The 2002 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 70th in the National Football League. The team improved upon their previous output of eleven wins, going 12–4 and making the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
This was the first of three consecutive NFC top seeds for the Eagles. The Eagles' record gave the team a tie for the best record in the NFL, despite losing franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb and backup quarterback Koy Detmer during the regular season, and due to tiebreakers, gave them the top seed in the NFC, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Eagles suffered arguably their worst loss at home in franchise history when they were upset by a score of 27–10 in the NFC Championship Game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went on to win Super Bowl XXXVII. The Eagles had easily defeated the Buccaneers in the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, and many experts thought that this season's Conference Championship game would be no different. The game was the final football game played at Veterans Stadium, as the Eagles would move in to their new home field in the 2003 season.
Offseason Additions SubtractionsLB Shawn Barber (Redskins) LB Mike Caldwell (Bears)WR Antonio Freeman (Packers) LB Jeremiah Trotter (Redskins)RB Dorsey Levens (Packers) LB Levon Kirkland (Seahawks)
2002 expansion draft
+ Philadelphia Eagles selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team—12Ryan SchauTackleHouston Texans
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents + 2002 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeKori DickersonTight endUSCSteve EdwardsTackleCentral FloridaJustin EnaLinebackerBYUArtis HicksTackleMemphisCorey McIntyreFullbackWest VirginiaJason McKieFullbackTempleRyan NielsenTackleUSC
Staff
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Opening training camp roster Philadelphia Eagles 2002 opening training camp roster Quarterbacks
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Special teams Reserve lists
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Green Bay Packers W 20–13 1–0 Veterans Stadium Recap 2 at New England Patriots L 15–16 1–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 3 Baltimore Ravens L 12–13 1–2 Veterans Stadium Recap 4 at New York Jets L 16–23 1–3 Giants Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 8 at Tennessee Titans L 24–27 0–1 The Coliseum Recap 2 at Washington Redskins W 37–7 1–1 FedExField Recap 3 September 22 Dallas Cowboys W 44–13 2–1 Veterans Stadium Recap 4 September 29 Houston Texans W 35–17 3–1 Veterans Stadium Recap 5 October 6 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 25–28 3–2 Alltel Stadium Recap 6Bye 7 October 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–10 4–2 Veterans Stadium Recap 8 New York Giants W 17–3 5–2 Veterans Stadium Recap 9 November 3 at Chicago Bears W 19–13 6–2 Memorial Stadium Recap 10 November 10 Indianapolis Colts L 13–35 6–3 Veterans Stadium Recap 11 November 17 Arizona Cardinals W 38–14 7–3 Veterans Stadium Recap 12 at San Francisco 49ers W 38–17 8–3 3Com Park Recap 13 December 1 St. Louis Rams W 10–3 9–3 Veterans Stadium Recap 14 December 8 at Seattle Seahawks W 27–20 10–3 Seahawks Stadium Recap 15 December 15 Washington Redskins W 34–21 11–3 Veterans Stadium Recap 16 at Dallas Cowboys W 27–3 12–3 Texas Stadium Recap 17 at New York Giants L 7–10 (OT) 12–4 Giants Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Tennessee Titans
Week 2
The Eagles crushed the Steve Spurrier-led Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football by a score of 37–7. Philadelphia found the end zone on their first two drives. Donovan McNabb scored after he was flushed from the pocket on 3rd and goal, and he hit Jeff Thomason for a short touchdown pass on the next possession. Washington's only points came early in the second quarter on a 90-yard punt return by Jacquez Green. The Eagles added three field goals before the half to open up a 23–7 lead. McNabb, despite the fact that he was late hit on the play, completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to James Thrash in the third quarter. Dorsey Levens broke a 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 37–7. The Eagles outgained the Redskins 451–179, and the defense forced three turnovers. The most drama probably occurred in the fourth quarter when a strange airborne substance, which turned out to be pepper spray used by stadium security, began making players and fan cough near the Philadelphia sideline. McNabb threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Thrash had 107 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Week 3
Overcoming a slow start, the Eagles blasted the Dallas Cowboys 44–13 in their home opener. David Akers booted a 51-yard field goal early on, but Reggie Swinton returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for the Cowboys. Dallas took a 10–3 lead on a field goal, but the Eagles bounced back in the second quarter. Donovan McNabb hooked up with receiver James Thrash on a 35-yard touchdown and he took it in himself from two yards out four minutes later as Philadelphia moved into the lead 17–10. Akers made a short field goal before halftime to make it 20–10. In the third quarter, McNabb looked to run, but instead threw to a wide open Antonio Freeman for a 59-yard touchdown play. Then, Brian Westbrook threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Todd Pinkston on a trick play, and the route was on. McNabb added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Pinkston after a 17-play drive that consumed eight minutes. McNabb threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns. The defense collected four turnovers (to give them 11 for the season at that point) and sacked Quincy Carter four times.
