NFL playoffs , 2001 - 02 The NFL playoffs following the 2001 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXXVI . For the first time , the NFL scheduled prime time playoff games for the first two rounds in an attempt to attract more television viewers . Saturday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from 12 : 30 p . m . and 4 : 00 p . m . EST to 4 : 30 p . m . and 8 : 00 p . m . , respectively . Thus , the league abandoned its practice of scheduling colder , northern playoff games for daylight hours only ; any stadium , regardless of evening January temperatures , could host prime time playoff games . Wild Card playoffs . Saturday January 12 , 2002 . NFC : Philadelphia Eagles 31 , Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9 . Eagles QB Donovan McNabb threw for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns , while also rushing for 54 yards , as Philadelphia dominated Tampa Bay from start to finish . Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted four times , twice by Damon Moore . It was the second consecutive season in which Philadelphia eliminated Tampa Bay from the playoffs during the wild card round , and two days later , Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy was fired . On the Eagles first drive of the game , Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson intercepted a pass from McNabb and returned it 9 yards to the Eagles 36 - yard line , setting up a 36 - yard field goal from Martín Gramática . But McNabb made up for his mistake with a 39 - yard run on third down and 5 on Philadelphia ' s ensuing possession , setting up a field goal for David Akers that tied the game , 3 - 3 . In the second period , McNabb completed 4 of 4 passes for 70 yards on a 73 - yard drive , including a 41 - yard completion to Todd Pinkston , that ended with a 16 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Chad Lewis . Tampa responded with a 10 - play , 65 - yard drive , but once again could not dent the end zone and had to settle for another Gramatica field goal , cutting their deficit to 10 - 6 . Later in the quarter , Eagles punter Sean Landeta pinned the Buccaneers back at their own 5 - yard line and Tampa Bay could not get a first down with their next drive . After receiving Mark Royals ' short 28 - yard punt at the Buccaneers 31 - yard line , McNabb threw a 23 - yard touchdown pass to Duce Staley with 35 seconds left in the half . But Tampa bay managed to respond with Gramatica ' s third field goal before halftime , set up by a 46 - yard reception from Keyshawn Johnson , cutting their deficit to 17 - 9 . But Tampa Bay was completely dominated in the second half . Moore recorded his first interception from Brad Johnson at the Eagles 38 - yard line on the Buccaneers opening drive of the third quarter . Later on , the Eagles drove 60 yards in six plays and scored on a 25 - yard touchdown run from rookie Correll Buckhalter . Johnson tried to rally his team back with a pair of drives deep into Eagles territory , but both of them were ended with interceptions . First , defensive back Troy Vincent picked off a pass from Johnson in the end zone with 4 : 09 left in the third quarter . Then late in the fourth quarter , safety Brian Dawkins intercepted Johnson on Philadelphia ' s 3 - yard line . Following a punt , Moore put the game away by recording his second interception and returning it 59 yards for a touchdown . AFC : Oakland Raiders 38 , New York Jets 24 . The Raiders defeated the Jets in a high scoring shootout , outgaining them in total yards 502 to 410 , and holding them off in a wild , 36 - point fourth quarter . Quarterback Rich Gannon made 23 of 29 completions for 294 yards and 2 touchdowns . 39 - year old Wide receiver Jerry Rice had a superb performance , catching nine passes for 183 yards and a touchdown . His 9 receptions tied a franchise playoff record held by Cliff Branch and Fred Biletnikoff . Running back Charlie Garner ran eighty yards for a touchdown to clinch the game with 1 : 27 remaining . He finished the game with 156 rushing yards on just 15 carries , along with 3 receptions for 26 yards . Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde threw for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns . Running back Curtis Martin added 106 rushing yards , while receiver Laveranues Coles caught 8 passes for 123 yards . Following a missed field goal by Jets kicker John Hall on the opening drive , Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski made two field goals to give his team a 6 - 0 first quarter lead . In the second quarter , Hall and Janikowski both made field goals before Oakland scored the first touchdown of the game on a 66 - yard drive that ended with Tim Brown ' s 2 - yard touchdown reception to make the score 16 - 3 with 22 seconds left in the half . Early in the third quarter , Testaverde narrowed the score to 16 - 10 with a 17 - yard touchdown pass to Wayne Chrebet . Later in the period , Raiders defensive back Johnnie Harris stripped the ball from fullback Richie Anderson and lineman Grady Jackson recovered the ball for Oakland on their own 45 - yard line . After a short run by Garner , Gannon ' s 47 - yard completion to Rice moved the ball to the Jets 4 - yard line . A few plays later , fullback Zack Crockett scored a 2 - yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter , giving the Raiders a 24 - 10 lead . But instead of putting the game away , Crockett ' s score set off a wild scoring explosion from both teams , who ended up combining for 36 points in the final period as Testaverde desperately tried to rally his team back . The Jets responded by driving 64 yards in 10 plays and scoring with Testaverde ' s 4 - yard touchdown pass to Anderson . But Oakland stormed back with a 68 - yard , seven play scoring drive . After a 21 - yard completion to Rice and a 20 - yard strike to Jerry Porter on third down and 8 , Gannon threw a 21 - yard touchdown pass to Rice with 5 : 53 left in regulation . Testaverde once again responded , completing a four yard touchdown pass to Chrebet on fourth down and goal to bring the Jets back within a touchdown , 30 - 24 . , with 1 : 57 to go . Because the Jets had two timeouts left , coach Herman Edwards decided not to attempt on onside kick . New York ' s defense managed to stuff running back Tyrone Wheatley on two consecutive plays , but on third down , Garner took off down the right sideline for an 80 - yard touchdown run , the longest in Raiders postseason history . Sunday January 13 , 2002 . NFC : Green Bay Packers 25 , San Francisco 49ers 15 . In frigid temperatures , the San Francisco 49ers came into Lambeau Field and stood toe - to - toe with the Green Bay Packers for most of the afternoon until being put away by a superb second half performance from Packers quarterback Brett Favre . Favre completed 6 of 8 passes for 43 yards in the first half , including a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman that gave the Packers a 6 - 0 lead after San Francisco lineman Dana Stubblefield blocked the extra point . The Packers defense limited San Francisco to just 53 yards and a blocked field goal on their first four drives , but the 49ers closed out the half with a 15 - play , 86 - yard drive that took 7 minutes off the clock . Quarterback Jeff Garcia completed 6 of 9 passes for 61 yards on the drive , and running back Garrison Hearst capped it off with a 2 - yard touchdown run to give his team a 7 - 6 halftime lead . It marked the first time Green Bay had ever trailed at the end of the first half in a home playoff game since the famous Ice Bowl in 1967 . However , Brett Favre dominated the 49ers defense in the second half , completing 16 of 21 passes for 226 yards and leading his team to four scoring drives . First , he led the Packers 72 yards in 12 plays , completing two passes for 21 yards to Bill Schroeder and a 22 - yarder to Freeman en route to a 26 - yard field goal by Ryan Longwell . After a San Francisco punt , Favre led his team to the end zone in just three plays , tossing a 12 - yard completion to fullback William Henderson , following it up with a 51 - yard strike to Corey Bradford , and then finishing the drive with a 19 - yard touchdown pass to Bubba Franks with 3 : 26 left in the third quarter , giving the Packers a 15 - 7 lead after the 49ers defense tackled Donald Driver short of the end zone on a two - point conversion attempt . In the fourth quarter , Hearst ' s 22 - yard reception and 10 - yard run set up a 14 - yard touchdown pass from Garcia to Tai Streets , who also caught a subsequent 2 - point conversion pass to tie the game at 15 . But Green Bay responded with a 49 - yard drive and