2001 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 2001 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's sixty-ninth season in the National Football League, and the third under head coach Andy Reid.

2001 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner	Jeffrey Lurie
General manager	Andy Reid
Head coach	Andy Reid
Home stadium	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoffs	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Buccaneers) 31–9 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Bears) 33–19 Lost NFC Championship (at Rams) 24–29
Pro Bowlers	QB Donovan McNabb OT Tra Thomas DE Hugh Douglas LB Jeremiah Trotter CB Troy Vincent FS Brian Dawkins PK David Akers TE Chad Lewis
← 2000 Eagles seasons 2002 →

The team made the postseason for the second consecutive time.

Background

After defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wildcard round for the second year in a row, and the Chicago Bears in the divisional round, the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship for the first time in twenty-one years, but lost 29–24 to the St. Louis Rams. The Rams advanced to the Super Bowl, but were unable to stop the New England Patriots, losing 20–17.

This was the first of four consecutive NFC East titles for the Eagles. It was also the first of five Conference Championship game appearances for the Eagles with Donovan McNabb as starting quarterback and Andy Reid as head coach.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 2001 NFL draft

2001 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	25	Freddie Mitchell	WR	UCLA
2	55	Quinton Caver	LB	Arkansas
3	63	Derrick Burgess	DE	Ole Miss
4	121	Correll Buckhalter	RB	Nebraska
5	147	Tony Stewart	TE	Penn State
5	155	A.J. Feeley	QB	Oregon
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

2001 Philadelphia Eagles staff

Front office Chairman/Chief Executive Officer – Jeffrey Lurie President – Joe Banner Executive vice president of football operations – Andy Reid Director of player personnel – Tom Heckert Director of college scouting – Marc Ross Director of pro personnel – Scott Cohen Head coaches Head coach – Andy Reid Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Rod Dowhower Quarterbacks – Brad Childress Running backs – Ted Williams Wide receivers – David Culley Tight ends/offensive line – Pat Shurmur Offensive line – Juan Castillo Offensive assistant/quality control – Tom Melvin

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jim Johnson Defensive line – Tommy Brasher Linebackers – Ron Rivera Defensive backs – Leslie Frazier Defensive backs/secondary – Steve Spagnuolo Defensive assistant/quality control – Sean McDermott Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – John Harbaugh Special teams/quality control – Dave Toub Strength and conditioning Head athletic trainer – Rick Burkholder Strength and conditioning – Mike Wolf Assistant strength and conditioning – Tom Kanavy Volunteer assistant strength and conditioning – Chris DiSanto Assistant trainer – Eric Sugarman

