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This article was originally published in the Daily News on February 7, 2005.
Tom Brady handled everything the Eagles threw at him yesterday. He had an answer for almost every blitz defensive coordinator Jim Johnson sent his way. Unmasked almost every coverage they tried to disguise. Consistently put passes where they needed to be.
"Hands down, he's the best [we've faced]," strong safety Mike Lewis said after his team's 24-21 loss to Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. "I don't know another quarterback in the league that plays at his level. "
The Eagles own one of the league's best secondaries. Three of their four starters are going to the Pro Bowl. In their last seven meaningful games, they had held opposing quarterbacks to a .537 completion percentage, had given up just four touchdown passes, and had 11 interceptions.
But Brady kept them on their heels all night. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Eleven of those 23 completions and 133 of those yards went to game MVP Deion Branch.
"[Branch] was just finding spots in our zone coverages, especially on third down," Lewis said.
The Patriots converted just four of 12 third-down opportunities against the Eagles, but two of those came on their go-ahead scoring drive in the second quarter. Brady countered an Eagle blitz with a 27-yard third-and-6 completion to Branch. Three plays later, he and Branch teamed on a 15-yard third-and-10 reception over the middle. Two plays after that, Branch beat rookie cornerback Matt Ware on an in-and-out move, catching a 21-yard pass that gave the Patriots a first down at the Eagles' 2-yard-line.
Brady and Branch also connected on a 19-yard completion on the Patriots' final scoring drive that ended with Adam Vinatieri's game-winning 22-yard field goal.
"We did a pretty good job against him in the first half," said cornerback Lito Sheppard, who was victimized on Brady's 4-yard touchdown pass to David Givens late in the second quarter that tied the game at 7. "In the second half, they spread us out more, ran some screens, made some plays in the middle of the field. You can't let a team like this do that against you. We just didn't play to the best of our ability. "
Johnson was most disappointed by his unit's ineffectiveness against the Patriots' screens. Running backs Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk combined for five catches for 58 yards.
"We didn't do a good enough job against the screens," he said. "We knew they were a good football team. We knew they were
going to make some plays. But we hoped we'd make more plays than them. "
Didn't work
* Jim Johnson went to a 4-1-6 formation frequently in the second quarter. On one possession, the Patriots drove from their 13 to the Eagles' 4 before a Tom Brady fumble ended the scoring threat. They drove 37 yards for a score on their next possession.
Bad timing
* McNabb threw his first red-zone interception of the season late in the first quarter when the Eagles had a first down at the New England 19. He had a horrible underthrow at the goal line to Brian Westbrook that Patriots strong safety Rodney Harrison came over and picked off.
Just wondering
* Why Lito Sheppard gave David Givens so much room in the corner of the end zone on his 4-yard TD catch late in the first half.
* Why Pats coach Bill Belichick didn't challenge Tom Brady's second-quarter fumble. After fumbling, Brady fell on it and
appeared to have control when Jevon Kearse fell on top of him.
Gutsiest performance
* Seven weeks after ankle surgery, Terrell Owens not only defied the odds and played against the Patriots, but caught nine passes for 122 yards. *
