2002 Philadelphia Eagles season The 2002 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 70th in the league . The team improved upon their previous output of 11 – 5 , going 12 – 4 and making the playoffs for the third consecutive year . The team was eventually upset in the NFC Conference Championship . Regular season . Week 1 : at Tennessee Titans . The Eagles ' season of high expectations began with a loss to the Tennessee Titans after the team blew a 24 – 10 halftime lead . The Titans scored on their first possession on 14 - yard reception by Eddie George . Philadelphia took advantage of a muffed punt to extend a drive and scored on an 18 - yard touchdown pass to James Thrash . The Eagles then executed a successful onsides kick and running back Duce Staley found the end zone on a 7 - yard pass . Following a Tennessee field goal , the Eagles scored again early in the second quarter on an 11 - play drive when Donovan McNabb completed his third touchdown pass – this one for 7 yards to Chad Lewis . A fumble recovery by the Philadelphia defense allowed a field goal before halftime to make the score 24 – 10 Eagles . Unfortunately , the Eagles offense and defense would go cold in the second half and the Titans would dominate the rest of the game . Joe Nedney kicked a 47 - yard field goal for Tennessee , and the Eagles punted after a 15 - play drive . Steve McNair completed his second touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter ( the two point conversion failed ) and it was now 24 – 19 . On Tennessee ' s next drive , McNair drove the Titans down the field and Eddie George punched it in from 2 yards out with 3 : 12 to play . The two point conversion succeeded and Philadelphia now trailed 27 – 24 . The Eagles ' offense got two more chances , but failed to score . McNabb had two interceptions to go with his three touchdowns . Rookie Brian Westbrook , playing in his first game , led the team with 42 rushing yards on 8 carries . Week 2 : at Washington Redskins . The Eagles crushed the Steve Spurrier - led Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football by a score of 37 – 7 . Philadelphia found the end zone on their first two drives . Donovan McNabb scored after he was flushed from the pocket on 3rd and goal , and he hit Jeff Thomason for a short touchdown pass on the next possession . Washington ' s only points came early in the second quarter on a 90 - yard punt return by Jacquez Green . The Eagles added three field goals before the half to open up a 23 – 7 lead . McNabb , despite the fact that he was late hit on the play , completed a 39 - yard touchdown pass to James Thrash in the third quarter . Dorsey Levens broke a 47 - yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 37 – 7 . The Eagles outgained the Redskins 451 – 179 , and the defense forced three turnovers . The most drama probably occurred in the fourth quarter when a strange airborne substance , which turned out to be pepper spray used by stadium security , began making players and fan cough near the Philadelphia sideline . McNabb threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Thrash had 107 receiving yards and a touchdown . Week 3 : vs Dallas Cowboys . Overcoming a slow start , the Eagles blasted the Dallas Cowboys 44 – 13 in their home opener . David Akers booted a 51 - yard field goal early on , but Reggie Swinton returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for the Cowboys . Dallas took a 10 – 3 lead on a field goal , but the Eagles bounced back in the second quarter . Donovan McNabb hooked up with receiver James Thrash on a 35 - yard touchdown and he took it in himself from two yards out four minutes later as Philadelphia moved into the lead 17 – 10 . Akers made a short field goal before halftime to make it 20 – 10 . In the third quarter , McNabb looked to run , but instead threw to a wide open Antonio Freeman for a 59 - yard touchdown play . Then , Brian Westbrook threw a 25 - yard touchdown pass to Todd Pinkston on a trick play , and the route was on . McNabb added a fourth quarter touchdown pass to Pinkston after a 17 - play drive that consumed eight minutes . McNabb threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns . The defense collected four turnovers ( to give them 11 for the season at that point ) and sacked Quincy Carter four times . Week 4 : vs Houston Texans . Philadelphia overcame another slow start with another big second quarter and a big effort from safety Brian Dawkins to defeat the expansion Houston Texans 35 – 17 . David Carr completed a 23 - yard touchdown to Corey Bradford to give Houston an early 7 – 0 lead . Following a David Akers field goal , the Eagles took control in the second quarter behind two short rushing touchdowns by Duce Staley ( with the first being set up by a Dawkins fumble recovery ) and another field goal to go up 20 – 7 by halftime . Philadelphia then used a trick play to score its next touchdown . With a punt formation in , the direct snap