
Someone forgot to tell the Philadelphia Eagles about that, though. After a snowstorm dropped over a foot and a half of snow on Philadelphia on Saturday, the Eagles and Falcons took the field under clear, but very cold skies for the NFC Championship. Philadelphia made sure everyone knew that this year, they were going for broke. On their first possession of the game, they drove down into field goal range, but Andy Reid decided to call a fake kick. The Falcons snuffed it out and drove into Philadelphia territory, making people nervous early in the game. Luckily, the defense stomped out the Falcons, and the offense responded with a drive that was capped by a four yard Dorsey Levens touchdown run. Atlanta answered back with a 17 play drive that made it to the Philadelphia three yard line, but Michael Vick was sacked on third down, and Atlanta had to settle for a field goal. The Eagles trumped that on their next drive, as Donovan McNabb hit Greg Lewis for a 45 yard bomb that set up a three yard pass from McNabb to Chad Lewis. The Eagles led, 14-3, but they weren't out of the woods yet.
The Falcons answered again on their next drive, but it came at a big price. The biggest play of the drive was a 31 yard pass from Michael Vick to Alge Crumpler that put Atlanta at the Philadelphia ten yard line. The only problem was, Crumpler was laid out on the play by Brian Dawkins and was totally ineffective for the rest of the game. Before the hit, Crumpler had caught three passes in the first half. After the hit, he had just one for the rest of the game. It didn't matter on this drive, as Warrick Dunn took it in from ten yards out to make the score 14-10 in favor of the Eagles at the half.
In the second half, Philadelphia came out and put all of their NFC Championship demons to bed. Their first drive ended with a David Akers field goal, and then the defense took over. The Falcons were forced to punt on every drive in the second half, save for two. The first time they didn't punt, Brian Dawkins intercepted Michael Vick and returned the ball to the Atlanta 11 yard line, setting up another field goal by Akers. As for the second time? Well, I'll get to that in a minute. First, the Eagles were busy sealing Atlanta's coffin. With ten minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia embarked on an 11 play, 65 yard drive that took almost seven minutes off the clock. When Donovan McNabb found Chad Lewis for the second time on the day on a two yard touchdown pass, everyone knew that the game was over.
It had taken four tries, but the Eagles were finally headed to the Super Bowl. Oh, the second time the Falcons didn't have to punt? That was on their next drive, when they turned the ball over on downs. After McNabb took three knees, the game was over, and dark cloud seemed to be lifted from Lincoln Financial Field. After 24 years, the Eagles were headed back to the Super Bowl, and had done so against the most dynamic player in the NFL and without their top offensive weapon in Terrell Owens. I have seen a lot of wins by the Eagles during this decade, but there is none that made me feel so satisfied as that one did.
I remember watching the game with my friends in college. Because of the snow, they had actually allowed us to come back from winter break a day early, which meant that we could stock up on beer and all the other essentials for the game the next day. We somehow found a place that was open and delivering food, and promptly ordered 100 wings. As the game went on, it even felt different than the last three NFC Championships. After Chad Lewis scored that second touchdown, we knew. We just knew. I'd never seen a group of college kids that happy about a football game. We popped open a bottle of cheap champagne and drank it out of plastic cups. The rest of the night is hazy, but I remember waking up the next morning with the biggest smile on my face. I knew what had happened the day before, and it was worth it. All the struggles, the constant criticism of Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid, bringing in Terrell Owens...it all was worth it. The Eagles were headed to the Super Bowl.
This might be the best video I've found for the Top 25. Just watch and enjoy.
Oh, and then there's this one. Brian Dawkins is speaking for all Philadelphia Eagles fans when he takes that trophy.
That's all from me today. I've got a New Year's bash to get to. Number 1 will be posted tomorrow. If you don't know what it is, you've been living in a cave for the last decade.
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