Super Bowl power rankings: Who’s the best loser?
By John Buhler
14. 2004 Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl XXXIX
The 2004 Philadelphia Eagles finally got to the Super Bowl in the Andy Reid era. They had lost previous two NFC Championships and many wondered if this incarnation of the Eagles franchise could win a Super Bowl.
Philadelphia went 13-3 and won the NFC East in 2004. They would defeat the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional round and the Atlanta Falcons in the 2004 NFC Championship to make it to the Eagles’ second ever trip to the Super Bowl.
It had been 24 years since Dick Vermeil’s 1980 Eagles team played in Super Bowl XV with Ron Jaworski as its quarterback. With the newly-acquired superstar wideout Terrell Owens, quarterback Donovan McNabb had his playmaker on the outside that could hopefully get Philadelphia over the top because the Eagles already had a ferocious defense in that era of the franchise.
The Eagles would face the reigning Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Philadelphia would enter Super Bowl XXXIX as a seven-point underdog to New England, but played a close game with the Patriots, losing by only three points, 24-21.
This was the best Andy Reid era team in Philadelphia. They took the Patriots to the wire in Super Bowl XXXIX. It’s hard to rationalize that the Reid/McNabb era in Philadelphia was only able to win one NFC Championship. Covering the spread against the biggest football dynasty in the last 15 years speaks highly of the 2004 Eagles. That era of Eagles football will go down as one of the greatest eras to not win a Super Bowl.
Next: 13. 1981 Cincinnati Bengals