Eagles win 2004 NFC Championship

TEN YEARS ago, the Eagles were closing out their most successful regular season ever, a 13-3 campaign that ended with consecutive losses in meaningless games. Each week, the Daily News is looking back at the 2004 season.

Game 18 - Eagles 27, Falcons 10

Date: Jan. 23, 2005

Site: Lincoln Financial Field

Attendance: 67,717

Vegas Vic's line: Eagles -6

Over/under: 37

For the Eagles: In what would stand as the greatest triumph of the Andy Reid era, the Eagles were finally victorious in the NFC Championship Game after losing their battles for the conference title the previous three seasons in heartbreaking fashion. Following a blizzard that hit the East Coast the day before, the Eagles were still able to have a competent passing attack, as Donovan McNabb completed 65.3 percent of his passes and threw for two touchdowns, both to Pro Bowl tight end Chad Lewis. The second of those two scores came with less than 4 minutes remaining, putting the Eagles up 17 points and sealing their Super Bowl berth.

For the Falcons: A week after crushing the St. Louis Rams, 47-17, at home, Atlanta could barely muster double-digit points against the Birds, primarily because of their lack of a running game. The Falcons, who led the NFL in rushing in the regular season, totaled 327 yards on the ground in their victory against the Rams, split between dynamic quarterback Michael Vick and running backs Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett. The trio ran for just 99 yards in their loss in Philly.

Dawkins lays the wood: In what became one of the defining plays of Weapon X's career, Brian Dawkins crushed Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler when the latter caught a pass across the middle in the second quarter. The devastating blow, completely clean and legal even by today's NFL standards, left Crumpler gasping for air and running toward the sideline. Nearly 6 years after being released from the Eagles, Dawkins' name still clouds the minds of Eagles fans as they look at the team's currently inept secondary.

History lessons: This was the second time in three postseasons that Atlanta visited Philadelphia. The Eagles were victorious in a divisional matchup on Jan. 11, 2003, winning 20-6 in the penultimate game at Veterans Stadium. Cornerback Bobby Taylor returned a Michael Vick interception for a touchdown in the first quarter, giving the Birds a lead they would never relinquish. Other than these two Eagles home wins, the two teams had met only one other time in the postseason: a 14-13 wild-card loss for the Eagles on Christmas Eve 1978 in Atlanta.

Numerology: The Eagles' 17-point victory was the franchise's fifth-highest margin of victory in a playoff game ever. The team's record for its largest playoff win was set in their 22-point drubbing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a wild-card game on Jan. 12, 2002. The Bucs, reinvigorated under new head coach Jon Gruden, would serve up some revenge in the following season's NFC Championship Game, beating the Eagles' 27-10 in the final game at the Vet.

Vick, then and now: This was the first of two playoff games Vick would start at Lincoln Financial Field. After playing poorly in this outing, throwing for just 136 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, Vick turned in a slightly better performance in the Eagles' wild-card loss to the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 9, 2011. He completed 55 percent of his passes for 292 passing yards and two total touchdowns. His biggest mistake came on the final play of the Eagles season. Down by five points with 44 seconds remaining and in Green Bay territory, Vick lofted a pass to the end zone to Riley Cooper, but cornerback Tramon Williams intercepted the underthrown ball.

McNabb after the game: "There's no relief for me. We'll have relief after the Super Bowl. We set a goal of winning the Super Bowl, not just the NFC. So that's where I'm going. We're excited, but we're not done."

Around the NFL: In the other conference championship this day, the New England Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 41-27, crushing any hope of the first-ever All-Pennsylvania Super Bowl. Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was a bit overwhelmed in the Steelers' home loss, tossing three picks, including one that Rodney Harrison returned for a second-quarter touchdown. Tom Brady was his usual reliable self for the Pats, completing 66.7 percent of his passes and throwing for two scores.

Current events: Outside of the sports world, Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as the president of the Ukraine on this date, becoming the country's third president during a ceremony in Kiev.

- Shamus Clancy