My Favorite Games – The 2000’s

Here is part two of the series I’m doing on my favorite Eagles games for each decade. I’m only going with regular season games.

2000 – PHI 41, DAL 14

The Pickle Juice Game. Was there any doubt that this would be the choice? The Eagles were coming off a 5-11 season. There was optimism because they had a good offseason, but no one really knew what to expect. Donovan McNabb was the full-time starter and that would certainly make a difference. The team had signed Jon Runyan to a record contract and hoped he would stabilize the OL. The first round pick was DT Corey Simon so he was expected to make the defense better. But the team hadn’t been good since 1996 so there were still some doubts. Plus no one was quite sure what to make of Andy Reid. He showed promise in his first season as coach, but was far from a sure thing.

Total domination.

The Eagles opened the game with an onside kick, the first time I’d ever seen anyone do that. It worked perfectly and set the tone for the game. The Birds marched right down the field and went up 7-0. The defense came out on the next series and rookie Corey Simon got a sack on his first ever NFL snap. Troy Aikman went 0 for 5 before he was knocked out of the game. He was sacked 4 times and threw a pick-six to Jeremiah Trotter. Aikman was replaced by old friend Randall Cunningham, who threw an INT of his own.

Duce Staley was the star of the game, running for 201 yards and going 4-61 as a receiver. McNabb ran for a TD and threw a short scoring pass. He didn’t have to do much since the Eagles ran for 306 yards. Dallas was held to 167 total yards. Like I said, total domination. This game signaled a shift in fortunes. The Eagles would go 11-5 and become a perennial contender. Dallas went 5-11 from 2000-2002. It wasn’t until the arrival of Bill Parcells that they turned things around.

I can’t stress enough what a fun game this was to watch. We hadn’t seen the Eagles do anything like this since the wild card win over Detroit back in 1995. This game provided a huge win and a ton of optimism. The Eagles were going to be good again.

***

2001 – PHI 24, NYG 21

We don’t tend to think of winning a division title as a big deal, but that’s because the Eagles have made it a regular habit. They didn’t win a single title in the 1990’s. They won the crown in 1988 and the next one came in 2001, clinched in the game we’re talking about now. The Giants won the NFC East in 2000 and were picked to win it again in 2001. The Eagles had other ideas.

The Giants led the game 10-7 going into the fourth quarter. The teams traded scores after than and the games tied at 21-21 late. David Akers kicked a FG with seven seconds left to give the Eagles a certain win. Right? Then the Giants ran a trick play on their final snap and speedster Ron Dixon took the ball 62 yards and got inside the 10 before Damon Moore tackled him, saving the game and making the Eagles division champs. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who nearly had a heart attack while watching that play.

McNabb was clutch in this game, making some key throws late in the game. He finished ewith 270 yards and 3 TDs. James Thrash came up huge, going 7-143-1. TE Chad Lewis was 7-74, with 2 TDs. Jeremiah Trotter had 15 tackles, including 6 TFLs and a sack. Hell of a game by the Axeman. The scary finish didn’t ruin a great day.

***

2002 – PHI 37, WAS 7

The Pepper Spray Game. Do you guys remember that? The cops had to use pepper spray on someone in the stands and it drifted onto the field, which caused the game to be paused. Weird. This was the only game where Jim Johnson’s defense didn’t allow a point. Washington’s score came on a punt return. The defense had 4 sacks and 3 takeaways. I remember Darwin Walker really flashing in this game, a matchup between Andy Reid and…Steve Spurrier. It is easy to forget that Spurrier came to the NFL for a couple of years. He did not fare well. The Eagles held his offense to just 179 yards in this game. James Thrash went 6-107-1 for the Birds and gave his old team fits. Dorsey Levens and Duce Staley combined for 120 rushing yards. Donovan McNabb was terrific, throwing for 2 TDs and running for another. I remember really enjoying this game. The offense and defense were great. If only the STs had stopped the one PR. Could have had the shutout. JJ never delivered one in his great run with the Eagles.

I considered the 17-3 win over the Giants where the Eagles ran for 295 yards. That run game was a ton of fun to watch. The Giants defense looked helpless, which is always fun.

***

2003 – PHI 36, DAL 10

Bill Parcells took the Dallas job in 2003 and gave the franchise hope for the first time since Jimmy Johnson. He led the Cowboys to a win over the Eagles early in the season and his team came into this game with the #1 defense in the league. The Eagles responded with a major beatdown of Dallas and their D. Tuna realized that Reid still ruled the NFC East. It was beautiful.

The Eagles piled up 403 yards, running and passing for more than 200 yards. McNabb threw 3 TDs and ran the offense efficiently. Correll Buckhalter ran for 115 yards and a score. The defense had 3 sacks and 2 takeaways. Cowboys QB Quincy Carter (remember him?) averaged less than 4 yards per pass attempt. This win gave the Eagles a two-game lead over Dallas and led to their third straight division title. Those were good times.

***

2004 – PHI 31, NYG 17

We could call this the TO game. It was his Eagles debut and he didn’t disappoint, going 8-68 with 3 TDs. Donovan McNabb finally had a star WR and took advantage of it, going 26 of 36 for 330 yards and 4 TDs. He went on to have the best season of his career. Amazing the difference the supporting cast can make. Brian Westbrook ran for 119 yards and went 3-42 as a receiver, showing what a dynamic weapon he had become.

The Eagles defense gave up 413 yards, but had 5 sacks and a takeaway. Jerome McDougle had a sack and a huge hit of Eli Manning, who was making his pro debut. The Eagles played well overall and you could see some signs that this was going to be a special team. The only downer was losing rookie OG Shawn Andrews to injury. If he had stayed healthy, the Eagles could have been even better. He was a special talent. Still, this was a fun day. TO gave the Eagles some juice that they had been lacking for a long time.