went to Brian Mitchell who started to run and then flipped it past the defense to Dawkins , who raced 57 yards for the score . After the two - point conversion , the Eagles led 28 – 7 . The Texans came back with another touchdown to Bradford and a field goal to close to 28 – 17 , but Donovan McNabb ( who signed a 12 - year contract extension the week before the game ) sealed the deal with a 38 - yard touchdown to James Thrash . Dawkins became the first player in NFL history to record a sack , recover a fumble , intercept a pass , and catch a touchdown pass in the same game . McNabb , who had early accuracy issues , threw for 259 yards . The defense sacked Carr seven times . Week 5 : at Jacksonville Jaguars . Another sloppy performance against an AFC opponent meant a 28 – 25 defeat for the Eagles in Jacksonville . Trailing 6 – 0 after a pair of field goals by the Jacksonville Jaguars , Philadelphia took the lead on 4 - yard touchdown pass to Chad Lewis . With less than two minutes left in the half and Jacksonville set to punt , the Eagles were flagged with too many men on the field resulting in a Jaguar first down . Mark Brunell took his team quickly down the field and fired a touchdown to Kyle Brady . The two point conversion gave Jacksonville a 14 – 7 halftime lead . After a David Akers field goal , Jacksonville receiver Jimmy Smith beat Bobby Taylor and took the ball to inside the Eagle 5 - yard line , leading to an easy Jacksonville touchdown . Later in the fourth quarter , Jaguar return man Bobby Shaw took a punt back for a touchdown ( the third return for a touchdown against the Eagles in four weeks ) to make it 28 – 10 and put the game out of reach . Donovan McNabb , who was sacked five times and was visibly ill in the fourth quarter , rallied the Eagles to two late touchdowns , but Philadelphia came up three points short . McNabb rushed for 100 yards and Duce Staley rushed for 82 . The defending NFC East champion Eagles fell to 3 – 2 as they went into the bye . Week 7 : vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Duce Staley and the defense turned in great performances as the Eagles scored a big win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Philadelphia scored first on a 30 - yard field goal by David Akers , however the Bucs took the lead when Derrick Brooks picked up a Donovan McNabb fumble and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown six minutes into the first quarter . In the second quarter , after Brian Mitchell returned a punt into Tampa Bay territory , McNabb hit Todd Pinkston on a fly route for a 42 - yard touchdown and a 10 – 7 lead . The Eagles and Bucs traded field goals in the third quarter as the Philadelphia defense ( ranked # 2 in the league behind Tampa ) preserved the narrow lead . In the fourth quarter , McNabb scored on a short run himself on a long drive to give the Eagles a 20 – 10 lead . Staley rushed for 152 yards on 24 carries , while the defense registered four sacks and knocked Tampa quarterback Brad Johnson out of the game with cracked ribs . The win made the Eagles 4 – 2 with an undefeated record against opponents in their conference . Week 8 : vs New York Giants . After a big win over Tampa Bay , the Eagles did not let down , defeating the New York Giants at home on Monday Night Football 17 – 3 . A 27 - yard kick by David Akers gave the Eagles a 3 – 0 lead . Tiki Barber ' s 31 - yard run in the second quarter set up a field goal for New York , but the Eagles answered with two more field goals to take a 9 – 3 lead . The Giants best chance to score was broken up when safety Blaine Bishop stripped Charles Stackhouse near the goalline , knocking the ball out of the end zone for a touchback . In the fourth quarter with the ball on Giant 40 - yard line on third down , Donovan McNabb was flushed from the pocket and took off on a 40 - yard scramble down the left side for a touchdown , picking up key blocks from John Welbourn and Todd Pinkston . McNabb completed the two - point conversion to Chad Lewis . McNabb rushed for 111 yards and Duce Staley picked up 126 yards . The Eagles went 5 – 2 and took a two - game lead in the division race . Week 9 : at Chicago Bears . The Eagles overcame a halftime 13 – 7 deficit to defeat the Chicago Bears in a cold , blustery day in Champaign , Illinois . Trailing 3 – 0 , the Eagles drove down the field aided by several Chicago penalties . A 5 - yard rush by Donovan McNabb gave the Eagles the lead , but Chicago came back with a 6 - yard Anthony Thomas touchdown run and a 53 - yard field goal before halftime . In the second half , the Eagles defense clamped down , pressuring Bears quarterback Jim Miller and holding Chicago scoreless . David Akers booted four second half field goals to give the Eagles their winning margin , 19 – 13 . The defense sacked Miller three times and McNabb threw for 209 yards and rushed for 46 plus a touchdown . The win made Philadelphia 6 – 2 . Week 10 : vs Indianapolis Colts . Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts trounced the Eagles 35 – 13 in their worst loss since 1999 . Philadelphia scored first on a field goal , but then Manning began to pick apart the Eagles ' defense , driving the Colts to two first quarter touchdowns . The Eagles got another field goal in the second quarter to make it 14 – 6 , but the Colts put the game away in the third quarter when Manning completed touchdown passes to Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison . The only Eagle touchdown would be a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeff Thomason . Manning would go 18 - for - 23 with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns , rookie running back James Mungro carried for 114 yards and two scores , while Harrison and Wayne each had over 100 receiving yards . McNabb was 27 - for - 47 with 281 yards . The Eagles fell to 1 – 3 against the AFC and 6 – 3 overall . Week 11 : vs Arizona Cardinals . In probably the gutsiest performance of Donovan McNabb ' s career , the quarterback played an entire game on a broken ankle and threw four touchdown passes to lead the Eagles past the Arizona Cardinals 38 – 14 . On the third play from scrimmage , McNabb was sacked by LaVar Woods and Adrian Wilson , resulting in what was initially believed to be a sprained ankle . With Arizona ahead 7 – 0 , McNabb ( who was limited to either throwing quickly or handing off ) , took the Eagles down the field and completed a 2 - yard touchdown pass to James Thrash . He found Dorsey Levens for another short touchdown in the second quarter . Jake Plummer and the Cardinals tied the game at 14 – 14 , but McNabb hit Todd Pinkston with a 27 - yard pass to give Philadelphia a lead it would not relinquish . Just before halftime , McNabb completed his fourth touchdown pass – a 9 - yarder to Duce Staley . In the second half , the Eagles added a field goal and a 9 - yard touchdown run by Thrash . McNabb had gone 20 - for - 25 for 255 yards and four scores , while Staley contributed 136 rushing yards . After the game , x - rays revealed that McNabb had actually broken his ankle . The injury would keep him out until at least the playoffs . Despite a 7 – 3 record , the prevailing belief was that the Eagles ' Super Bowl run had been derailed with the loss of McNabb . Week 12 : at San Francisco 49ers . On a Monday Night game in San Francisco , the Eagles won in an improbable 38 – 17 blowout over the 7 – 3 49ers in the team ' s first game without Donovan McNabb . Backup Koy Detmer led the Eagles to a touchdown early in the second quarter , completing a 25 - yard touchdown pass along the sideline to Todd Pinkston for the lead . Brian Mitchell followed with a 76 - yard punt return touchdown ( his NFL - record 13th ) to make it 14 – 0 Philadelphia . After the 49ers scored on a Terrell Owens touchdown reception , Detmer made it 21 – 7 with a touchdown strike to Antonio Freeman . Detmer dove the ball in himself in the third quarter to open up a 28 – 10 lead for the Eagles , but during a drive later in the quarter , Detmer dislocated his elbow and was taken from the field in obvious pain . Third - string quarterback A . J . Feeley entered the game and immediately hit Chad Lewis with a short touchdown pass for Philadelphia ' s fifth touchdown . Owens would catch one more touchdown , but the defense , which had four sacks , mostly held the San Francisco offense in check . Detmer had statistically the best night of his career , throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns . Pinkston had 6 catches for 94 yards . The Eagles went to 8 – 3 with a 7 – 0 record within the NFC . Week 13 : vs St . Louis Rams . A strong defensive effort helped the Eagles defeat the St . Louis Rams 10 – 3 in a rematch of the 2001 NFC Championship Game . Cornerback Bobby Taylor returned a Kurt Warner interception 23 yards for a touchdown . David Akers kicked a 31 - yarder in the second quarter to give Philadelphia a 10 – 0 lead . The Rams could only muster a field goal over the entire game . The Eagles picked off two passes ( including one by Troy Vincent that ended a late St . Louis scoring threat ) and recovered three fumbles . N . D . Kalu had half of the team ' s eight sacks of Warner , and Marshall Faulk was held to 29 yards rushing . A . J . Feeley , with 181 passing yards , was efficient in his debut by avoiding any interceptions . The Eagles improved to 9 – 3 with the win . Week 14 : at Seattle Seahawks . The Eagles won again behind third - string quarterback A . J . Feeley , downing the Seattle Seahawks 27 – 20 . The Seahawks drove for field goals on their first two possessions to take a 6 – 0 lead . Brian Mitchell had a good return on the ensuing kickoff , Feeley then converted a couple of big third downs before connecting with James Thrash for a 6 - yard touchdown pass . In the second quarter , Duce Staley broke a 21 - yard touchdown run to make it 14 – 6 Eagles . Two David Akers field goals later , and the Eagles led 20 – 6 