2008 Eagles Defeated Bowl Super Bowl Teams

[LeonardRachiele]

Overlooked in  the 2008 season was that the Eagles for the first time defeated both Super Bowl bound teams.  The games were at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles were 1-1 coming off a bad defensive performance to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.  It was a wild game with the Eagles fumbling late and losing 41 to 37.  It was the most damaging loss of the season.  Close losses to Dallas really hurt. Brian Dawkins had a bad night and looked sluggish and tired.

Game 3 Summary

By throwing a scoring pass to Correll Buckwalter, Donovan McNabb became the all time Eagles leader in touchdown passes.  Nevertheless, the gem was the defensive play, near perfect.  The Eagles held Pittsburgh to a pair of field goals and pitched a shut out in the second half.  The the pass rush kept constant pressure on Ben Rothisberger; so much so that "the Eagles sacked him again" was a standard line from Merrill Reese.  The Eagles tackled  Big Ben nine times for 72 yards in losses.  Asante Samuel make a great leaping interception.

Midway in the fourth quarter came the breaking point as the Eagles held a 10 to 6 lead.  With the fans screaming, the Steelers had the ball third and ten at their own two.   Big Ben dropped back in the End Zone. Three Eagles were in pursuit blowing away the offensive line. As two lineman hit Rothlisberger, the ball squirted up. Juqua Parker juggled it just missing an interception.  Instead, he fell on the ball in the end zone.  Though fans wanted a touchdown, the ruling was intentional grounding in the end zone.  The Eagles now lead 12 to 6.    

After punting the ball, Eagles held Pittsburgh just inside the 15.  Brain Dawkins hit Rothisberger, jarred the ball the loose, and Dawkins covered it.  A one man defensive play. David Ackers drilled a 25 yard field goal to seal the 15 to 6 win.   Pittsburgh went on to a 12-4 season and won the Super Bowl.

Game 12 Summary

As Thanksgiving Night drew near, the high hopes of the Eagles had dwindled. 5-3 at midseason, the last three weeks were a disaster.  At home, the the New York Giants beat the Eagles 36 to 30.  The game was not as close as the score would indicate.  At Cincinnati, the Eagles tied the lowly Bengals in five quarters of frustration, 13 to 13. The final insult in this three week nightmare was a 36 to 7 blowout at Baltimore.

This changed much for the better on Turkey Night at Lincoln versus the Arizona Cardinals. Donovan McNabb went 27 for 39 for 260 yards and four touchdowns.  In 25 touches, Brian Westbrook  gained 140 yards and scored four touchdowns.  Brian Dawkins, Joselio Hanson, and Quinten Mikel each made a interception for 50 total return yards.  The Eagles held Arizona to just 25 yards rushing.  Philadelphia 48 Arizona 20.