Eagles' 2004 Super Bowl run: Surviving Cleveland

GAME 6

Date: Oct. 24, 2004

Opponent: Cleveland Browns

Site: Cleveland Browns Stadium

Score: Eagles, 34-31 (ot)

Eagles record: 6-0

Browns record: 3-4

The history: Not much. This was the second meeting since the Browns were reincarnated in 1999. The future was unknowingly on display, however, as Cleveland quarterback Jeff Garcia would lead the Eagles into the playoffs 2 years later and Browns secondary coach Todd Bowles would serve as Andy Reid's final defensive coordinator 8 years later. Also in 2012, the Browns hired Eagles architect Joe Banner to be the team's CEO.

I'll show you: This was the first time Garcia and Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens were on the field together since they were teammates in San Francisco in 2003. Their relationship disintegrated when Owens insinuated Garcia was gay in a 2004 interview with Playboy magazine. In 2007, Garcia married supermodel Carmella DeCesare, who was the Playboy Playmate of the Year in, ironically, 2004.

Game stuff: David Akers kicked a 50-yard field goal with 5:02 left in the overtime as the Eagles moved to 6-0 for just the second time in franchise history. The other was 1981, when the Birds finished 10-6 and lost in the wild-card round . . . Donovan McNabb completed passes to 10 receivers and threw four touchdown passes, including the 100th of his career . . . Garcia forced the overtime with a 4-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds left in regulation. The game-tying drive was kept alive by a very touchy roughing-the-passer call on Eagles safety Brian Dawkins. "You have to just roll with the call and keep on playing," Dawkins said. "You may not like it, but you've got to play through things like that."

The top 10: For trivia buffs, here are the 10 Eagles who caught passes that day: Todd Pinkston (6 catches, 100 yards), Chad Lewis (5-37-1), Terrell Owens (4-109-2), Brian Westbrook (3-17), Freddie Mitchell (2-31), Josh Parry (2-22), Reno Mahe (2-18), L.J. Smith (2-6-1), Greg Lewis (1-24), Dorsey Levens (1-12).

Ax and you shall receive: Jeremiah Trotter, dubbed the Ax Man for his colorful on-field celebrations, started at middle linebacker for the first time since 2001. Trotter was allowed to walk away from the Eagles as a free agent, playing for Washington in 2002-03. The Eagles were criticized for being stingy by not signing Trotter, then 24, to a lucrative deal after 2001.

Sign of the times: Cleveland fans heckled Owens with signs, including "T.O. has B.O." and "It takes one to know one," which was a reference to his comments in Playboy. Owens ripped that sign down after scoring a touchdown and was given a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Stat of the game: The 31 points were the most allowed by the defense all year, save for the season finale when many of the regulars did not play in a 38-10 loss to Cincinnati.

Also in the news that day: Penn State lost to Iowa the day before, 6-4. It was the first time since 1907 a Penn State game ended with that bizarre score . . . Ten people, including four family members of NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, were killed in a plane crash on the way to the race in Martinsville, Va. . . . The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in route to a sweep and their first World Series title in 86 years.

Quote of the day: "This is what the West Coast offense is about. In San Francisco, you had Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Steve Young, John Taylor, Brent Jones, all those components. Now this is what the Eagles' offense is all about. We've got a lot of weapons, and I continually harp on that. I'm a big part of that." - Terrell Owens