There are those occasional NFL games that are worth reliving over and over; their excitement never wanes with time. This was the case with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers on Sunday. ESPN Classic should televise the game repeatedly.
Blocked kicks, fumbles, interceptions, hard hits, lead changes, a million penalties, an anemic Eagles offense in the second half, an almost-five-to-one pass-run ratio for the defending NFC champs and a defense that blitzed on almost every down are just some of the factors that made this game one for the ages.
Charger rookie and first round draft pick Shawne Merriman had a breakout game. LaDanian Tomlinson, maybe the best running back in football, gained only five yards. And to cap it all off, an unknown rookie from Iowa made the deciding play for Philadelphia. False fire alarms were going off at Lincoln Financial Field in the fourth quarter, and Eagles fans were being told to leave the stadium. But on this day Philly fans certainly were not headed for the exits.
The Eagles led 10-0 at the end of the first half mainly because the Chargers couldn't move the football. But somehow, San Diego's offensive coordinator Cam Cameron found some magic in the locker room at halftime.
The Chargers came out strong on their first drive of the second half, marching the ball down the field. Even though Tomlinson was a non-factor - just seven yards rushing midway through the second quarter - quarterback Drew Brees still managed to ignite the San Diego offense, firing a rocket to wide receiver Keenan McCardell for a twenty-yard touchdown pass early in the third. The score brought the Chargers within three points.
Antonio Gates, the Chargers' All-Pro tight end caught six passes in the third quarter alone including the touchdown that gave the Chargers a 14-10 lead on a drive that came on the heels of a 22-yard Philadelphia punt.
The Chargers looked to be in control. On the Eagles next possession, McNabb threw an interception to San Diego's backup cornerback Jamar Fletcher, a player Philly wanted to expose as a weak link on the Charger defense.
On the ensuing possession, San Diego got the ball to the one yard-line before a holding penalty backed the offense up ten yards. The Eagles' blitz defense finally paid off as Philadelphia managed to sack Brees in the red zone forcing the Chargers to settle for a Nate Kaeding field goal.
The Eagles' offense failed to counter the defense's stand and went three-and-out yet again on its next possession. It looked like the only thing that would get Philly back in the game would be for the defense to force a Charger turnover. The Eagles did just that, as Darwin Walker instigated the Brees fumble that Jeremiah Trotter recovered. Philadelphia's anemic offense managed only a field goal to bring the score to 17-13 in favor of the Chargers.
After moving the ball once more, San Diego called a timeout with under three minutes to play before Kaeding once again would attempt a field goal to increase the margin back to seven points. With Philly unable to move the ball consistently all game, a touchdown lead with the two minute warning approaching looked pretty secure for San Diego.
With the Chargers ready to put the game on ice and hand it over to their defense, the San Diego offensive line collapsed on the Kaeding field goal attempt allowing Philadelphia rookie Quintin Mikell to charge through and block the kick. The loose ball took a Philadelphia bounce to rookie Matt Ware, who scampered all the way into the end zone to garner an improbable 20-17 lead for the Eagles.
Brees took the field again to try to lead the shocked Chargers on a game-winning, or at the very least, a game-tying drive. Completions to Gates and McCardell started the quest. But a completion to Reche Caldwell that would have put the Bolts within field goal range was stripped by Philadelphia corner Sheldon Brown freeing the ball for Walker to recover.
A review from upstairs upheld the fumble call. Game over. With the win, the Eagles managed to become the luckiest 4-2 team in the NFL, and San Diego the most talented 3-4 team in the league.