Week 4
Philadelphia overcame another slow start with another big second quarter and a big effort from safety Brian Dawkins to defeat the expansion Houston Texans 35–17. David Carr completed a 23-yard touchdown to Corey Bradford to give Houston an early 7–0 lead. Following a David Akers field goal, the Eagles took control in the second quarter behind two short rushing touchdowns by Duce Staley (with the first being set up by a Dawkins fumble recovery) and another field goal to go up 20–7 by halftime. Philadelphia then used a trick play to score its next touchdown. With a punt formation in, the direct snap went to Brian Mitchell who started to run and then flipped it past the defense to Dawkins, who raced 57 yards for the score. After the two-point conversion, the Eagles led 28–7. The Texans came back with another touchdown to Bradford and a field goal to close to 28–17, but Donovan McNabb (who signed a 12-year contract extension the week before the game) sealed the deal with a 38-yard touchdown to James Thrash. Dawkins became the first player in NFL history to record a sack, recover a fumble, intercept a pass, and catch a touchdown pass in the same game. McNabb, who had early accuracy issues, threw for 259 yards. The defense sacked Carr seven times.
Week 5
Another sloppy performance against an AFC South opponent meant a 28–25 defeat for the Eagles in Jacksonville. Trailing 6–0 after a pair of field goals by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia took the lead on 4-yard touchdown pass to Chad Lewis. With less than two minutes left in the half and Jacksonville set to punt, the Eagles were flagged with too many men on the field, resulting in a Jaguar first down. Mark Brunell took his team quickly down the field and fired a touchdown to Kyle Brady. The two-point conversion gave Jacksonville a 14–7 halftime lead. After a David Akers field goal, Jacksonville receiver Jimmy Smith beat Bobby Taylor and took the ball to inside the Eagle 5-yard line, leading to an easy Jacksonville touchdown. Later in the fourth quarter, Jaguar return man Bobby Shaw took a punt back for a touchdown (the third return for a touchdown against the Eagles in four weeks) to make it 28–10 and put the game out of reach. Donovan McNabb, who was sacked five times and was visibly ill in the fourth quarter, rallied the Eagles to two late touchdowns, but Philadelphia came up three points short. McNabb rushed for 100 yards and Duce Staley rushed for 82. The defending NFC East champion Eagles fell to 3–2 as they went into the bye.
Week 7
Duce Staley and the defense turned in great performances as the Eagles scored a big win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Philadelphia scored first on a 30-yard field goal by David Akers, however the Bucs took the lead when Derrick Brooks picked up a Donovan McNabb fumble and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown six minutes into the first quarter. In the second quarter, after Brian Mitchell returned a punt into Tampa Bay territory, McNabb hit Todd Pinkston on a fly route for a 42-yard touchdown and a 10–7 lead. The Eagles and Bucs traded field goals in the third quarter as the Philadelphia defense (ranked #2 in the league behind Tampa) preserved the narrow lead. In the fourth quarter, McNabb scored on a short run himself on a long drive to give the Eagles a 20–10 lead. Staley rushed for 152 yards on 24 carries, while the defense registered four sacks and knocked Tampa quarterback Brad Johnson out of the game with cracked ribs. The win made the Eagles 4–2 with an undefeated record against opponents in their conference.
Week 8
After a big win over Tampa Bay, the Eagles did not let down, defeating the New York Giants at home on Monday Night Football 17–3. A 27-yard kick by David Akers gave the Eagles a 3–0 lead. Tiki Barber's 31-yard run in the second quarter set up a field goal for New York, but the Eagles answered with two more field goals to take a 9–3 lead. The Giants best chance to score was broken up when safety Blaine Bishop stripped Charles Stackhouse near the goalline, knocking the ball out of the end zone for a touchback. In the fourth quarter with the ball on Giant 40-yard line on third down, Donovan McNabb was flushed from the pocket and took off on a 40-yard scramble down the left side for a touchdown, picking up key blocks from John Welbourn and Todd Pinkston. McNabb completed the two-point conversion to Chad Lewis. McNabb rushed for 111 yards and Duce Staley picked up 126 yards. The Eagles went 5–2 and took a two-game lead in the division race.
Week 9: at Chicago Bears
Week 10
Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts trounced the Eagles 35–13 in their worst loss since 1999. Philadelphia scored first on a field goal, but then Manning began to pick apart the Eagles' defense, driving the Colts to two first-quarter touchdowns. The Eagles got another field goal in the second quarter to make it 14–6, but the Colts put the game away in the third quarter when Manning completed touchdown passes to Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison. The only Eagle touchdown would be a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeff Thomason. Manning would go 18-for-23 with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns, rookie running back James Mungro carried for 114 yards and two scores, while Harrison and Wayne each had over 100 receiving yards. McNabb was 27-for-47 with 281 yards. The Eagles fell to 1–3 against the AFC and 6–3 overall.
Week 11: vs. Arizona Cardinals