retook the lead with a 45 - yard field goal from Longwell . Then on San Francisco ' s ensuing possession , defensive back Mike McKenzie deflected a pass from Garcia into the arms of Tyrone Williams for an interception on the Packers 7 - yard line . Favre took over from there , leading the Packers on an 8 - play 93 - yard drive for the game clinching touchdown , featuring two key third down completions to Driver . The first was 37 - yard completion third down and 12 . Later , Driver caught a 12 - yard pass on the 49ers 9 - yard line on third down and 6 . On the next play , running back Ahman Green scored on a 9 - yard touchdown run with 1 : 55 left in regulation . Favre finished with 22 of 29 completions for 269 yards and two touchdowns , with 1 interception . Garcia completed 22 of 32 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown , with 1 pick . AFC : Baltimore Ravens 20 , Miami Dolphins 3 . The Ravens recorded 222 rushing yards , while limited the Dolphins to 151 total yards , 9 first downs , and forcing three turnovers and three sacks . Baltimore running back Terry Allen ran for 109 yards and a touchdown , while quarterback Elvis Grbac completed 12 of 18 passes for 133 yards and 1 touchdown . Throughout the day , the Dolphins were unable to move the ball on the ground . Running backs Travis Minor and Lamar Smith were held to a combined total of 20 yards on 11 carries , while quarterback Jay Fiedler ended up as the leading rusher with 16 yards . In contrast , the Ravens called 50 running plays , gained 222 rushing yards , and held the ball for 38 minutes . The Dolphins ' only score was Olindo Mare ' s 33 - yard field goal just two minutes into the game , after linebacker Tommy Hendricks recovered a fumble from Baltimore ' s Lamont Brightful on the opening kickoff . In the second quarter , the Ravens drove 90 yards and scored with a 4 - yard touchdown run from Allen to take a 7 - 3 lead . Later in the game , Grbac led the Ravens on a 99 - yard scoring drive , featuring a 45 - yard completion to Travis Taylor on third down and 1 . Taylor finished the drive with a 4 - yard touchdown catch to give the Ravens a 14 - 3 lead with 1 : 20 left in the third quarter . In the final period , the Dolphins blew a chance at a comeback . Trailing 17 - 3 after a Matt Stover field goal , Fiedler ' s 40 - yard pass to James McKnight at the Ravens 5 - yard line bounced off the receiver ' s shoulder and was intercepted by defensive back Duane Starks , who returned the ball 26 yards to the 28 - yard line . Baltimore ' s offense subsequently drove 50 yards and took 6 : 30 off the clock , setting up Stover ' s second field goal to put the game away . Divisional playoffs . Saturday January 19 , 2002 . NFC : Philadelphia Eagles 33 , Chicago Bears 19 . The Bears surprised everyone by finishing atop the NFC Central with a 13 – 3 record behind quarterback Jim Miller . But after the Eagles jumped to a 6 - 0 lead , Miller was taken out of the last game in the second quarter with a separated shoulder . Although Miller ' s replacement , Shane Matthews , led the Bears to a touchdown ( a 47 - yard reverse by Ahmad Merritt ) , and Jerry Azumah ' s 39 - yard interception return briefly put the Bears back in the lead early in the second half , the Eagles controlled most of the rest of the game . Matthews threw for only 66 yards and was intercepted twice . Meanwhile , Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns , and ran for another touchdown . The Eagles controlled the first quarter , scoring with two field goals by David Akers while holding the Bears to 25 offensive yards and one first down . In the second quarter , Miller led the Bears to Philadelphia ' s 25 - yard line , but a devastating hit from defensive end Hugh Douglas knocked him out of the game and rushed his throw , which went right into the arms of defensive back Damon Moore for an interception . Merritt ' s 47 - yard touchdown run gave the Bears a 7 – 6 lead with 5 : 27 left in the period . But McNabb led the Eagles back , driving 69 yards in 11 plays , including a 9 - yard completion to tight end Jeff Thompson on fourth down and 1 from the Bears 27 - yard line . Four plays later , McNabb finished the drive with a 13 - yard touchdown pass to fullback Cecil Martin , giving his team a 13 - 7 lead with just 14 seconds left in the half . The Eagles