at halftime . Rookie Sheldon Brown picked off Matt Hasselbeck and Feeley followed with a 20 - yard touchdown pass to Todd Pinkston . After Seattle narrowed the score to 27 – 13 , Akers missed a fourth quarter field goal that would have put the game away . Hasselbeck responded with another touchdown pass to make it 27 – 20 , but the Eagles recovered the onside kick and ended the game . Philadelphia sacked Hasselbeck four times and intercepted him three times . Staley rushed for 100 yards , while Shaun Alexander gained 123 for Seattle . Feeley threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns , while Pinkston had 7 catches for 88 yards . The Eagles had now won a season - high four straight games and were 10 – 3 . Week 15 : vs Washington Redskins . Playing in the final regular season game at Veterans Stadium , the Eagles clinched their second straight NFC East title after an easy 34 – 21 win . On Washington ' s first drive , rookie safety Michael Lewis recovered a Stephen Davis fumble for the Eagles . Duce Staley scored on a 38 - yard catch - and - run to give Philadelphia a 7 – 0 lead . The Eagles added a field goal and a short Staley rushing touchdown in the second quarter to go ahead 17 – 0 . Ahead 17 – 7 in the third quarter , Eagle linebacker Carlos Emmons recovered a fumble , and after not being touched by the Redskins , proceeded to return it 44 yards for a touchdown . Washington went three - and - out , and A . J . Feeley led the Eagles on an 80 - yard drive capped off by a 6 - yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman to bury the Redskins 31 – 7 . Washington scored two " trash time " touchdowns in the fourth quarter . Feeley threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns , and Staley had 106 yards from scrimmage and a pair of scores . Philadelphia ' s defense forced and recovered three fumbles . The Eagles were now amazingly undefeated since the McNabb injury and were playoff - bound with an 11 – 3 record . Week 16 : at Dallas Cowboys . The Eagles brushed aside the hapless , Dave Campo - led Dallas Cowboys 27 – 3 at Texas Stadium . Duce Staley ran it in from 5 - yards out in the first quarter and Todd Pinkston caught a 14 - yard touchdown pass from A . J . Feeley in the second quarter as the Eagles went to halftime with a 17 – 0 lead . The Eagles defense harassed Dallas quarterback Chad Hutchinson throughout the game , sacking him seven times and holding him to 128 passing yards . A Joey Galloway punt return inside the Philadelphia 10 - yard was wasted for Dallas when the Eagles defense held and forced a turnover on downs . The Cowboys got on the board with a field goal on their next drive , and were deep in Philadelphia territory on their next drive when Shawn Barber intercepted Hutchinson and returned the ball 80 yards to put the game away . David Akers added his second field goal as the Eagles went ahead 27 – 3 . Staley and rookie Brian Westbrook combined for 111 rushing yards . Feeley had 253 passing yards , one touchdown , and two interceptions . Antonio Freeman had four catches for 82 yards . Philadelphia went to 12 – 3 , 11 – 0 within the NFC . Week 17 : at New York Giants . With the New York Giants playing for a wild card berth and the Eagles playing for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs , the Giants edged the Eagles 10 – 7 in overtime . Philadelphia moved down the field on their opening drive , scoring on a 20 - yard reverse to James Thrash , but their offense would struggle throughout the rest of the game . The Giants moved the ball well , with Tiki Barber rushing for 203 yards and receiving 73 yards . However , Barber had three fumbles lost that helped keep New York off the board until the fourth quarter , when rookie tight end Jeremy Shockey took the ball away from safety Brian Dawkins in the air in the end zone . With the score tied and five minutes left , Dawkins stripped Barber ( his third fumble ) and the Eagles recovered at the Giant 26 - yard line , but David Akers missed a 35 - yard field goal and the game went to overtime . On their first possession , the Giants maneuvered into Eagle territory and Matt Bryant kicked the 36 - yard game winner . The Giants outgained the Eagles 461 – 209 and A . J . Feeley had his worst game of the season , going 13 - for - 25 for 150 yards with an interception . The Eagles finished the season 12 – 4 , and still received homefield advantage throughout the playoffs when the Green Bay Packers were defeated the next day . Playoffs . Divisional Round : vs Atlanta Falcons . After enjoying a first - round bye , the Eagles opened up their 2002 – 2003 playoff quest against the Atlanta Falcons . The Falcons , led by second - year quarterback Michael Vick , went 9 – 6 – 1 during the season . Though they stumbled towards the end of the season , losing three of their final four , the Falcons upset the 12 – 4 Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in the Wild Card round 27 – 7 . For the Eagles , quarterback Donovan McNabb was back under center after missing the final six games with a broken ankle . Seven minutes into the game , on Atlanta ' s second possession , Vick was intercepted on the left side by cornerback Bobby Taylor , who returned the ball 39 yards for a Philadelphia touchdown . McNabb led the Eagles to field goals on their next two drives , and by the middle of the second quarter , it was 13 – 0 Philadelphia . The Falcons got on the board with a 13 - play drive capped by a short Jay Feely field goal . After the Eagles punted , Vick took the Falcons on a 9 - play drive in two minutes to set up a 52 - yard Feely field goal to end the half with the score 13 – 6 . After a 51 - yard field goal miss by David Akers in the third quarter , the Falcons drove into the Philadelphia red zone . On second down , Vick took off an a dash towards the end zone . Brian Dawkins delivered a crushing hit that left both players sprawled on the turf , but Vick had reached the end zone and it appeared the game would be tied . However , a holding call negated the touchdown and two plays later , Feely missed a short field goal . In the fourth quarter , McNabb guided the Eagles down the field with a series of short passes and on 4th and 1 from the Atlanta 35 - yard line , he found James Thrash over the middle and Thrash sailed untouched into the end zone for the game - sealing touchdown . Ahead 20 – 7 , Philadelphia drained the clock on their next possession and Vick threw an interception to Dawkins to end the game . McNabb was an efficient 20 - for - 30 for 250 yards and a touchdown in his return . He also had a 19 - yard scramble on the Eagles ' first drive . The defense played a strong game , sacking Vick three times , holding Warrick Dunn to 45 yards rushing , and limiting Atlanta to just two field goals . Vick had 274 passing yards , but he threw two interceptions . NFC Championship : vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The Eagles were dealt a crushing upset 27 – 10 defeat in the NFC Championship Game by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The favored Eagles appeared destined to win the conference title and propel themselves into the Super Bowl . They had beaten the Buccaneers at home in each of the last two postseasons and in October 2002 , they had defeated Tampa Bay 20 – 10 . The Buccaneers had never won a road playoff game and were 1 – 22 in games under 40 degrees ( it would be 26 degrees at kickoff ) . Moreover , the game would be the final one for the Eagles at Veteran ' s Stadium . Brian Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for the Eagles . Two plays later , Duce Staley broke through the middle for a 20 - yard touchdown in the game ' s first minute . The Eagles led 7 – 0 , the Philadelphia crowd was deafening , and the Eagles now looked certain to cruise to victory . The Buccaneers recovered quickly , driving for a 48 - yard Martin Gramatica field goal on their first possession . The Eagles punted on their next drive , pinning Tampa Bay at their own 4 - yard line . On 3rd - and - 2 from the Tampa 24 - yard line , quarterback Brad Johnson hit Joe Jurevicius on a crossing route over the middle . Jurevicius badly beat veteran safety Blaine Bishop , who was playing injured , on the coverage and ran down the sideline all the way to the Eagle 5 - yard line . The 71 - yard play turned the tide of the game and Mike Alstott finished the drive with a touchdown to put Tampa Bay ahead 10 – 7 . In the second quarter , Philadelphia drove into the Tampa Bay red zone and tied the game with a 30 - yard David Akers field goal . However , the Buccaneers began a 12 - play drive on the ensuing kickoff that ended in a 9 - yard touchdown pass from Brad Johnson to Keyshawn Johnson , making it 17 – 10 Tampa Bay . Donovan McNabb took the Eagles back into Tampa Bay territory before halftime , but Simeon Rice sacked McNabb and recovered the resultant fumble . On the Eagles ' first possession of the third quarter , McNabb lost the ball again on a sack , this time near midfield . With a minute left in the third quarter , Tampa Bay added another field goal to take a 20 – 10 lead . Philadelphia had trouble moving the ball throughout most of the second half as their hopes faded . With less than four minutes to play , the Eagles drove to the Tampa Bay 10 - yard line , but McNabb was intercepted by Ronde Barber who returned the ball all the way for a touchdown to end the game . McNabb was 26 - for - 49 for 243 yards with an interception and two fumbles lost , while Johnson was an efficient 20 - for - 33 for 259 yards and a score . Staley was held to 58 yards rushing , while the Eagles defense did manage to hold the Buccaneers to only 49 rushing yards . The heartbreaking loss , which was made all of the more painful when Tampa Bay went on to easily defeat the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl two weeks later , is consistenly rated as the worst in Philadelphia sports history .