Not to spoil too much but this matchup between the Eagles and Packers with a shot to advance to the Conference Championship came down to an overtime field goal... an opportunity that never should have reached that point in the first place. Like, at all.
This postseason battle was a crazy duel between old man Brett Favre and a young Donavan McNabb. Around the time when Favre flirted with retirement before playing for what felt like 100 more seasons and the period where McNabb was praised as a regular-season dude but someone who consistently folded in the playoffs. You don't wanna miss this one but to find out more, we gotta rewind.
This postseason battle was a crazy duel between old man Brett Favre and a young Donavan McNabb. Around the time when Favre flirted with retirement before playing for what felt like 100 more seasons and the period where McNabb was praised as a regular-season dude but someone who consistently folded in the playoffs. You don't wanna miss this one but to find out more, we gotta rewind.
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00:00It's January 11th, 2004.
00:03We're in Philadelphia for an overtime post-season showdown
00:06between the hometown Eagles and visiting Green Bay Packers.
00:10Tied at 17, a clean kick would send Philly
00:13to their third straight conference championship.
00:16But it's honestly astonishing that we're even here in OT.
00:21This game has been a wild ride.
00:25To better appreciate the madness that led us here,
00:28we gotta rewind.
00:34Green Bay absolutely needs Philly to miss this kick
00:37to stay alive.
00:39Otherwise, it'll be a gut-punching ending
00:42to what's been a rollercoaster of a game
00:44within a rollercoaster of a few seasons for this franchise.
00:49The Packers seemed dynasty-bound in the late 90s
00:52after back-to-back Super Bowl appearances,
00:54but then things kinda went to shit.
00:57Last year's post-season loss especially stunned.
01:01Experts believed it was Green Bay's best chance
01:03at a deep run since their championship season,
01:06until it all came crashing down in a first-round upset
01:09against the sixth seed Atlanta Falcons.
01:12The loss marked the first time the Packers
01:14took a post-season L at home in franchise history,
01:17sparking media members to think Green Bay's reign
01:20had officially ended,
01:22mostly because the captain of the Cheeseheads
01:24considered retiring.
01:26Before the 2002 season kicked off,
01:29three-time MVP gunslinger Brett Favre
01:32had longed for a simple life at home
01:34of keeping a freshly manicured lawn.
01:37Favre wasn't getting any younger,
01:39and his play diminished a little over the years,
01:42but he was the engine that kept Green Bay going.
01:45If Favre played great, the Packers were in the mix.
01:49If he was even slightly off or hurt,
01:52Green Bay's hopes plummeted.
01:54Ultimately, Favre decided against retirement,
01:58and as the Packers entered this season,
02:00their expectations relied on his play,
02:03which looked shaky the first half of this year.
02:06Green Bay got off to an up-and-down start,
02:08where Favre broke his thumb early in the year,
02:11playing through pain and racking up turnovers.
02:14After a close Week 10 loss at home against Philly,
02:17where Favre fumbled three times,
02:19the wheels appeared to be falling off.
02:21That matchup presented an opportunity
02:24for Green Bay to cover some ground,
02:25but the loss knocked them under .500,
02:28and experts believe they had no one to blame
02:31but the person staring back at them in the mirror.
02:34After another loss a few weeks later
02:36against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving,
02:38Green Bay had to win out
02:39to have a remote shot at the postseason,
02:42which is exactly what they did.
02:45The team caught fire in December,
02:48outscoring teams at a ridiculous clip
02:50that resembled the offensive production
02:52of their title-winning season.
02:54Amon Green headed a dangerous rushing attack
02:57that kept opposing defenses on their toes,
03:00but it was Favre's relentless performance
03:02through adversity that kept Green Bay thriving.
03:05A day removed from losing his father
03:07to a sudden heart attack,
03:09Favre tossed four TDs in the late-season must-win game
03:13to keep Green Bay's playoff hopes alive.
03:16Their postseason admission and NFC North title
03:18were aided by a wacky ending
03:20from their division-rival Minnesota Vikings,
03:22but Green Bay still deserved a ton of credit
03:25for their finish.
03:26They took care of business
03:28in a thrilling overtime shootout
03:29against the Seattle Seahawks in the first round,
03:32and although the odds were stacked against them
03:34to advance past that,
03:36Green Bay entered their matchup against Philly
03:39with a ton of confidence.
03:41And it showed early on in this matchup.
03:44Green Bay jumped out front with a 14-0 lead
03:47where Favre looked in complete command of the offense
03:50with two first-quarter TDs.
03:52If it weren't for Ramon Green
03:54tripping over his teammate at the one-yard line
03:56in the second quarter,
03:58the Packers could've entered the half up two scores.
04:01Philly eventually knotted things up in the fourth quarter,
04:04but thanks to Favre hitting some big-time throws
04:07and marching his team down the field,
04:09Green Bay retook the lead
04:11and looked to hold on to the end of regulation.
