2007 Philadelphia Eagles season

"at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"

Weather: 78°F, Clear

Attired in their throwback uniforms of yellow and baby blue, the Eagles won their first game, a 56-21 rout of the Detroit Lions. The offense scored touchdowns on their first five possessions. Brian Westbrook ran for a 25-yard rushing touchdown three minutes into the game. The Lions tied the score, but the Eagles came right back with another Westbrook rushing score. Then, Donovan McNabb and receiver Kevin Curtis hooked up on 68-yard touchdown pass. Early in the second quarter, McNabb passed to Curtis again, this time for a 12-yard score and a 28-7 Eagles lead. A few minutes later, McNabb found Curtis for a 43-yard touchdown pass, Curtis's third touchdown in a seven minute span. Jon Kitna attempted to rally the Lions, throwing two second quarter touchdown passes, but McNabb fed Westbrook a short pass that went for a 43-yard touchdown, making it 42-21. The Philadelphia defense tightened up in the second half, while Correll Buckhalter and Tony Hunt added short rushing touchdowns for the Eagles. McNabb, who had a perfect quarterback rating and did most of his damage in the first half, was 21 for 26 with 381 passing yards and four touchdowns. Curtis caught eleven passes for 221 yards and three scores. Westbrook had over 100 yards both rushing and receiving, with two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. Defensively, the Eagles recorded nine sacks.

Week 4: at New York Giants

"at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland"

Weather: 49°F, Sunny

The team rallied for a win over the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in week 10. Penalties on Washington’s defense helped allow a short McNabb to Brian Westbrook touchdown pass on Philadelphia’s opening drive. A fumble by L.J. Smith gave Washington the ball inside Eagle territory, and Jason Campbell capitalized with a touchdown pass to James Thrash, the former Eagle. The extra point was missed, but Campbell hit Thrash for another score later in the second quarter. The two-point conversion failed, leaving it 12-7 Washington. A Redskin field goal stretched Philadelphia’s deficit to 15-7 in the third quarter, but L.J. Smith, who spent much of the early season injured, caught an eight-yard touchdown from McNabb. The Eagles went for two to try to tie it, but were not successful. Campbell fired back with his third touchdown pass, this one to Keenan McCardell, to make it 22-13. McNabb needed five plays to get the points back, launching a 45-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Brown for the touchdown. Ladell Betts fumbled the ball away in Eagle territory on Washington’s next possession, but McNabb was sacked and fumbled it back to the Redskins on the next play. The Redskins eventually had first-and-goal from the three-yard line, but the Philadelphia defense had yet another huge goal-line stand, and Washington settled for a field goal to go up 25-20. The Eagles got the ball back with four minutes to play, and Westbrook immediately took a short pass and broke free for a 57-yard touchdown to go ahead 26-25 (the two-point conversion failing again). The defense came up big again, with Mike Patterson sacking Campbell to jar the ball loose, and Trent Cole recovering. Westbrook carried it in from ten yards out to seal the deal. McNabb, who surpassed Ron Jaworski for the most career completions in franchise history (2,090 at game's end), passed for 251 yards and four touchdowns in the 33-25 win. Westbrook rushed for 100 yards and had 83 receiving yards, with three total touchdowns. The comeback win improved the Eagles record to 4-5.

Week 11: vs. Miami Dolphins

Weather: 33°F, Light Rain

The Eagles met the 7-4 Seattle Seahawks with A.J. Feeley at quarterback. Feeley was picked off by Lofa Tatupu on the first play leading to a two-yard touchdown carry for running back Shaun Alexander. On the Eagles' ensuing drive, Correll Buckhalter ran for a 30-yard touchown run to tie the game. Tatupu caught his second interception on the Philadelphia's next possession and returned it to the Eagles' eight-yard line. Two plays later, Matt Hasselbeck completed a short touchdown pass to Bobby Engram. David Akers' field goal at the end of the first quarter made it 14-10, and Hasselback connected with Nate Burleson for a 43-yard score as Seattle went ahead 21-10. Kevin Curtis got open for a 24-yard touchdown reception to bring the Eagles within four points. With a minute left in the half, Philadelphia had first-and-goal from the one-yard line, but four straight plays failed to reach the end zone. A Bobby Engram fumble early in the second half gave Philadelphia the ball at the Seattle 40-yard line, and Brian Westbrook, who had been stopped three times at the one-yard line earlier, rushed to the left for a 29-yard touchdown and Philadelphia's only lead. Maurice Morris broke through on the left side for a 45-yard touchdown run and the Seahawks retook the lead 28-24 midway through the third quarter. The Eagles' Westbrook returned a punt 64 yards to the Seahawk 14-yard line, and Feeley tossed another interception to Tatupu. Feeley threw for one touchdown and four interceptions, giving him eight in two and a half games. Westbrook had 139 all-purpose yards and a score and Curtis caught six passes for 111 yards and a score of his own.

