Well, this is fun. Prior to kickoff against the Packers on Monday night, the Eagles used a bit of cheeky gamesmanship via scoreboard taunting:
Check out the down and distance on the Eagles' scoreboard prior to the Packers game: 4th and 26. pic.twitter.com/tCiZTZit6H
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) November 28, 2016
That’s a reference to the famous (infamous, in Wisconsin) play from the 2004 NFC Divisional round game between the Eagles and the Packers.
Here’s a grainy version of the play in question:
And here’s the weirdly informative Wikipedia entry on the play, which includes this description:
The Eagles, faced with a fourth down and 26 yards, needed to convert for a first down, with only 1:12 remaining and no timeouts available. The pass completed to Freddie Mitchell was completed for 28 yards (2 more than was needed for the 1st down)
On fourth down, the play (74 Double Go) called for a slant route to wide receiver Freddie Mitchell.[4] McNabb threw a perfect strike to Mitchell deep into the Packers’ secondary.
…
Mitchell completed a leaping reception and was brought down at the Packers 46, giving the Eagles a first down.[6]
The play set up David Akers’ 37-yard field goal attempt after McNabb ran for another first down. The field goal was good, and the game went into overtime, when Eagles safety Brian Dawkins was able to intercept an errant Brett Favre pass and return it 35 yards, setting up another Akers field goal try. The 31-yard kick was good, giving the Eagles a dramatic 20–17 victory and sent them to their third straight NFC Championship Game, which they lost to the Carolina Panthers.
I actually had to cut a lot out there, as it was pretty clearly written by an Eagles fan. This is actually Green Bay’s fifth trip back to Lincoln Financial Field since that game, so it’s fair to wonder why the Eagles would choose tonight’s game for the needling. It’s solid trolling work, though: understated, simple, elegant.
Of course, the Eagles lost the NFC Championship 14-3 to the Panthers the very next week, so it’s not like they have a whole lot of room to talk about that particular postseason.
