2001 Philadelphia Eagles season

69th season in franchise history; first in series of NFC Championship game appearances December 2013 March 2026 Philadelphia Eagles 2001 11–5 1st NFC East Andy Reid Rod Dowhower Jim Johnson Andy Reid Jeffrey Lurie Veterans Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Buccaneers) 31–9Won Divisional Playoffs(at Bears) 33–19Lost NFC Championship(at Rams) 24–29 QB Donovan McNabbOT Tra ThomasDE Hugh DouglasLB Jeremiah TrotterCB Troy VincentFS Brian DawkinsPK David AkersTE Chad Lewis Eagles seasons The 2001 season was the Philadelphia Eagles' 69th in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Andy Reid. The Eagles clinched a playoff berth for the second straight year, matching their 11–5 from the previous season. In the postseason, the Eagles defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–9 in the Wild Card Round and the Chicago Bears 33–19 in the Divisional Round. In the NFC Championship Game however, the Eagles were defeated by the St. Louis Rams 29–24. 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 2001 NFL draft 2001 Philadelphia Eagles 1 25 Freddie Mitchell WR UCLA yes 2 55 Quinton Caver LB Arkansas yes 3 63 Derrick Burgess DE Ole Miss yes 4 121 Correll Buckhalter RB Nebraska yes 5 147 Tony Stewart TE Penn State 5 155 A.J. Feeley QB Oregon Staff 2001 Philadelphia Eagles 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 coach – Andy Reid 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 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 coordinator – John Harbaugh Special teams/quality control – Dave Toub 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 2001 Official Media Guide Philadelphia Eagles 6 Employee Directory Roster Philadelphia Eagles 2001 final roster Quarterbacks 10 Koy Detmer 14 A. J. Feeley y  5 Donovan McNabb Running backs 28 Correll Buckhalter y 38 Cecil Martin FB 30 Brian Mitchell running back RS 34 Jamie Reader FB 24 Rod Smart 22 Duce Staley Wide receivers 85 Na Brown 82 Dameane Douglas 84 Freddie Mitchell y 87 Todd Pinkston 86 Gari Scott 80 James Thrash Tight ends 89 Chad Lewis 81 Tony Stewart American football y 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 y DE 53 Hugh Douglas American football 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 linebacker OLB 55 Quinton Caver y OLB 51 Carlos Emmons American football OLB 52 Barry Gardner MLB 58 Ike Reese OLB 54 Jeremiah Trotter MLB Defensive backs 42 Rashard Cook CB/FS 29 Darrel Crutchfield y CB 20 Brian Dawkins FS 41 William Hampton gridiron football CB/S 31 Al Harris cornerback CB 45 Tim Hauck SS 43 Damon Moore SS 21 Bobby Taylor American football CB 23 Troy Vincent CB Special teams  2 David Akers K 88 Mike Bartrum LS  7 Sean Landeta P Reserve lists 27 Julian Jones y S IR 65 Bubba Miller C IR 25 Monty Montgomery American football CB IR 78 Hollis Thomas DT IR Practice squad 93 Pernell Davis DT 95 John Frank defensive end DE 75 Kendrick Rogers offensive lineman y T 16 Sean Scott American football y 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 5Bye 6 October 22, 2001 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, 2001 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, 2001 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. Eagles 0 0 3 7 Giants 3 6 0 0 October 22 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 9:00 p.m. EST 78,821 65 F, wind 11 mph on Jeff Triplette Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, and Dennis Miller ABC yes 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 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Standings Postseason 2001–02 NFL playoffs Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card January 12, 2002 F j, Y Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6) W 31–9 1–0 Veterans Stadium Recap Divisional January 19, 2002 F j, Y 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 Edward Jones Dome Recap Game summaries NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers text-align:center; Philadelphia Eagles 2001 2 NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers at (3) Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary Buccaneers 3 6 0 0 Eagles 3 14 7 7 Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 12, 2002 F j, Y 4:30 p.m. EST 46 °F °C, clear ABC Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire (color commentators), and Suzy Kolber (sideline reporter) Larry Nemmers 65,846 First quarter TB – Martín Gramática 36-yard field goal, 10:48. Buccaneers 3–0. Drive: 7 plays, 21 yards, 3:10. PHI – David Akers 26-yard field goal, 6:18. Tied 3–3. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yards, 4:30. Second quarter PHI – Chad Lewis 16-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 12:17. Eagles 10–3. Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 2:33. TB – Martín Gramática 32-yard field goal, 6:13. Eagles 10–6. Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 6:04. PHI – Duce Staley 23-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 0:35. Eagles 17–6. Drive: 6 plays, 31 yards, 1:11. TB – Martín Gramática 27-yard field goal, 0:00. Eagles 17–9. Drive: 5 plays, 53 yards, 0:35. Third quarter PHI – Correll Buckhalter 25-yard run (David Akers kick), 6:57. Eagles 24–9. Drive: 6 plays, 60 yards, 2:30. Fourth quarter PHI – Damon Moore 59-yard interception return (David Akers kick), 2:08. Eagles 31–9. Top passers TB – Brad Johnson – 22/36, 202 yards, 4 INT PHI – Donovan McNabb – 16/25, 194 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers TB – Mike Alstott – 12 rushes, 32 yards PHI – Donovan McNabb – 4 rushes, 57 yards Top receivers TB – Keyshawn Johnson – 3 receptions, 75 yards PHI – Todd Pinkston – 5 receptions, 62 yards 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 NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (2) Chicago Bears text-align:center; Philadelphia Eagles 2001 2 NFC Divisional Playoffs: (3) Philadelphia Eagles at (2) Chicago Bears – Game summary Eagles 6 7 7 13 Bears 0 7 7 5 Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois January 19, 2002 F j, Y 4:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. CST 31 °F °C, partly cloudy Fox Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Troy Aikman, Daryl Johnston (color commentators), and Pam Oliver (sideline reporter) Bill Carollo 65,028 First quarter PHI – David Akers 34-yard field goal, 9:04. Eagles 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 61 yards, 5:56. PHI – David Akers 23-yard field goal, 3:22. Eagles 6–0. Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 4:05. Second quarter CHI – Ahmad Merritt 47-yard run (Paul Edinger kick), 5:29. Bears 7–6. Drive: 1 play, 62 yards, 0:15. PHI – Cecil Martin 13-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 0:14. Eagles 13–7. Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards, 5:15. Third quarter CHI – Jerry Azumah 39-yard interception return (Paul Edinger kick), 12:25. Bears 14–13. PHI – Duce Staley 6-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 5:55. Eagles 20–14. Drive: 5 plays, 36 yards, 2:36. Fourth quarter CHI – Paul Edinger 38-yard field goal, 14:16. Eagles 20–17. Drive: 11 plays, 44 yards, 6:39. PHI – David Akers 40-yard field goal, 8:48. Eagles 23–17. Drive: 11 plays, 45 yards, 5:28. PHI – David Akers 46-yard field goal, 6:28. Eagles 26–17. Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 2:07. PHI – Donovan McNabb 5-yard run (David Akers kick), 3:21. Eagles 33–17. Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 0:55. CHI – Safety, Sean Landeta ran out of end zone, 0:00. Eagles 33–19. Top passers PHI – Donovan McNabb – 26/40, 262 yards, 2 TD, INT CHI – Shane Matthews – 8/17, 66 yards, 2 INT Top rushers PHI – Duce Staley – 18 rushes, 66 yards CHI – Ahmad Merritt – 1 rush, 47 yards, TD Top receivers PHI – James Thrash – 7 receptions, 73 yards CHI – Dez White – 4 receptions, 30 yards 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 on a block by Hugh Douglas following Miller throwing an interception. 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. NFC Championship: at (1) St. Louis Rams text-align:center; Philadelphia Eagles 2001 2 NFC Championship: (3) Philadelphia Eagles at (1) St. Louis Rams – Game summary Eagles 3 14 0 7 Rams 10 3 9 7 Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri January 27, 2002 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST Played indoors, domed stadium Fox Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentator), Ron Pitts, and Pam Oliver (sideline reporters) Gerald Austin 66,502 First quarter STL – Isaac Bruce 5-yard pass from Kurt Warner (Jeff Wilkins kick), 12:00. Rams 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 2:43. PHI – David Akers 46-yard field goal, 5:44. Rams 7–3. Drive: 11 plays, 45 yards, 6:16. STL – Jeff Wilkins 27-yard field goal, 1:06. Rams 10–3. Drive: 9 plays, 54 yards, 4:38. Second quarter PHI – Duce Staley 1-yard run (David Akers kick), 6:56. Tied 10–10. Drive: 5 plays, 57 yards, 2:48. STL – Jeff Wilkins 39-yard field goal, 3:52. Rams 13–10. Drive: 7 plays, 45 yards, 3:04. PHI – Todd Pinkston 12-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 0:46. Eagles 17–13. Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 3:06. Third quarter STL – Jeff Wilkins 41-yard field goal, 8:01. Eagles 17–16. Drive: 12 plays, 44 yards, 6:59. STL – Marshall Faulk 1-yard run (pass failed), 1:18. Rams 22–17. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:38. Fourth quarter STL – Marshall Faulk 1-yard run (Jeff Wilkins kick), 6:55. Rams 29–17. Drive: 7 plays, 56 yards, 4:27. PHI – Donovan McNabb 3-yard run (David Akers kick), 2:56. Rams 29–24. Drive: 9 plays, 52 yards, 3:59. Top passers PHI – Donovan McNabb – 18/30, 171 yards, TD, INT STL – Kurt Warner – 22/33, 212 yards, TD Top rushers PHI – Correll Buckhalter – 6 rushes, 50 yards STL – Marshall Faulk – 31 rushes, 159 yards, 2 TD Top receivers PHI – Duce Staley – 8 receptions, 58 yards STL – Isaac Bruce – 8 receptions, 84 yards, TD 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. References External links 2001 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Philadelphia Eagles seasons Philadelphia Eagles Category:NFC East championship seasons Philadelphia Eagles