2008 Philadelphia Eagles season

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76th season in franchise history

2008 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner	Jeffrey Lurie
Head coach	Andy Reid
Home field	Lincoln Financial Field
Results
Record	9–6–1
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Vikings) 26–14 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Giants) 23–11 Lost NFC Championship (at Cardinals) 25–32
Pro Bowlers	CB Asante Samuel FS Brian Dawkins
← 2007 Eagles seasons 2009 →

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The 2008 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 76th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the tenth under head coach Andy Reid. The Eagles improved upon their 8–8 record and a fourth-place finish in the NFC East in the 2007 season by going 9–6–1 and earning the 6th seed in the NFC Playoffs. The Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings 26-14 in the wild-card round. Philadelphia then upset the top-seeded New York Giants, 23-11 in the divisional round to advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2004 season. However, the Eagles' season would end in Arizona with a 32-25 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Despite their low-seeding in the NFC playoffs, Football Outsiders calculated that the 2008 Eagles were the best team in the league, play-for-play.^[1]

The 2006 Eagles were mentioned in the novel, but the 2008 Eagles were in the film adaptation of Silver Linings Playbook.

Offseason

Though the Eagles finished the

L.J. Smith

, who has battled injury, was given a franchise tag to keep him in Philadelphia.

In the draft, the Eagles traded down again, lining themselves up with two first-round picks in 2009. Training camp and the preseason were mixed with good news and bad news. On the negative side, All-Pro guard Shawn Andrews had a late-start to the preseason because of a personal battle with depression. Cornerback Lito Sheppard now looked like a third wheel in the secondary behind Samuel and Sheldon Brown, and vented his frustration. A contract dispute with star running back Brian Westbrook also looked to be another distraction until the team signed him to a three-year, $21 million extension. Philadelphia's biggest issue was the weak receiving corps. In the spring, the team was unsuccessful in acquiring a big name receiver, and the situation was exacerbated when number one receiver Kevin Curtis went down with a sports hernia in the preseason, while number two receiver Reggie Brown nursed a sore hamstring. No moves were made to fix the problem, and many experts considered the Eagles too weak at the position to go deep into the playoffs. However, 5'10 second round draft pick DeSean Jackson had a great preseason, and was named as a Week 1 starter for the Eagles at receiver. Quarterback Donovan McNabb also had a strong preseason, and finally looked fully recovered from his 2006 knee surgery. The rebuilt special teams unit impressed in the preseason, with draft picks Jackson and Quintin Demps returning a punt and a kick respectively for touchdowns in an exhibition win over the Patriots.

The offense went into the season with Westbrook in his prime and a seemingly rejuvenated McNabb, but the receiving corps looked feeble, and the offensive line looked uncertain, with the aging tackles

Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas anchoring the unit, and Shawn Andrews not playing until the middle of the preseason. The defense featured the deepest secondary in the NFL with Samuel, Brown, Sheppard, and veteran safety Brian Dawkins. The linebacking corps looked young and quick, and Trent Cole

was the clear star on the defensive line. Possibly the most key improvement in the team over 2007 lies in the special teams, which was a consistent weakness the previous season.

Notable roster additions

• CB Asante Samuel- Signed as a free agent from the New England Patriots.
• DE Chris Clemons- Signed as a free agent from the Oakland Raiders.
• DT/FB Dan Klecko – Signed as a free agent from the Indianapolis Colts.
• TE
  L.J. Smith – Signed his franchise tag tender.^[2]
• FB Luke Lawton- Traded from the Indianapolis Colts for a 2009 conditional draft pick.

Notable roster losses

• LB Takeo Spikes – Signed with 49ers During Free Agency
• CB William James- Signed with Bills During Free Agency
• DE Jevon Kearse – Signed with Titans During Free Agency
• FB Thomas Tapeh – Signed with Vikings During Free Agency

Philadelphia Eagles Draft

Main article:

2008 NFL Draft

2008 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	47	Trevor Laws	DT	Notre Dame	From Minnesota
2	49	DeSean Jackson *	WR	California
3	80	Bryan Smith	DE	McNeese State
4	109	Mike McGlynn	G	Pittsburgh	From Carolina
4	117	Quintin Demps	S	UTEP	From Minnesota
4	131	Jack Ikegwuonu	CB	Wisconsin
6	184	Mike Gibson	OT	California
6	200	Joe Mays	LB	North Dakota State	Compensatory Pick
6	203	Andy Studebaker	DE	Wheaton	Compensatory Pick
7	230	King Dunlap	OT	Auburn	From Seattle
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

Philadelphia Eagles 2008 staff
Front office Chairman/CEO – Jeffrey Lurie President/coo – Joe Banner General manager – Tom Heckert Jr. Vice president of player personnel – Howie Roseman Director of college scouting – Ryan Grigson Director of pro personnel – Jon Sandusky Head coaches Head coach – Andy Reid Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator – Marty Mornhinweg Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Pat Shurmur Running backs – Ted Williams Wide receivers – David Culley Tight ends – Tom Melvin Offensive line – Juan Castillo Offensive assistant – Mark Whipple Offensive quality control – James Urban Statistical analysis coordinator – Mike Frazier Coaching assistant – Corey Matthaei Coaching intern – Matt Nagy			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jim Johnson Defensive line – Pete Jenkins Linebackers – Sean McDermott Linebackers – Bill Shuey Assistant secondary – Otis Smith Defensive quality control – Mike Caldwell Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Rory Segrest Assistant special teams/offensive assistant – Jeff Nixon Strength and conditioning Head athletic trainer – Rick Burkholder Head strength and conditioning – Mike Wolf Assistant strength and conditioning – Barry Rubin