finished the half with 230 yards and held the ball over 20 minutes , while holding the Bears to 88 yards . On the first drive of the second half , defensive back R . W . McQuarters deflected a pass from McNabb into the arms of Azumah , who returned it 39 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a 14 - 13 lead . Later on , Chicago punter Brad Maynard ' s 15 - yard punt gave the Eagles a first down on the Bears 36 - yard line . Following a key 30 - yard reception by Thompson on third down and 14 , McNabb threw a 6 - yard touchdown pass to Duce Staley , giving the Eagles a 20 - 14 lead with 5 : 55 left in the third quarter . Chicago responded with an 11 - play , 44 - yard drive that ended with a field goal from Paul Edinger , but the Eagles struck back with an 11 - play drive on their own , driving 45 yards and scoring with Akers ' third field goal . Then Autry Denson fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Philadelphia rookie Quinton Caver recovered it , setting up Akers ' fourth field goal . McNabb added another touchdown on a 5 - yard run with 3 : 21 left to put the game away , while the Bears only other score was an intentional safety from Eagles punter Sean Landeta on the last play of the game . AFC : New England Patriots 16 , Oakland Raiders 13 ( OT ) . The game , the final one in the history of Foxboro Stadium , played in a heavy snowfall , will be remembered for a call near the end of the game , in which the referees initially ruled that New England quarterback Tom Brady had fumbled on a pass attempt , with Oakland protecting a three - point lead . Invoking the " tuck rule " , where a ball is ruled an incomplete pass after the quarterback starts any forward motion , the referee overturned the decision after reviewing the instant replay , calling the drop an incomplete pass rather than a fumble . Both teams struggled in the heavy snow storm during the first half , combining for the same number of punts as first downs ( 11 ) and converting only one of 13 third downs . However , Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon was efficient , completing 10 of 14 passes for 87 yards , including a 13 - yard touchdown pass to James Jett early in the second quarter . In the second half , things began to open up , especially for New England , who almost completely abandoned their running game and relied on Brady . He ended up completing 26 of 39 passes for 238 yards in the second half . On the opening drive of the third quarter , he led the Patriots 62 yards in 12 plays to the Raiders ' 5 - yard line , where Adam Vinatieri made a 23 - yard field goal to cut the score , 7 – 3 . Oakland responded with a 10 - play , 43 yard drive , and scored a 38 - yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski . Then after forcing a punt , a 22 - yard reception by receiver Jerry Rice set up Janikowski ' s second field goal , giving the Raiders a 13 – 3 lead with 2 minutes left in the third quarter . In the fourth quarter , Brady led the Patriots on a 10 - play , 67 - yard drive , completing 9 consecutive passes for 61 yards and finishing it with a 6 - yard touchdown run . Later in the quarter , the infamous " tuck " incident occurred . As Brady dropped back to pass , he lost the ball while being tackled by former college teammate Charles Woodson , and Oakland linebacker Greg Biekert recovered it with 1 : 47 left . However , an official instant replay review caused referee Walt Coleman to overturn the fumble , ruling Brady ' s arm had been moving forward while being tackled and making the play an incomplete pass . Taking advantage of his second chance , Brady led the Patriots inside the Raiders ' 30 - yard line where Vinatieri made a 45 - yard field goal with 27 seconds left , a dramatic kick through heavy snowfall that barely cleared the crossbar , sending the game into overtime . New England won the coin toss and drove for the winning field goal on a possession that featured a risky fourth down and 4 conversion attempt from Brady , who threw a 6 - yard pass to David Patten at the Raiders ' 22 - yard line to keep the drive alive . Following five runs from Antowain Smith and one from Brady , Vinatieri made a 23 - yard field goal to win the game . Sunday January 20 , 2002 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 27 , Baltimore Ravens 10 . Steelers running