04:14Yet, here they are in overtime praying for a missed kick.
04:18A successful boot could put the Eagles
04:20one step closer to the Super Bowl.
04:23Like Green Bay, Philly wouldn't be here
04:26without their QB leading the way.
04:29After being drafted second overall in 1999,
04:32Donovan McNabb has proved himself as a star in the league.
04:36In just one season, he transformed the Eagles
04:39from a bottom-of-the-barrel franchise
04:42into a perennial threat in the NFC.
04:44But despite a dynamite start to his career,
04:47McNabb has been heavily criticized,
04:49mostly thanks to the moments
04:51where he crumbled under the bright lights.
04:54After a strong first half against the St. Louis Rams
04:56in the 0-1 Conference Championship,
04:58Philly's offense sputtered after the break,
05:01leading to their demise.
05:03McNabb thrived as a dual-threat QB,
05:06destroying teams with his arm and legs,
05:09but barely ran into the fourth quarter of that matchup.
05:12Even worse, with a shot to steal the game late,
05:16McNabb threw a costly game-sealing interception.
05:19The following season looked as promising as ever,
05:22but again ended with disappointment.
05:25McNabb looked like a strong MVP candidate in the 0-2 season,
05:29but sustained an ankle injury late in the year.
05:32He luckily returned from the playoffs
05:34and led the Eagles to an easy divisional round win
05:37over the Falcons.
05:39But the following week wasn't as sweet.
05:42Philly got crushed by a dominant Tampa Bay Buccaneers
05:45defense, where McNabb played easily
05:48his worst game of the season.
05:50Tampa's pressure rattled him all game,
05:52affecting his timing and forcing him into poor decisions,
05:55where he again tossed a costly game-clinching interception
05:59to end the season.
06:00McNabb acknowledged he played like shit
06:03and knew Philly had a chance at a title
06:05only if he played up to his true standards,
06:09a thought that journalists agreed with
06:11heading into the new year.
06:13Philly lost some key pieces in the offseason
06:15and were expected to take a step back,
06:17but media members believed if the Eagles
06:19were to somehow make a postseason run,
06:22it would be thanks to the play of McNabb.
06:24However, after Philly opened up the year
06:27with back-to-back losses,
06:29experts were ready to bury their playoff hopes.
06:32The Eagles didn't stay dead for long.
06:36Behind yet another stellar season for McNabb,
06:38Philly drastically turned their season around,
06:41finishing 12-4.
06:43When they faced off against Green Bay on the road
06:45earlier this year, it was the young buck
06:47leading his team to victory over the seasoned vet.
06:51Media members thought the Eagles' Super Bowl chances
06:53took a hit when they lost star running back
06:55Brian Westbrook at the end of the season,
06:57but as long as McNabb was locked in,
07:00the expectation was Philly could make some noise.
07:03He out-dueled Favre in the regular season,
07:07but with more at stake, McNabb had to step up
07:10to shed his past postseason shortcomings,
07:12which didn't start too hot.
07:15In the first quarter, McNabb coughed up the ball
07:18while scrambling to avoid pressure,
07:20and Favre made him pay with a deep TD the very next play.
07:25McNabb finally got his get-back later in the second quarter.
07:29The Eagles marched down the field
07:30on a six-play, 77-yard drive,
07:34where McNabb connected on five straight passes,
07:36finishing with a seven-yard TD toss to get on the board.
07:40After giving up 14 points in the first quarter,
07:43Philly's defense locked in for the second half,
07:45giving their offense opportunities to even the game.
07:49Later in the third quarter, McNabb did it all
07:52and put the team on its back.
07:55He started off the drive flexing his legs
07:57with a clean run, scooting by defenders for a first down.
08:01Two plays later, McNabb switched it up,
08:04showing off his cannon with a 23-yard strike to L.J. Smith.
08:09After a mixed bag of plays,
08:11McNabb made Green Bay's defense look silly,
08:14shaking off pressure in the backfield
08:16before getting free and connecting with Ty Pinkston
08:19on a 12-yard score to even the game.
08:22The dude pulled off moves
08:24that seemed impossible on the field.
08:26You may watch football for years
08:29and never see a better play by a quarterback
08:31than Don McNabb.
08:33Eight plays, 89 yards, all accounted for by McNabb.
08:38Just ridiculous.
08:40With a game-tying drive like that,
08:42McNabb was on the path of clearing his past playoff hiccups
08:47until he got back to his old ways
08:49and nearly finished his team later in the fourth quarter.
08:53Down three, Philly needed to convert on short yardage
08:56to keep their drive alive,
08:58but McNabb got stripped rolling out of the pocket,
09:00forcing them to punt.
09:02With the ball, Green Bay strolled down the field,
09:06working the clock, making Philly burn two timeouts.
