January 07, 2025
Mark Hoffman/Imagn Images
Freddie Mitchell would like to thank his hands for the miraculous 4th and 26 catch in the Eagles' 2003 Divisional Round matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
The Eagles are set to take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon for a Wild Card Round matchup. It'll be the fourth ever meeting between the teams in the postseason and the third to happen this century. These contests have featured Hall of Famers on both sidelines, both present and future.
Let's take a stroll down memory lane and look at these past games before the Birds square off with the Packers at Lincoln Financial Field...
The Eagles nabbed their third and final NFL championship before the Super Bowl era began on a frigid day at Franklin Field. The Birds handed legendary Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi the only playoff loss of his storied career in that one.
The Eagles' top offensive player on the day was Tommy McDonald, who hauled in three passes for 90 yards including a 35-yard touchdown from Norm Van Brocklin.
Perhaps it makes sense for a game that's from 60-plus years ago, but what truly stands out from this win for the Birds is this imagery around it, particularly that of Chuck Badnarik, who sealed the game with a tackle on Green Bay's Jim Taylor.
It results in one of the greatest celebratory pictures in sports history, something that beckons to an era long, long ago:
This Day In 1960: Eagles win title. Chuck Bednarik celebrates with a cigar and a cigarette (📷 by Herb Scharfman/SI) pic.twitter.com/AuYefINWg0
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 26, 2017
The "Last of the 60-Minute Men" became downright iconic, going down as not just one of the greatest Eagles ever, but one of the greatest football players ever outright.
Okay, let's fast-forward a bit to a game people reading this article actually watched with their own eyes live.
The Eagles were in a sorry 14-0 first quarter hole, but crawled back into this one tying it up at 14-all. Green Bay took a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter, however, requiring something miraculous to play out for the Eagles to advance back to the NFC Championship Game for the third-consecutive season.
That did, in fact, happen.
Facing a seemingly insurmountable 4th and 26 late in the fourth quarter with their season hanging by the thinnest of threads, Donovan McNabb dropped back and fired a pass to Freddie Mitchell that just narrowly moved the chains:
#Packers Week!
— All About The Birds (@AATBirds) January 7, 2025
4th and 26: FredEx Delivers#FlyEaglesFly | @FMitchell84 pic.twitter.com/hjUkQHA6k2
FredEx? At least according to him, he always delivers.
The Birds were able to then march down the field and David Akers nailed a 37-yard field goal right before the end of regulation to send this baby to overtime.
The Eagles went three-and-out to start overtime, giving Green Bay a clear shot to win the game. On the Packers' first offensive play of OT, Brett Favre threw what might be the worst pass I've ever seen given the magnitude of the moment, the time on the clock and the down and distance:
FAVRE JUST HANDED THE GAME TO BRIAN DAWKINS pic.twitter.com/QAnLBK67Le
— Eagles Fan Central (@PhilaFanCentral) May 15, 2020
Baffling stuff. It's like Brian Dawkins was shagging fly balls out there before first pitch. It was first down! He threw it like they were down by five on the final play of the game.
With the ball back, the Eagles once again relied on Akers, whose 31-yard OT field goal gave the Birds the victory.
The year 2010 was a strange one for the Birds. It was the franchise's first season without McNabb since 1998. Kevin Kolb was supposed to be the quarterback of the future, but a Week 1 injury for him turns the keys over to Michael Vick, who regained his early career electric form in Philadelphia.
After the Monday Night Massacre, the Miracle at the New Meadowlands and other huge moments, the Eagles won the NFC East crown for the first time in four years and hosted a Wild Card Green Bay team at the Linc.
The Packers took a 14-0 second quarter lead on a three-touchdown day from Aaron Rodgers and it was hard for the Birds to find their footing after that. Even though they were the home team and the odds-on favorites, the Packers were simply the better team with a future Hall of Fame quarterback on their way to winning that year's Super Bowl.
The Birds' hopes ended on an interception from Vick on a pretty poor first down pass that was intended for Riley Cooper:
The Eagles' loss was a part of a nine-year drought without a single playoff win.
MORE: Super Bowl LIX odds
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