back Jerome Bettis , sidelined for much of the regular season , was scheduled to make his return in the first playoff ever at their new home , Heinz Field , but was sidelined with an undisclosed ailment at the last minute . It did not matter as the Pittsburgh offense rushed for 150 yards and held the ball for over 40 minutes . Their defense limited the defending champion Ravens to 150 yards and 7 first downs , forced 4 turnovers , and recorded 3 sacks . Bettis ' replacement , Amos Zereoue , rushed for 2 touchdowns . The first half was a disaster for Baltimore . Their first six drives resulted in two interceptions , three punts without a gaining first down , and a fumble . Steelers defensive back Chad Scott started out the dominance by intercepting Baltimore quarterback Elvis Grbac ' s first pass of the game and returning it 19 yards to the Ravens 43 - yard line . Pittsburgh ' s offense subsequently gained 37 yards on their first 3 plays . Linebacker Jamie Sharper managed to halt the drive by tackling Chris Fuamatu - Ma ' afala for a 1 - yard loss on third down and goal , but Kris Brown kicked a field goal to give Pittsburgh a 3 - 0 lead . The next time Baltimore had the ball , they were forced to punt after linebacker Mike Jones sacked Grbac for a 10 - yard loss on third down and 10 . Pittsburgh ' s offense then drove 51 yards in seven plays , featuring two completions from Kordell Stewart to receivers Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward for gains of 17 and 20 yards . Zereoue finished the drive with a 2 - yard touchdown run to make the score 10 - 0 . In the second quarter , Baltimore defensive back Chris McAlister gave the offense a great chance to score when he intercepted a pass from Stewart and returned it 18 yards to the Steelers 7 - yard line . But on the next play , safety Brent Alexander intercepted a Grbac ' s pass in the end zone for a touchback . The Steelers took over and drove to the Ravens 9 - yard line , but on third down , Stewart was sacked for an 8 - yard loss by Larry Webster and Brown ' s ensuing field goal attempt was wide left . Following another three and out for Baltimore , receiver Troy Edwards returned their punt 27 - yards to the Ravens 43 - yard line , setting up Zereoue ' s second touchdown run . Then linebacker Jason Gildon recovered a fumble from Terry Allen on Baltimore ' s next drive and the Steelers capitalized with a 46 - yard field goal from Brown , increasing their lead to 20 - 0 with 4 : 23 left in the half . After going all this time without a single first down , Baltimore finally managed to respond on their next drive . Tight end Shannon Sharpe caught four pass for 48 yards on an 11 - play , 57 yard drive . Matt Stover capped it off with a 26 - yard field goal , cutting their deficit to 20 - 3 at halftime . Late in the third quarter , Baltimore receiver Jermaine Lewis returned a punt 88 yards for a touchdown . But the Steelers responded by driving 83 yards in 12 plays and scoring with Stewart ' s 32 - yard touchdown pass to Burress . NFC : St . Louis Rams 45 , Green Bay Packers 17 . The matchup between two of the league ' s highly - rated quarterbacks — the Packers ' Brett Favre and the Rams Kurt Warner , who shared a combined total of five NFL MVP awards , became lopsided thanks to St . Louis ' improved defense , which forced 8 turnovers . Although Favre threw for 281 yards , he tied a playoff record by tossing six interceptions , three of which were returned for touchdowns . The Packers generated most of their offense early in the contest , but the turnovers gave the Rams a 24 - 10 halftime lead . The Rams then returned two interceptions in the second half to put the game away . Rams defensive back Aeneas Williams opened up the scoring by returning an interception from Favre 29 yards for a touchdown . The next time Green Bay had the ball , they turned it over again when safety Kim Herring stripped the ball from Ahman Green and rookie Adam Archuleta recovered it . However , the Rams were unable to take advantage of this turnover . A few plays later , Warner ' s pass was intercepted by Darren Sharper on the Packers 35 - yard line . Favre then completed a pair of passes to Corey Bradford and Donald Driver for gains of 27 and 16 yards , before tying the game with a 22 - yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman . But the Rams stormed right back with a 15 - yard completion to Az - Zahir Hakim and a 38 - yard burst from running back Marshall Faulk advancing the ball to the Packers 11 - yard line . Two plays later , Warner completed a 4 - yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt to put the Rams back in the lead . Then on Green Bay ' s next drive , Herring intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it 45 yards to the Packers 4 - yard line , setting up a 4 - yard touchdown catch by fullback James Hodgins early in the second quarter . Allen Rossum returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown , but a holding penalty on Torrance Marshall eliminated the score . Green Bay still managed to score with a Ryan Longwell field goal , but Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins responded with a field goal of his own to give the Rams and 24 – 10 halftime lead . In the second half , the Rams scored two touchdowns in a span of 92 seconds . On Green Bay ' s opening drive , Green ' s 49 - yard run moved the ball into Rams territory . But on the three plays later , Williams stripped the ball from Freeman , dove on it , then got up and returned it for a touchdown . A replay challenge overruled the score , showing Williams was down by contact when he recovered the fumble , but three plays later , Holt ' s 50 - yard reception set up a 7 - yard touchdown run by Faulk . Then on Green Bay ' s next possession , Rams lineman Grant Wistrom deflected a pass from Favre into the arms of linebacker Tommy Polley , who returned the interception 34 yards for a touchdown . In fourth quarter , the Rams defense scored again with another interception return from Williams , making him the first player ever to return two interceptions for touchdowns in a playoff game . Meanwhile , they managed to pin down the Packers , only allowing a meaningless score on an 8 - yard touchdown pass from Favre to Freeman with 5 : 46 left in the game . Conference championships . Sunday January 27 , 2002 . AFC Championship : New England Patriots 24 , Pittsburgh Steelers 17 . The Patriots ' storybook season continued as Drew Bledsoe came into the game in the second quarter in place of an injured Tom Brady - who replaced Bledsoe himself early in the season when he suffered a sheared blood vessel . Patriots receiver Troy Brown opened up the scoring with a 55 - yard punt return touchdown with 3 : 42 left in the first quarter . ( This was actually a re - punt following a Pittsburgh penalty on Troy Edwards , who made the tackle on the first punt play after stepping out of bounds as he was running to cover the punt . ) Pittsburgh responded by driving 65 yards in 10 plays and scoring with a 30 - yard field goal from Kris Brown . Later in the quarter , Brady completed a 28 - yard pass to Brown at the Steelers 40 - yard line , but was knocked out of the game on the play . Bledsoe took over without missing a beat , rushing for four yards and completing three passes to David Patten for 37 yards , the last one an 11 - yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 14 - 3 lead . On the first drive of the second half , New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi recovered a fumbled snap on the Steelers 35 - yard line . But the Patriots gained only two yards on their next 4 plays and ended up turning the ball over on downs . Pittsburgh subsequently drove 52 yards to the 16 - yard line to set up Brown ' s second field goal attempt , but this time his kick was blocked by defensive tackle Brandon Mitchell and Troy Brown recovered the ball . After returning it 11 yards , Brown threw a lateral pass to Antwan Harris , who took the ball the remaining 45 yards for a touchdown to increase New England ' s lead to 21 – 3 . The Steelers struck back with quarterback Kordell Stewart completing a 24 - yard pass to Hines Ward and a 19 - yard screen pass to Amos Zereoue on an 8 - play , 79 - yard drive . Jerome Bettis finished it off with a 1 - yard touchdown run , cutting the score to 21 - 10 with 5 : 11 left in the third quarter . New England was forced to punt after linebacker Jason Gildon sacked Bledsoe on third down , and Troy Edwards returned the punt 28 yards to the Patriots 32 - yard line . Five plays later , Zereoue scored with an 11 - yard touchdown run , making the score 21 - 17 . Early in the