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Roster

Philadelphia Eagles 2001 final roster
Quarterbacks 10 Koy Detmer 14 A. J. Feeley  5 Donovan McNabb Running backs 28 Correll Buckhalter 38 Cecil Martin FB 30 Brian Mitchell RS 34 Jamie Reader FB 24 Rod Smart 22 Duce Staley Wide receivers 85 Na Brown 82 Dameane Douglas 84 Freddie Mitchell 87 Todd Pinkston 86 Gari Scott 80 James Thrash Tight ends 89 Chad Lewis 81 Tony Stewart 83 Jeff Thomason		Offensive linemen 74 Doug Brzezinski G 63 Hank Fraley C 71 Jermane Mayberry G 73 Jim Pyne C 69 Jon Runyan T 67 Ryan Schau T 72 Tra Thomas T 76 John Welbourn G 66 Bobbie Williams G Defensive linemen 59 Derrick Burgess DE 53 Hugh Douglas DE 96 Paul Grasmanis DT 91 Uhuru Hamiter DE 94 N. D. Kalu DE 90 Corey Simon DT 97 Darwin Walker DT 98 Brandon Whiting DE		Linebackers 56 Mike Caldwell OLB 55 Quinton Caver OLB 51 Carlos Emmons OLB 52 Barry Gardner MLB 58 Ike Reese OLB 54 Jeremiah Trotter MLB Defensive backs 42 Rashard Cook CB/FS 29 Darrel Crutchfield CB 20 Brian Dawkins FS 41 William Hampton CB/S 31 Al Harris CB 45 Tim Hauck SS 43 Damon Moore SS 21 Bobby Taylor CB 23 Troy Vincent CB Special teams  2 David Akers K 88 Mike Bartrum LS  7 Sean Landeta P		Reserve lists 27 Julian Jones S (IR) 65 Bubba Miller C (IR) 25 Monty Montgomery CB (IR) 78 Hollis Thomas DT (IR) Practice squad 93 Pernell Davis DT 95 John Frank DE 75 Kendrick Rogers T 16 Sean Scott WR 57 Dax Strohmeyer LB rookies in italics 53 active, 4 inactive, 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 9	St. Louis Rams	L 17–20 (OT)	0–1	Veterans Stadium	Recap
2	September 23	at Seattle Seahawks	W 27–3	1–1	Husky Stadium	Recap
3	September 30	Dallas Cowboys	W 40–18	2–1	Veterans Stadium	Recap
4	October 7	Arizona Cardinals	L 20–21	2–2	Veterans Stadium	Recap
5	Bye
6	October 22	at New York Giants	W 10–9	3–2	Giants Stadium	Recap
7	October 28	Oakland Raiders	L 10–20	3–3	Veterans Stadium	Recap
8	November 4	at Arizona Cardinals	W 21–7	4–3	Sun Devil Stadium	Recap
9	November 11	Minnesota Vikings	W 48–17	5–3	Veterans Stadium	Recap
10	November 18	at Dallas Cowboys	W 36–3	6–3	Texas Stadium	Recap
11	November 25	Washington Redskins	L 3–13	6–4	Veterans Stadium	Recap
12	November 29	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 23–10	7–4	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
13	December 9	San Diego Chargers	W 24–14	8–4	Veterans Stadium	Recap
14	December 16	at Washington Redskins	W 20–6	9–4	FedExField	Recap
15	December 22	at San Francisco 49ers	L 3–13	9–5	3Com Park	Recap
16	December 30	New York Giants	W 24–21	10–5	Veterans Stadium	Recap
17	January 6	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–13	11–5	Raymond James Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 6

The Eagles were able to break a nine-game losing streak against the Giants by winning this game. James Thrash caught the winning TD from Donovan McNabb in the fourth quarter.

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Eagles	0	0	3	7	10
Giants	3	6	0	0	9

• Date: October 22
• Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 78,821
• Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
• Referee: Jeff Triplette
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, and Dennis Miller

Scoring summary

1		NYG	Morten Andersen 24 yard field goal	Giants 3–0
2		NYG	Morten Andersen 21 yard field goal	Giants 6–0
2		NYG	Morten Andersen 24 yard field goal	Giants 9–0
3		PHI	David Akers 25 yard field goal	Giants 9–3
4		PHI	James Thrash 18 yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick)	Eagles 10–9

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Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) Philadelphia Eagles	11	5	0	.688	343	208	W2
Washington Redskins	8	8	0	.500	256	303	W2
New York Giants	7	9	0	.438	294	321	L2
Arizona Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	295	343	L1
Dallas Cowboys	5	11	0	.313	246	338	L1

Playoffs

Main article: 2001–02 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card	January 12, 2002	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6)	W 31–9	1–0	Veterans Stadium	Recap
Divisional	January 19, 2002	at Chicago Bears (2)	W 33–19	2–0	Soldier Field	Recap
NFC Championship	January 27, 2002	at St. Louis Rams (1)	L 24–29	2–1	Trans World Dome	Recap

Wild Card

NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	3	6	0	0	9
Eagles	3	14	7	7	31

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), clear
• Game attendance: 65,846
• Referee: Larry Nemmers
• TV announcers (ABC): Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire (color commentators), and Suzy Kolber (sideline reporter)

Game information
Scoring TB – field goal Gramatica 36 TB 3–0 PHI – field goal Akers 26 Tie 3–3 PHI – Lewis 16 pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 10–3 TB – field goal Gramatica 32 PHI 10–6 PHI – Staley 23 pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 17–6 TB – field goal Gramatica 27 PHI 17–9 PHI – Buckhalter 25 run (Akers kick) PHI 24–9 PHI – Moore 59 interception return (Akers kick) PHI 31–9

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 54 yards, as Philadelphia dominated Tampa Bay from start to finish. Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted four times, twice by Damon Moore. It was the second consecutive season in which Philadelphia eliminated Tampa Bay from the playoffs during the wild card round, and two days later, Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy was fired.

