Today in Philly Sports History: Going to the Super Bowl, 2005

Share

It had been 24 years and 12 days since the Eagles had defeated the Cowboys 20-7 to advance to their first championship game in the Super Bowl era, and there had been too many let downs in the years in between to easily recap here. But on January 23rd, 2005, the Eagles put the past behind them. After defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round the week before, the Eagles faced off against the Atlanta Falcons for the right to go to the Super Bowl, and for once, their fans would not be disappointed.

The Eagles were firing on close to all cylinders that Sunday. QB Donovan McNabb went 17-26 for 180 yards and two touchdowns (both passes to Chad Lewis), RB Brian Westbrook rushed 16 times for 96 yards, and even return man Allen Rossum made a huge impact with his combined 232 return yards on punt and kick returns. Meanwhile, the Eagles D held the Falcons scoreless in the entire second half, sacking Falcons QB (and future Eagle) Michael Vick four times, and picking him off once, courtesy of Brian Dawkins. Final Score: Eagles 27, Falcons 10.

The win was an unspeakably huge one for a home crowd that had seen their team falter in this situation one too many times before. After the two-minute warning, with the 17-point lead in place and the game firmly in the books, the fans adorned their team with a chant of "SU-PER BOWL!," decades of frustration falling to the wayside. One who refused to celebrate so unreservedly, however, was Donovan McNabb. "There's no relief for me," said D-Mac. "We'll have relief after
the Super Bowl. We set a goal of winning the Super Bowl, not just
the NFC. So that's where I'm going. We're excited, but we're not
done."

Whoops. Turned out the Eagles would have to make do with the NFC Championship banner, as they proved unable to eclipse the returning-champion Patriots in the Super Bowl two weeks later, dropping the game by the close and yet so far score of 24-21.

Contact Us