fourth quarter , Adam Vinatieri ' s 44 - yard field goal increased New England ' s lead to 24 - 17 . Later in the period , the Patriots made two key stops to clinch the victory . First , safety Tebucky Jones intercepted a pass from Stewart and returned it 19 yards to the Steelers 34 - yard line . Pittsburgh ' s defense managed to prevent a first down and Vinatieri missed a 50 - yard field goal attempt that would have sealed the game , giving the Steelers the ball back on their own 40 - yard line , but a few plays later , Lawyer Milloy intercepted a pass from Stewart with 2 : 02 left to seal the game , and the Patriots were able to run out the rest of the clock . NFC Championship : St . Louis Rams 29 , Philadelphia Eagles 24 . The Eagles had a 17 - 13 lead at halftime , and had not allowed more than 21 points per game during the season and playoffs . But the Rams roared back thanks to Kurt Warner completing two - thirds of his passes for 212 yards and Marshall Faulk ' s 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns to earn their second trip to the Super Bowl in three years . Early in the first quarter , Donovan McNabb fumbled while being sacked by defensive end Leonard Little , and Brian Young recovered for the Rams at the Philadelphia 20 - yard line . Five plays later , Warner threw a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce . Philadelphia responded with an 11 - play , 50 - yard drive , featuring a 20 - yard run by Duce Staley , that ended with a 46 - yard field goal by David Akers . Rams receiver Yo Murphy returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards his own 42 - yard line before Warner completed a 20 - yard pass to Az - Zahir Hakim and Faulk rushed for 15 yards to set up a 27 - yard field from Jeff Wilkins , giving the Rams a 10 - 3 lead . Early in the second quarter , Wilkins hit the crossbar on a 53 - yard field goal attempt , and the Eagles took over on their 43 - yard line . On the next play , rookie running back Correll Buckhalter broke off a 31 - yard run to the St . Louis 26 . A few plays later , Staley finished the drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run to tie the game . But on the Rams next drive , a 31 - yard run by Faulk set up 39 - yard field goal by Wilkins , and the Rams retook the lead . But they didn ' t hold it . McNabb responded with 2 completions to James Thrash for 27 yards and a 12 - yard throw to Chad Lewis before throwing a 12 - yard touchdown pass to Todd Pinkston with 46 seconds left in the half . St . Louis dominated the Eagles in third quarter , holding the ball for 12 : 30 and limiting Philadelphia to just five offensive plays . Murphy fumbled the opening kickoff , but Rams rookie Nick Sorensen recovered it . Following seven runs by Faulk for 27 yards , Warner completed a 21 - yard pass to Torry Holt at the Eagles 19 - yard line , setting up Wilkins ' third field goal to cut their deficit to 17 - 16 . Then after forcing a three - and - out , the Rams drove 71 yards in 10 plays , with Warner completing three passes to Bruce for 44 yards and a 16 - yard pass to Holt at the Eagles 9 - yard line . Faulk subsequently took the ball into the end zone with three consecutive running plays , giving the Rams a 22 - 17 lead after tight end Ernie Conwell dropped Warner ' s pass on a two point conversion attempt . Philadelphia went three - and - out again on its next two possessions , and Faulk took advantage of an Eagles ' defense that was on the field for most of the second half . On the Rams drive after the second punt , he broke a 25 - yard run on third down and 1 , caught a 10 - yard pass , and then ran for 8 yards before finally scoring a 1 - yard touchdown run to increase the Rams lead to 29 - 17 with 6 : 55 left in the game . A 41 - yard kickoff return to the Rams 48 - yard line from Brian Mitchell sparked an Eagles rally . McNabb led the Eagles 52 yards , completing an 11 - yard pass to Chad Lewis on fourth down and 8 and a 17 - yard pass to Thrash before taking the ball across the goal line himself on a 3 - yard run . After forcing a punt , the Eagles got the ball back on their own 45 - yard line with 2 : 20 left . But on a fourth down and 7 conversion attempt , St . Louis defensive back Aeneas Williams intercepted a pass intended for Freddie Mitchell and the Rams held the ball for the rest of the game .