09:11The Packers appeared to go for the kill shot
09:13at the Eagles' 41-yard line on fourth and short,
09:16but ended up taking a delay of game penalty
09:18before punting it off.
09:21Starting from their own 20 with one timeout
09:24and a little over two minutes to play,
09:26Philly needed to make something shake
09:28to have a chance at tying this up.
09:30And moving backwards certainly wasn't ideal.
09:35As McNabb took an ugly 16-yard sack,
09:38plus some incomplete passes mixed in,
09:41the Eagles found themselves staring down a long fourth
09:45and 26.
09:47We've seen McNabb be lethal with his legs,
09:49but Philly clearly has to pass and his options ain't great.
09:54The Eagles' receivers have hands like feet.
09:57None of McNabb's options were remotely close
10:00to having a 1,000-yard season.
10:03It's why McNabb often took things into his own hands,
10:06but someone has to step up.
10:10On the play, McNabb dropped back,
10:12hung in the pocket,
10:14and delivered a ball cleanly down the middle
10:16to Freddie Mitchell,
10:18who covered just enough ground to pick up the first.
10:21Although, the announcers thought Philly
10:24might've got a favorable spot.
10:26Well, they got a great spot
10:29after that catch by Freddie Mitchell.
10:32Whether the refs gave them a few inches or not,
10:35the Packers' D allowed Mitchell
10:37to shriek freely down the field,
10:39giving the Eagles a chance to tie it up.
10:41Fourth and a mile.
10:44It's ridiculous.
10:46Playing underneath, just defending off vibes.
10:50After a slew of plays,
10:52Philly worked the ball to Green Bay's 19-yard line,
10:55where they drilled the game-tying kick,
10:57sending it to overtime.
10:59Both of these quads are driven
11:01by the play of their quarterbacks,
11:03and now more than ever,
11:05one of them needs to will their team to victory.
11:08Philly won the toss,
11:09so McNabb was up first,
11:11and a three-and-out won't get the job done.
11:15Favre was up next.
11:17He already has a title under his belt,
11:20and as Green Bay took over from their own 32,
11:23this could be the path toward another.
11:26On first down, the veteran dropped back to avoid pressure
11:30and heaved the ball down the field.
11:33Yikes.
11:36Yep, that's probably the worst time to throw a pick,
11:40and with that return,
11:42Philly already found themselves around field goal range.
11:46After churning away more yards,
11:49that brings us here.
11:51The fate of the Eagles' future comes down
11:53to a clean boot from kicker David Akers.
11:56Sure, this is only a 31-yarder,
11:59but Akers is still fairly new to this.
12:02He's had an unconventional journey up to this point.
12:07After an impressive collegiate career,
12:09Akers entered the league as an undrafted free agent,
12:12getting passed around from team to team,
12:14working a variety of jobs
12:16before landing with the Eagles in 1999.
12:20Philly shipped him off to their NFL Europe team for a stint,
12:24but in his limited attempts with the squad stateside,
12:27Akers impressed the Eagles with his mighty leg,
12:30so much so that when longtime kicker Norm Johnson retired
12:34entering the 2000 season,
12:36the team turned the starting gig over to Akers.
12:40Special teams coordinator John Harbaugh
12:42thought Akers took the needed time to learn under Johnson
12:45and was more than ready for the job,
12:48which Akers proved immediately.
12:50Since taking over, Akers has been lights out for the Eagles,
12:54making consecutive Pro Bowls
12:56and earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2001.
13:00He's already climbed the ranks
13:01of the NFL's all-time accuracy list for kickers
13:04and has two career game-winning field goals
13:07in overtime under his belt.
13:09Although, when called upon tonight,
13:12Akers has been a little off,
13:14following a sweet 41-yard scramble by McNabb
13:17early in the first quarter,
13:19Akers missed a 33-yarder wide left
13:22that would've narrowed Green Bay's lead.
13:25He buried the 37-yarder to send this game to OT,
13:28but with gusting winds on a cold night,
13:31nothing is guaranteed.
13:33If he misses, Harbaugh will have a chance
13:36to atone for his crucial mistake
13:38and lead the Packers back to the mountaintop
13:40as he approaches retirement.
13:42Akers can be the hero tonight,
13:44but the Eagles wouldn't be here without McNabb.
13:48He's been through his fair share of criticism
13:50over the years,
13:52but McNabb has had to carry his team to the finish line
13:55as Philly is a made kick away
13:57from their third straight conference championship game,
14:01a kick that comes down to a dude
14:02who struggled to make it as a pro,
14:05but has transformed into one of the NFL's
14:07most elite kickers.
14:09It all comes down to this.
14:11Welcome to a moment in history.
14:13You can't call back-to-back timeouts.
14:16Akers.
14:18The Eagles are going back to the NFC Championship game.
14:2320-17.