The Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 74th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the eighth under head coach Andy Reid. the Eagles improved on their 6–10 record from 2005 and finishing 10–6, reclaiming the NFC East, and winning a playoff game at home. The season ended in a Divisional Round playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints, but was seen as a success in the face of the adversity of losing starting quarterback Donovan McNabb to injury in Week 11.
The Eagles won four of their first five games, but they underwent a mid-season downturn that left them 5–6 and without McNabb. Backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped in and running back Brian Westbrook stepped up as the season turned around for Philadelphia. The team came back from the dead in late November to win their last five regular season games, surprisingly winning the NFC East division title after a three-game December road sweep of all of its division rivals. They beat the New York Giants 23–20 in a home playoff game before finally losing to the Saints.
McNabb started the season with MVP-caliber numbers before his November injury, while Garcia was efficient, running the "West Coast offense" perfectly and completing eleven touchdown passes with only two interceptions. Westbrook became the focal point of the team's offense after the loss of McNabb, and responded by rushing for 1,217 yards and racking up 699 receiving yards. Trade acquisition Donté Stallworth combined with second-year wideout Reggie Brown to catch 15 touchdown passes and amass 1,541 receiving yards. Meanwhile, the offensive line was a quiet strength of the team, featuring emerging star Shawn Andrews and a group that started all 16 games together. The offense managed to morph from a quick-strike team under McNabb to a methodical balanced attack under Garcia while finishing No. 2 in yards in the league.
The defense was much improved from the previous season. The early season pass rush was savage, and the team appeared to be on the way to a sacks record, but a season-ending injury to Jevon Kearse and attrition weakened the defensive line. During the team's mid-season slump, the run defense was porous, but an elevation in play, spearheaded by defensive leader and All-Pro Brian Dawkins, helped the team turnaround. Trent Cole had eight of the team's 40 sacks and Lito Sheppard and his six interceptions made the Pro Bowl. The defense snagged 19 picks, returning four of them for touchdowns.
Offseason In the 2006 NFL draft, the Eagles used their first pick on Florida State defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley. Then they used their next pick (acquired from the Tennessee Titans) on Southern California offensive tackle Winston Justice. The rest of their picks included California Polytechnic State defensive end Chris Gocong, Georgia guard Max Jean-Gilles, Michigan wide receiver Jason Avant, Colorado wide receiver Jeremy Bloom, Tennessee linebacker Omar Gaither, and Southern California defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey.
When the team met for training camp in the summer, they looked to erase the bad taste left by the disastrous 2005 season. Quarterback Donovan McNabb, returning from his sports hernia injury of the previous season, declared that he believed the team to be capable of reaching the Super Bowl. However, most of the national sports media picked the Eagles to finish last in a highly competitive NFC East.
Correll Buckhalter returned after two years on injured reserve and the team added depth to the offensive and defensive lines. At the end of training camp, the Eagles cut two long-standing players from the team. They let maligned wide receiver Todd Pinkston go, due to his lingering Achilles tendon injury from the previous season. The team also released backup quarterback Koy Detmer, with former Pro Bowler Jeff Garcia and former Eagle A. J. Feeley becoming the team's new backups.
There was criticism based around the Eagles' failure to adequately replace departed wide receiver Terrell Owens. However, with about a week left until the regular season began, the Eagles made a trade to get Donté Stallworth from the New Orleans Saints for linebacker Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2007.
