January 12, 2004

NFC Divisional Playoff: Eagles vs Packers

Yesterday's NFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Eagles and Packers was very exciting indeed. The Eagles won 20-17 on a David Akers' field goal in overtime which was made possible by Brian Dawkins' interception of an errant Brett Favre pass.

The Eagles were down 14-0 early in the first half, with one of the Packers' touchdowns being the result of a McNabb fumble. However the Eagles were able to cut it to 14-7 by halftime, thanks to a 45 yard pass to Pinkston on one of their drives in the second quarter which set up Duce Staley's 7 yard touchdown catch.

At the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Eagles tied on the game with one of the greatest touchdown's I have ever seen. McNabb was nearly sacked by no less than 3 players and managed to get a perfect pass off to Todd Pinkston who was standing right on the front corner of the endzone and was able to catch the ball and keep his feet inbounds.

Shortly after that the Packers managed a field goal and took a 17-14 lead. The teams traded punts for several possessions and eventually the Eagles got the ball with just over 2 minutes left and with only a single timeout this was going to be their last scoring opportunity. After a couple sacks the Eagles were looking at a 4th and 26th but they were able to convert the first down with a 28 yard pass to Freddie Mitchell. Eventually they got into field goal range, and David Akers kicked a 37 yard field goal to tie the game (he has missed a field goal from about the same distance earlier in the game).

The Eagles won the coin toss in overtime, but couldn't get any offense and were forced to punt. It was on this first possession by Green Bay in OT that Favre was picked off and the Eagles drove for the game-winning field goal.

A couple other key plays from the game, were the Eagles stopping the Packers on a 4th and goal from the 1 in the first half and the Packers decision to punt the ball with just over 2 minutes left on a 4th and 1.

Overall the Eagles played a very high quality game, especially given the many key players they have lost to injury the last couple weeks of the season. Once again McNabb showed why he is such a great quarterback by taking the game into his own hands by running the ball when he had the chance and making several perfect throws in clutch situations.

Next week they play the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship game. I haven't followed the Panthers that much this year, but I see no reason the Eagles can't beat them, and finally advance to the Super Bowl after losing the NFC Championship game the last 2 seasons.

Posted by Jason at January 12, 2004 02:52 PM
Comments

By the time McNabb scrambled throwing the Pack around like rag dolls and hitting Stinkston for the touchdown - I was not cold at all. The crowd came alive. We caused a Packer time-out, a delay of game and a false starts. We were HYPE! Third downs were deafening.

The last remaining set of 2 Green Bay fans in our section near the top jumped to their feet following a completed first down and turned toward the crowd. Obviously the two young men had more than their share of beers. They raised their arms into the air jeering and screamed "GO PACK GO" - BAD MOVE!

The one guy had a Green & Yellow
"Cat-in-the-Hat" hat.
It was promptly plucked from his head
and fed
to a red
faced fan
and passed from man
to man.
Up and up and up to the tippy top
of the stadium without a stop.

The cheese-head yelled and cursed, "Give me back my F#@&ing hat". The Eagles’ rep, who had it now, looked at him in disappointment of his ridiculous request, shook him head, clucked "Tsk-Tsk". Then from his highly extended hand, he dropped that hat right over the edge of the stadium. We cheered and laughed and then complained to security about the fowl language of the Green Bay fan. They removed the two and I’m sure they went to retrieve their souvenir.

The suspense for the rest of the game was intense and the joy of winning was overwhelming. The crowd was CRAZY!! We were kissing and jumping and hugging and high-fiving one another and strangers and security and cops. It was the very best game I’d ever seen.

I LOVE FOOTBALL

Posted by: Sooze on January 14, 2004 12:38 PM

I was fortunate enough to be at this game and it was totally worth every last cent of my $200 dollar ticket. Even though we lost in the championship, this game remains hands down the best I've ever seen. I still routinely watch the highlight videos nearly a month later. crazy.

Posted by: MM on February 8, 2004 12:01 PM