PHILADELPHIA – They were here two years ago. And fell victim to the St. Louis Rams, 29-24.
They tried again last year. Only to take a 27-10 whipping from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So now what? Can the Philadelphia Eagles make it work in their third consecutive visit to the NFC title game?
Is the third try the charm? Or is it three strikes and they’re out? They’ll find out Sunday when they meet the upstart Carolina Panthers at spanking new Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC berth in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Looking at it objectively, this should be the game that puts the Eagles over the top.
They’re playing at home.
They’re four-point favorites.
They’re coming off an emotional overtime victory against Green Bay.
And quarterback Donovan McNabb is playing with tremendous confidence after the fourth-and-26 completion that averted a loss to the Packers. The pass led to the tying field goal in the final seconds of regulation.
As wide receiver Freddie Mitchell, the recipient of the 28-yard completion, put it: “We don’t need fate; we have 5.”
That is the uniform number McNabb wears. Although he got off to a slow start this season, he finished strong: Counting last week, the Eagles have won 11 of their past 12 games. Just as important, McNabb is their undisputed team leader.
“He treats everyone the same, with total respect,” tight end Chad Lewis said. “He’s very funny, so he’ll sit down and swap stories and tell jokes with anyone.
“You don’t have to be a Pro Bowl player to get his attention. You just have to be here. And that’s one reason people gravitate to him, because he treats everyone with so much respect.”
The question facing the Eagles is what kind of treatment McNabb will get from the Panthers. He survived eight sacks against Green Bay and will face a strong pass rush Sunday from the Panthers’ defensive ends – Mike Rucker and Julius Peppers.
The Eagles ran the ball reasonably well during the regular season, averaging 125.9 yards a game, but lost their leading rusher, Brian Westbrook, to an injury late in the season.
Their passing game ranked 20th in the NFL. James Thrash was the Eagles’ leading receiver with 49 catches for 558 yards and one touchdown.
For the Eagles to beat Carolina, they probably need McNabb to make key plays – fourth-and-26 or third-and-one – to keep their offense moving.
“We need to protect him,” Lewis said. “We can’t let him get hit. It’s important that we keep him healthy.
“He’s a very tough guy, but we need to do a great job of always giving him the best protection that we can.”
That will be a tough assignment against the Carolina defensive line of Rucker, Peppers, Kris Jenkins and Brentson Buckner.
Although it is for the most part unspoken, there is a feeling that Sunday’s game is now or never for the current group of Eagles.
Free agency has begun cutting into the team, with Philadelphia losing defensive end Hugh Douglas and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter the past two seasons. And the Eagles likely will lose their two outstanding cornerbacks – Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor – at the end of this season.
Vincent and Taylor will be unrestricted free agents, and their fate probably was sealed when the Eagles signed free safety Brian Dawkins to a seven-year, $43-million contract extension last April. Regardless of how much they would like to keep Taylor, 30, and Vincent, 32, the salary cap probably will make it impossible.
The two veterans talked about it en route to practice this week.
“B, this is it, man,” Vincent said. “This is our last ride. We’ve got to go out there and salute the people Sunday. Tell them thank you.”
A Super Bowl appearance might just do it.
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