***

2005 – PHI 20, SD 17

The Eagles dominated SF in an early game, winning 42-3. They had a great comeback vs KC and beat the Chiefs 37-31. But the win over the Chargers was next level because of what the defense did. LaDainian Tomlinson came into the game with 652 yards and 10 TDs in his first 6 games. He was the best RB in football and was brutally hard to stop. He had a TD run in 18 straight games coming into this meeting, but the Eagles put a stop to that. His worst game to that point was when he went 8-29. JJ’s defense shut him down, limiting LT to 7 yards on 17 carries. He had -5 yards at halftime so he had to get hot to get up to 7. That is insane run defense. Jeremiah Trotter and Sheldon Brown each had 9 tackles to lead the way.

This was an Andy Reid special, with McNabb dropping back almost 60 times and Westbrook only getting 10 carries. McNabb set the NFL record for consecutive completions with 25. He threw for 287 yards and a TD. McNabb missed on a critical 4th down play and it looked like the Eagles were going to lose, 17-13. And then things got wild. Quintin Mikell blocked a Chargers FG attempt. Matt Ware grabbed the bouncing ball and raced 65 yards for the go-ahead TD. The Eagles were then up 20-17. Drew Brees marched them downfield before Sheldon Brown came up with a strip of a receiver to seal the game. Unbelievable game. I was shocked at how the final few minutes played out. Absolutely insane ending.

***

2006 – PHI 23, DAL 7

The 9-5 Cowboys hosted the 8-6 Eagles, with Jeff Garcia starting in place of McNabb. And the game was on Christmas afternoon. I didn’t know what to expect from the Eagles. A loss would have given the division title to Dallas. The Eagles had won the first meeting (TO’s return to Philly) so this felt like a revenge game for the Cowboys and their new QB, Tony Romo. A lot was on the line.

Garcia out-played Romo in a big way and the Eagles controlled the game, giving us a great Christmas present. Garcia finished 15-23-238 with a TD. He also ran 7 times for 43 yards and gave Dallas fits. Westy ran for 122 yards. The Eagles defense limited the Cowboys to 201 yards and 7 points, season lows. Romo was 14-29 for 142 yards. TO was held to 2-23, but he did catch a TD. The defense had a huge goal line stop of Marion Barber. Dawk had 3 tackles and an INT, while helping to keep Owens under control. The Eagles went on to win the division and a playoff game. I have to say that I enjoyed watching Garcia as the team’s QB. He was fun, playing with a lot of energy and emotion.

***

2007 – PHI 56, DET 21

The Lions played one of the worst defensive games I’ve ever seen. They made McNabb look like Joe Montana, Westbrook look like Jim Brown and Kevin Curtis look like Jerry Rice. The Eagles ha 42 points at the half, and made it look easy. McNabb threw for 332 yards in the first half. The team finished the game with 536 yards. This game was such a blowout that Tony Hunt got 4 carries.

Westbrook finished 14-110-2 on the ground and 5-111-1 as a receiver. The Lions had no answer for him. Curtis was 11-221-3, playing the game of his life. The Eagles gave up 432 yards, but had 10 sacks, including 3.5 from Trent Cole. The defense also had 3 takeaways. Sean Considine (remember him?) had an INT. As fun as this game was, it was a mirage. The Giants held the Eagles to just 3 points in the next game. The Eagles finished the season 8-8 and missed the playoffs.

***

2008 – PHI 15, PIT 6

From great offense to great defense. JJ’s defense came up huge in this game. The Steelers were 2-0. They would end up winning the Super Bowl, but this day was all about the Eagles defense. They sacked Big Ben 8 times and his backup, Byron Leftwich once. The Steelers, who ran all over the Eagles back in 2004 were held to 19 carries for 33 yards. They finished with just 181 total yards. The Eagles also had a safety and 3 takeaways, including a Dawkins strip-sack to seal the game. JJ mixed in blitzes with his base rush and gave the Steelers fits. Juqua Parker led the way with 2.5 sacks and Darren Howard added 2 of his own. It was fun to see the swarming defense just overwhelm the Steelers all game long. MLB Stewart Bradley had 6 solo tackles and 3 TFLs. He was such a good player. I don’t think people appreciate him enough. His 2009 injury was just terrible.

The Eagles offense did just enough to win this game. McNabb was efficient, going 24 for 35. Westbook got hurt so Correll Buckhalter became the feature back. He finished with 87 total yards and a TD. This was a tough, physical game. The Eagles would finish a Top 5 defense in both points and yards. This performance was a sign of things to  come.

It was hard to pass on the 44-6 win over Dallas, but I wanted to mix things up and not do too many Dallas games. That was an epic day, though.

***

2009 – PHI 40, NYG 17

The first place Giants came to Philly and left in second place after getting their butt kicked by a dynamic offense. McNabb went 17-23-240 with 3 TDs. He threw to his key weapons, DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek and rookie Jeremy Maclin. They combined for 11 grabs and all three scores. Rookie LeSean McCoy was 11-82-1 on the ground, including an impressive 66-yard TD. Leonard Weaver was 8-75 with a 41-yard TD. What an explosive offense.

The defense gave up some yards, but Asante Samuel snd Quentin Demps each picked off Eli Manning and he was sacked twice. LB Akeem Jordan led the team with 9 tackles for new DC Sean McDermott. The defense spent much of the season searching for a MLB to replace Bradley. Will Witherspoon got the start in this game, but was more of an OLB. Thankfully on this day the offense was so good that the defense just had to be good enough. And they were.

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