On the Eagles first drive of the game, Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson intercepted a pass from McNabb and returned it nine yards to the Eagles 36-yard line, setting up a 36-yard field goal from Martín Gramática. But McNabb made up for his mistake with a 39-yard run on third down and 5 on Philadelphia's ensuing possession

Divisional round

NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 33, Chicago Bears 19

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Chicago Bears – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	6	7	7	13	33
Bears	0	7	7	5	19

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. CST
• Game weather: 31 °F (−1 °C), partly cloudy
• Game attendance: 65,028
• Referee: Bill Carollo
• TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Troy Aikman, Daryl Johnston (color commentators), and Pam Oliver (sideline reporter)

Game information

Scoring PHI – field goal Akers 34 PHI 3–0 PHI – field goal Akers 23 PHI 6–0 CHI – Merritt 47 run (Edinger kick) CHI 7–6 PHI – Martin 13 pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 13–7 CHI – Azumah 39 interception return (Edinger kick) CHI 14–13 PHI – Staley 6 pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 20–14 CHI – field goal Edinger 38 PHI 20–17 PHI – field goal Akers 40 PHI 23–17 PHI – field goal Akers 46 PHI 26–17 PHI – McNabb 5 run (Akers kick) PHI 33–17 CHI – Safety, Landeta ran out of end zone PHI 33–19

The Bears surprised everyone by finishing atop the NFC Central with a 13–3 record behind quarterback Jim Miller. But after the Eagles jumped to a 6–0 lead, Miller was taken out of the game in the second quarter with a separated shoulder. Although Miller's replacement, Shane Matthews, led the Bears to a touchdown (a 47-yard reverse by Ahmad Merritt), and Jerry Azumah's 39-yard interception return briefly put the Bears back in the lead early in the second half, the Eagles controlled most of the rest of the game. Matthews threw for only 66 yards and was intercepted twice. Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another touchdown.

The Eagles controlled the first quarter, scoring with two field goals by David Akers while holding the Bears to 25 offensive

NFC Championship

NFC: St. Louis Rams 29, Philadelphia Eagles 24

Philadelphia Eagles vs. St. Louis Rams – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	14	0	7	24
Rams	10	3	9	7	29

at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium
• Game attendance: 66,502
• Referee: Gerald Austin
• TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentator), Ron Pitts, and Pam Oliver (sideline reporters)

Game information

Scoring STL – Bruce 5 pass from Warner (Wilkins kick) STL 7–0 PHI – field goal Akers 46 STL 7–3 STL – field goal Wilkins 27 STL 10–3 PHI – Staley 1 run (Akers kick) Tie 10–10 STL – field goal Wilkins 39 STL 13–10 PHI – Pinkston 12 pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 17–13 STL – field goal Wilkins 41 PHI 17–16 STL – Faulk 1 run (Two-point conversion failed) STL 22–17 STL – Faulk 1 run (Wilkins kick) STL 29–17 PHI – McNabb 3 run (Akers kick) STL 29–24

The Eagles had a 17–13 lead at halftime, and had not allowed more than 21 points per game during the season and playoffs. But the Rams roared back thanks to Kurt Warner completing two-thirds of his passes for 212 yards and Marshall Faulk's 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns to earn their second trip to the Super Bowl in three years.

Early in the first quarter, Donovan McNabb fumbled while being sacked by defensive end Leonard Little, and Brian Young recovered for the Rams at the Philadelphia 20-yard line. Five plays later, Warner threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce. Philadelphia responded with an 11-play, 50-yard drive, featuring a 20-yard run by Duce Staley, that ended with a 46-yard field goal by David Akers. Rams receiver Yo Murphy returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to his team's own 42-yard line before Warner completed a 20-yard pass

Awards and honors