The Eagles hadn't won the NFC East division in 13 years going into their game against the New York Giants on December 30th, 2001--a period during which the rest of their division was responsible for five of the Super Bowls won. That streak came to an end as the Eagles rallied back from a fourth quarter deficit against the G-Men, moving them to 10-5 for the season and clinching their division and playoff berth.
QB Donovan McNabb had much to do with that surge, going 21-39 for 270 yards and three touchdown passes that day, including two to Pro Bowl tight end Chad Lewis, and also added 48 yards on the ground to lead the team in rushing. His second TD pass to Lewis was a seven-yard strike late in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 21-21, after New York had taken the lead on a 16-yard Ron Dayne rush. David Akers kicked a 35-yard field goal with seven seconds left to seal an Eagles victory, by a final score of 24-21.
In the post-season, the Eagles were able to make their first of four consecutive NFC championship games with wins over the Buccaneers and the Bears in the Wild Card and Divisional rounds, respectively. There, however, they would lose to the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams by a score of 29-24, the first of four bow-outs they would make in the conference championship this decade. The Giants, on the other hand, moved to 7-8 with their loss in this game, and were eliminated from the playoffs, a year after making the Super Bowl.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.