Week 14: vs. New York Giants

"at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana"

Now functioning as a spoiler, the Eagles travelled to face the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome - site of two losses in 2006, including one in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. The first quarter would be a shootout, with the teams combined for 5 touchdowns and over 300 yards of offense. On the third play from scrimmage, Donovan McNabb scrambled for a 40-yard gain, but fumbled, only to have the ball recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by receiver Kevin Curtis. A 52-yard bomb to wideout Devery Henderson keyed a four-play drive ending in a New Orleans touchdown by running back Aaron Stecker. McNabb's second fumble was recovered by New Orleans in Philadelphia territory, setting up another short touchdown for Stecker. The Eagles offense again moved the ball and Correll Buckhalter scored on a 20-yard scamper and the game was tied 14-14. On Philadelphia's next drive, McNabb found the open Reggie Brown for a 31-yard touchdown pass and a Philadelphia lead. In the second quarter, David Akers and Martin Gramatica traded field goals as the offenses settled down. The Saints had 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yard line on their opening drive of the second half, but the Eagles' defense stepped up with another big goal line stand and the seven point lead was preserved. McNabb then led the Eagles on a 98-yard, seven minute drive that ended in a 9-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis. The Saints answered with two field goals to get within eight at 31-23, but a McNabb to Curtis touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter wrapped things up for Philadelphia. McNabb looked mobile and was effective, throwing for three scores and 263 yards. Brian Westbrook had 100 rushing yards, while Curtis had 78 receiving yards, a touchdown reception, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. The second straight win raised the Eagles' record to 7-8 and gave them a chance to finish .500 with a win over the Buffalo Bills.

Week 17: vs. Buffalo Bills

"at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"

Weather: 42°F, Cloudy

In their final game of the season, the Eagles posted a 17-9 victory over the Buffalo Bills in a contest of 7-8 teams trying to finish the year at .500. On Philadelphia's second possession, Donovan McNabb used a series of short passes to move the Eagles to a 1st-and-goal situation. On 3rd-and-goal, McNabb hit rookie tight end Brent Celek for a touchdown. McNabb took the Eagles inside the Buffalo red zone again on the next drive, but he was intercepted and Buffalo's offense countered with a long drive ending in a Ryan Lindell field goal in the second quarter. Behind McNabb's arm, the Eagles conducted a two-minute drill and came away with a 38-yard David Akers field goal to make the halftime score 10-3. After Buffalo kicked another field goal in the third quarter, McNabb took the Eagles into Bills territory and completed a pass to Reggie Brown, who fumbled before he got to the end zone. Kevin Curtis was there to recover the fumble for a touchdown - for the second week in a row. Philadelphia went on top 17-6, but a 56-yard run by Marshawn Lynch helped the Bills to another field goal, putting them within eight with more than a quarter to play. A botched shotgun by center Jamaal Jackson was recovered by the Bills at the Eagle 28-yard line, but on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1, the Eagles' defense stuffed Marshawn Lynch, ending the Bills' scoring threat. That would turn out to be Buffalo's last opportunity, as the Eagles offense and defense ground out the clock over the final quarter. McNabb threw for 345 yards and a touchdown. Brian Westbrook had 99-all purpose yards and Reggie Brown had 83 receiving yards. The win at home allowed the Eagles to finish at 8-8, and finish in last place in the NFC East.

Division standings

References