Loss to Bucs was Eagles' darkest day By Phil Sheridan | January 14, 2015 1:00:58 PM PSTPHILADELPHIA – There was no way the Eagles could lose. No way. Every sign pointed to them winning two playoff games at soon-to-be-defunct Veterans Stadium and reaching their first Super Bowl since the 1980 season. The Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons 20-6 in their playoff opener. Michael Vick, whose Eagles career was as unthinkable at this time as his prison term, threw an early interception that Bobby Taylor returned for a touchdown. When Donovan McNabb hit James Thrash for a fourth-quarter touchdown, it was clear the Eagles were in taking-care-of-business mode. Their second consecutive NFC championship game was at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 19, 2003. Tampa Bay’s coach, Jon Gruden, had worked in Veterans Stadium for three seasons as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator under former head coach Ray Rhodes. ESPN IMGAP Photo/GeorgeMike Alstott and Tampa Bay pulled off a stunner in the final Eagles game at Veterans Stadium on Jan. 19, 2003.How could the Eagles lose? It was their last home game ever at the Vet. The game-time temperature was 29 degrees, too cold for the warm-weather Buccaneers. More than all that, the Eagles had made steady progress under coach Andy Reid. Here, in his fourth season, it felt like time to go to the Super Bowl. Brian Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 70 yards. Less than a minute later, running back Duce Staley sprinted 20 yards for a touchdown. The noise at the Vet was a full-throated howl, a celebration of what was to come and an exorcism of so much that had come before. What happened next still stands among the darkest hours in Philadelphia sports history. The Buccaneers got the ball on their own 4-yard line after a Lee Johnson punt. They faced a third down at their own 24-yard line when a weakness the Eagles had covered up all season was finally exposed. With the physical but hardly agile Levon Kirkland as their middle linebacker, the Eagles had rotated Barry Gardner in, especially on passing downs. On third-and-2, Gruden had wide receiver Joe Jurevicius run a crossing route into Gardner’s territory. Jurevicius made the catch and ran toward the sideline. Safety Blaine Bishop, playing with a groin injury, let him get outside. Jurevicius went 71 yards, all the way to the Eagles’ 5-yard line. Tampa Bay’s Mike Alstott scored on a 1-yard run and Veterans Stadium went tomb-silent. Momentum had swung all the way to the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay had a 17-10 lead at halftime thanks to Brad Johnson’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson. By the fourth quarter, it was 20-10. The Eagles drove to the Tampa Bay 10. McNabb threw a pass for wide receiver Antonio Freeman. Ronde Barber intercepted and returned the ball 92 yards for the clinching touchdown. It was 27-10, and Veterans Stadium was as quiet as it was cold. The Buccaneers went on to beat Oakland in the Super Bowl. For Eagles fans, it was salt in a very deep wound. They knew the Eagles would have beaten the Raiders, too. There was no way they could lose. No way.
