Monday January 27th, 2005 - Page Updated At 11:10AM
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Facts
The Philadelphia Eagles Road To The Superbowl
Compared to the thrill-a-minute journey
that was the New England Patriots' 2004 season, the
Philadelphia Eagles' path to Super Bowl XXXIX was
generally smooth and stress-free. The major hill on
the Eagles' rollercoaster ride came near the end,
when a major injury to the team's most dynamic offensive
player threatened to derail the club's championship
aspirations.
But early-on in the 2004 campaign, there was little
doubt that Andy Reid's squad was the premier outfit
in the NFC. The arch rival New York Giants were the
first to incur Philly's wrath, enduring a 31-17 Week
1 defeat that was scarcely close beyond the first
quarter. The offensive excitement promised when the
team signed All-Pro receiver Terrell Owens in the
offseason was delivered in the form of three Owens'
touchdown catches. Owens' presence seemed to open
up the Philadelphia attack in ways previously unimagined,
as quarterback Donovan McNabb threw for 330 yards
and four touchdowns, and running back Brian Westbrook
rumbled for 119 yards on 17 carries.
The NFL-viewing public would get an eyeful of the
new-look Eagles in Week 2, when Philadelphia knocked
out Minnesota, 27-16, in a Monday night showdown.
McNabb threw two more touchdown passes, including
one to Owens, also running for a 20-yard score to
electrify the Lincoln Financial Field crowd and move
the Eagles to 2-0.
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Philadelphia would streak its way right through October,
starting 7-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The run included a momentous 30-8 smackdown of the
Panthers in Week 6, one that avenged Carolina's shocking
NFC Championship victory of nine months earlier. Road
decisions over NFC North foes Detroit (30-13) and
Chicago (19-9), and a 34-31 overtime thriller in Cleveland
were other prominent first-half features. The last
chapter of the 7-0 start would be told with a 15-10
triumph over Baltimore on Halloween, with a delirious
home crowd looking on as Owens' 11-yard fourth-quarter
touchdown grab provided the decisive score against
a Raven team that had briefly laid claim to the receiver
in March.
The era of good feelings would end, however, with
a thud suffered across the state in Pittsburgh the
following week. The Steelers manhandled Philadelphia,
27-3, rolling up 252 ground yards and limiting the
Eagles to seven first downs all day. The defeat would
prompt a major change in coordinator Jim Johnson's
defense, as Jeremiah Trotter was moved into the starting
middle linebacker slot to replace the undersized Mark
Simoneau. The move would pay off for an Eagle team
that had seen its final defensive meltdown of the
regular season.
Anyone questioning the Birds' place among the NFC
elite was silenced when the Eagles went to Dallas
and routed the Cowboys, 49-21, the following Monday
night. McNabb threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns
against the team's NFC East rival, with three of the
scores going to Owens. The win began another dominating
run for Philadelphia, which humiliated the Redskins
(28-6), Giants (27-6) and Packers (47-17) on consecutive
weeks. The victory over Green Bay was followed by
a contentious 17-14 primetime triumph in Washington,
a win that would see Eagle fans celebrate without
concern for perhaps the last time in 2004.
When the Cowboys took a 7-6 lead into halftime the
following Sunday, the crowd at the Linc grumbled.
Little did they know the worst was yet to come. Early
in the third quarter, Owens was dragged down by safety
Roy Williams after making a catch, and limped off
the field as the Delaware Valley held its collective
breath. The Eagles would rally to win, 12-7, clinching
homefield advantage throughout the NFC in the process,
but on Monday the team announced that Owens would
be sidelined for at least six weeks with a fractured
right fibula and a severe ankle sprain. Suddenly,
the doubters were back out in force.
With Owens' injury sending a loud, clear signal to
Reid, Philadelphia held many of its starters out in
season-ending losses to St. Louis (20-7) and Cincinnati
(38-10). The Eagles' first-round playoff bye meant
that the team would go nearly a month without playing
together as a unit, and an NFC Divisional Playoff
tilt with Minnesota would serve as the first real
chance for the public to see what an Owens-less Philly
offense would look like.
The 27-14 triumph over the Vikings calmed more than
a few nerves, as McNabb (21-33 passing, 286 yards,
2 TD) and running back Brian Westbrook (117 total
yards, 1 TD) thrived, former reserve receiver Freddie
Mitchell (5 receptions, 65 yards, 2 TD) had the game
of his life, and the defense intercepted Daunte Culpepper
twice and sacked him three times.
The Eagles followed a similar script in the subsequent
NFC Championship win over the Falcons. Reid and company
notched a 27-10 victory in wintry conditions at the
Linc, getting two more TD passes from McNabb, 135
total yards from Westbrook, and holding Atlanta QB
Michael Vick (136 passing yards, 26 rushing yards)
firmly in check.
The win snapped a well-publicized three-year losing
streak for the franchise in NFC title games, and sent
Philadelphia back to the Super Bowl for the first
time since the 1980 season. Only Green Bay, which
suffered for 28 years between Super Bowl appearances
(1968, 1996), went longer without making a return
engagement to the game's biggest stage.
 The
Patriots Road To the SuperBowl
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