Staff
Philadelphia Eagles Draft
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF August 6 vs. Oakland Raiders L 10–16 0–1 Fawcett Stadium Recap 1 Cleveland Browns W 20–7 1–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 2 at Baltimore Ravens L 10–20 1–2 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 3 Pittsburgh Steelers W 16–7 2–2 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 4 at New York Jets L 17–20 2–3 Giants Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at Houston Texans W 24–10 1–0 Reliant Stadium Recap 2 September 17 New York Giants L 24–30 1–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 3 September 24 at San Francisco 49ers W 38–24 2–1 Monster Park Recap 4 Green Bay Packers W 31–9 3–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 5 October 8 Dallas Cowboys W 38–24 4–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 6 October 15 at New Orleans Saints L 24–27 4–2 Louisiana Superdome Recap 7 October 22 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–23 4–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap 8 October 29 Jacksonville Jaguars L 6–13 4–4 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 9Bye 10 November 12 Washington Redskins W 27–3 5–4 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 11 November 19 Tennessee Titans L 13–31 5–5 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 12 November 26 at Indianapolis Colts L 21–45 5–6 RCA Dome Recap 13 Carolina Panthers W 27–24 6–6 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 14 December 10 at Washington Redskins W 21–19 7–6 FedExField Recap 15 December 17 at New York Giants W 36–22 8–6 Giants Stadium Recap 16 December 25 at Dallas Cowboys W 23–7 9–6 Texas Stadium Recap 17 December 31 Atlanta Falcons W 24–17 10–6 Lincoln Financial Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Houston Texans
at Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
The Eagles opened the regular season on the road against the Houston Texans on September 10. The Eagles trailed early, as Texans QB David Carr completed a 25-yard TD pass to WR Eric Moulds. The Eagles would respond in the second quarter as QB Donovan McNabb completed a 42-yard TD pass to WR Donte' Stallworth. Even though Texans kicker Kris Brown would make a 34-yard field goal, the Eagles would take the lead for good as McNabb completed a 5-yard pass to WR Reggie Brown. In the second half, Philadelphia would wrap up the win with a 31-yard TD pass to RB Brian Westbrook in the third quarter and Kicker David Akers making a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Week 2: vs. New York Giants
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia |weather= (Sunny) The Eagles Week 2 home opener began similar to the game against the Houston Texans, the Giants marched downfield on their first drive with a touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Amani Toomer. Similar to the Houston game, the Eagles would proceed to destroy the Giants offense with 8 sacks and amass over 400 yards on the Giants defense going a 24-point scoring run. However, in the 4th quarter, the Eagles completely collapsed on offense with a Brian Westbrook fumble, dropped passes and the inability to convert key 3rd downs to run out the clock. The defense failed to capitalize on a Plaxico Burress fumble in the redzone which turned into a touchdown for the Giants. The Eagles also began giving Eli Manning time to connect with his receivers downfield. Towards the end of regulation, Eagles defensive end Trent Cole was flagged for a personal foul which allowed Giants kicker Jay Feely to tie the game with a field goal.
The game proceeded to overtime with the Eagles offensive woes continuing and the defense allowing the Giants to score a miraculous touchdown on 3rd a long from Manning to Burress. To add to the loss, the Eagles lost Jevon Kearse for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
Week 3: at San Francisco 49ers
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
Hoping to take out their frustration from the previous week's performance, where they gave up a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to the Giants, the Eagles flew to the West Coast to take on the San Francisco 49ers. The Eagles started off well with RB Brian Westbrook catching a 4-yard TD pass from QB Donovan McNabb, along with TE L.J. Smith catching a 1-yard TD pass. In the second quarter, the 49ers would get on the board with kicker Joe Nedney kicking a 48-yard field goal, but the Eagles made sure to stay as far away as possible, with Brian Westbrook making a spectacular 71-yard TD run, along with kicker David Akers booting a 21-yard field goal. In the third quarter, Philadelphia took advantage of a Niners miscue, as DT Mike Patterson returned a fumble 98 yards for a touchdown. San Francisco would get a touchdown, ona a 1-yard run by rookie RB Noah Robinson. In the fourth quarter, Noah Robinson would get another 1-yard TD run, but the Eagles managed to put the game away with Brian Westbrook getting an 8-yard TD run. The 49ers would get one more TD, as QB Alex Smith completed a 15-yard pass to TE Eric Johnson, but fortunately, the Eagles would avenge last week's collapse with a win to give them the lead in the NFC East at 2–1.
Week 4: vs. Green Bay Packers
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia |weather= (Clear) Following their dominating road win over the 49ers, the Eagles returned home for a Monday Night match-up with the Green Bay Packers. Early in the game, the Eagles offense struggled with two goal-line fumbles being recovered by the Packers. In the first quarter, Packers kicker Dave Rayner nailed a 23-yard field goal for the only score of the period. In the second quarter, Philadelphia would score on QB Donovan McNabb's 6-yard TD run. However, Green Bay managed to get two more field goals, as Rayner got a 54-yarder and a 46-yarder to end the half. In the second half, it was all Eagles, as in the third quarter, kicker David Akers got a 40-yard field goal, while McNabb and WR Greg Lewis connected on two touchdown passes of 45 and 30 yards. In the fourth quarter, the Philly offense wrapped things up as McNabb got a 15-yard TD run, while the defense ended the game on a goal-line stand. With their victory, the Eagles managed to get their first home win of the season as the team improved to 3–1.
Week 5: vs. Dallas Cowboys