Roster

2008 Philadelphia Eagles final roster

	Quarterbacks 14 A. J. Feeley  4 Kevin Kolb  5 Donovan McNabb Running backs 25 Lorenzo Booker 28 Correll Buckhalter 32 Kyle Eckel FB 36 Brian Westbrook Wide receivers 81 Jason Avant 84 Hank Baskett 86 Reggie Brown 80 Kevin Curtis 10 DeSean Jackson PR 83 Greg Lewis Tight ends 87 Brent Celek 89 Matt Schobel 82 L. J. Smith		Offensive linemen 73 Shawn Andrews G 59 Nick Cole C/G 79 Todd Herremans G 67 Jamaal Jackson C 74 Winston Justice T 77 Mike McGlynn G 64 Chris Patrick T 69 Jon Runyan T 72 Tra Thomas T Defensive linemen 95 Victor Abiamiri DE 97 Brodrick Bunkley DT 91 Chris Clemons DE 58 Trent Cole DE 90 Darren Howard DE 68 Dan Klecko DT 93 Trevor Laws DT 75 Juqua Parker DE 98 Mike Patterson DT 63 Bryan Smith DE		Linebackers 55 Stewart Bradley MLB 50 Tank Daniels OLB 96 Omar Gaither OLB 57 Chris Gocong OLB 56 Akeem Jordan OLB 51 Joe Mays MLB 54 Tracy White OLB Defensive backs 24 Sheldon Brown CB 37 Sean Considine SS 20 Brian Dawkins FS 39 Quintin Demps FS/KR 21 Joselio Hanson CB 27 Quintin Mikell SS 22 Asante Samuel CB 26 Lito Sheppard CB Special teams  2 David Akers K 46 Jon Dorenbos LS  6 Sav Rocca P		Reserve lists 65 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 61 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 33 Jack Ikegwuonu CB (NF-Inj.Tooltip Non-football injury and illness) 62 IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad -- Franklin Dunbar G 68 Tala Esera G -- Jonathan Hefney CB/S -- Drisan James WR 76 Mike Marquardt DT 17 Shaheer McBride WR 78 Babatunde Oshinowo DT 18 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 31 Trae Williams CB Rookies in italics 53 active, 5 inactive, 8 practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 8	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–16	0–1	Heinz Field	Recap
2	August 14	Carolina Panthers	W 24–13	1–1	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
3	August 22	at New England Patriots	W 27–17	2–1	Gillette Stadium	Recap
4	August 28	New York Jets	L 20–27	2–2	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 7	St. Louis Rams	W 38–3	1–0	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
2	September 15	at Dallas Cowboys	L 37–41	1–1	Texas Stadium	Recap
3	September 21	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 15–6	2–1	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
4	September 28	at Chicago Bears	L 20–24	2–2	Soldier Field	Recap
5	October 5	Washington Redskins	L 17–23	2–3	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
6	October 12	at San Francisco 49ers	W 40–26	3–3	Candlestick Park	Recap
7	Bye
8	October 26	Atlanta Falcons	W 27–14	4–3	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
9	November 2	at Seattle Seahawks	W 26–7	5–3	Qwest Field	Recap
10	November 9	New York Giants	L 31–36	5–4	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
11	November 16	at Cincinnati Bengals	T 13–13	5–4–1	Paul Brown Stadium	Recap
12	November 23	at Baltimore Ravens	L 7–36	5–5–1	M&T Bank Stadium	Recap
13	November 27	Arizona Cardinals	W 48–20	6–5–1	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
14	December 7	at New York Giants	W 20–14	7–5–1	Giants Stadium	Recap
15	December 15	Cleveland Browns	W 30–10	8–5–1	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
16	December 21	at Washington Redskins	L 3–10	8–6–1	FedExField	Recap
17	December 28	Dallas Cowboys	W 44–6	9–6–1	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

See also: 2008–09 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card	January 4, 2009	at Minnesota Vikings (3)	W 26–14	1–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	Recap
Divisional	January 11, 2009	at New York Giants (1)	W 23–11	2–0	Giants Stadium	Recap
NFC Championship	January 18, 2009	at Arizona Cardinals (4)	L 25–32	2–1	University of Phoenix Stadium	Recap

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) New York Giants	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	427	294	L1
(6) Philadelphia Eagles	9	6	1	.594	2–4	7–5	416	289	W1
Dallas Cowboys	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	362	365	L2
Washington Redskins	8	8	0	.500	3–3	7–5	265	296	L1

Regular season

Week 1: vs. St. Louis Rams

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	0	0	3	3
Eagles	14	7	10	7	38

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

• Game time: 1:02 PM
  Peter Morelli^[3]
• TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, & Tony Siragusa

The Eagles raced out of the gates to dismantle the

Tony Hunt scored from a yard out in the third quarter. DeSean Jackson's 60-yard punt return set up a short field goal for David Akers, and Philadelphia's lead grew to 31–0. Westbrook added a 6-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter before St. Louis kicked a field goal to avoid the shutout. McNabb threw for 361 yards and three scores. Jackson, Greg Lewis

, and Baskett each had over 100 yards receiving. Westbrook ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns

With the win, the Eagles began their season at 1–0.

Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	6	24	0	7	37
Cowboys	14	10	7	10	41

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

• Game time: 8:30 PM EDT
• Game weather: 76 °F (24 °C)
• Game attendance: 63,472
• Referee: Terry McAulay
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Tony Kornheiser, Michele Tafoya, & Suzy Kolber

The Eagles went toe-to-toe with their hated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, on MNF in the teams' final meeting at Texas Stadium. The game would be high-scoring – filled with exciting plays and seven lead changes. On their opening drive, Philadelphia scored first with kicker David Akers nailing a 34-yard field goal. The Cowboys struck right back with Tony Romo completing a 72-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens, who badly beat the Eagles' secondary. Donovan McNabb drove the Eagles' into Dallas territory again, but again settled for a field goal. Dallas immediately answered when rookie Felix Jones returned the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and a 14–6 Cowboy advantage. Asante Samuel intercepted Romo on Dallas' next drive, leading to a 6-yard touchdown reception by Brian Westbrook early in the second quarter. Romo fumbled in his own end zone on the first play of the ensuing drive and linebacker Chris Gocong recovered for the touchdown and a 20–14 Eagle lead. However, the Cowboys would respond with Romo and Owens hooking up with each other again on a 4-yard TD pass. The Eagles took over and McNabb connected with rookie DeSean Jackson on a 60-yard play, but his premature celebration cost him what would have been his first career touchdown (as well as a pass-for-touchdown by McNabb). Nevertheless, Westbrook scored on the resulting 1st and goal from the 1-yard line, diving over the pile to put Philadelphia back on top. Akers nailed a 22-yard field goal and Philadelphia had its biggest lead of the night, 30–21. Dallas would end the explosive half with kicker Nick Folk making a 51-yard field goal. In the third quarter, the Cowboys went ahead again as Romo completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to running back Marion Barber. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles would once again retake the lead, at 37–31, with Westbrook's 1-yard touchdown run. Nick Folk's 47-yard field goal made it 37–34 Philadelphia. The critical turnover occurred when McNabb botched a handoff to Westbrook at the Cowboy 33-yard line that Dallas recovered. Romo led his team down the field and Barber rushed it in to the right side, giving Dallas the winning margin at 41–37. Needing a touchdown, Philadelphia had two more possessions, but failed to score. McNabb threw for 281 yards and a score, while Romo had 312 passing yards and three touchdowns. Westbrook found the end zone three times while gaining 103 all-purpose yards. DeSean Jackson again had over 100 receiving yards. The game featured the second most first half points in MNF history (54) and most combined points in the rivalry's history (78). With the loss, the Eagles fell to 1–1.

Week 3: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	3	0	0	6
Eagles	0	10	0	5	15

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

• Game time: 4:15 PM
  Walt Anderson
• TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz & Phil Simms

After a turnover, the Steelers scored the first points on a Jeff Reed 37-yard field goal. Brian Westbrook left the game with an ankle injury early in the second quarter, but Correll Buckhalter finished the drive with a 20-yard touchdown catch. The touchdown was the 176th for Donovan McNabb, surpassing Ron Jaworski on the franchise list. The Philadelphia defense began to take over at this point, sacking Roethlisberger six times in the quarter. A fumble recovery by Brodrick Bunkley after a sack led to a David Akers field goal. Pittsburgh would end the half with Reed kicking a 53-yard field goal to make it 10–6. Without Westbrook, the Eagles' offense struggled to score, but the defense continued to shut down the Steelers. An intentional grounding penalty on Roethlisberger from his own end zone resulted in a safety. A diving sack and fumble recovery by Brian Dawkins led to a field goal and sealed the win, giving the Eagles a 15–6 lead. The defense sacked Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich nine times, forced two fumbles, and intercepted a pass. Punter Sav Rocca also contributed to the second-half shutout with his punts. The Eagles improved to 2–1 with the win.

Week 4: at Chicago Bears

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	7	3	3	20
Bears	7	14	0	3	24

at Soldier Field, Chicago

• Game time: 8:15 p.m.
  CDT
• Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) (cloudy)
• Game attendance: 62,099
• Referee: Walt Coleman
• TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, John Madden, and Andrea Kremer

Without Brian Westbrook, but coming off their dominant defensive performance over the Steelers, the Eagles flew to Soldier Field for a Week 4 Sunday night duel with the Chicago Bears.

The Bears started quickly, forcing a three-and-out, then scoring on three passing plays. DeSean Jackson was responsible for gaining 66 of the 74 yards traveled on the next drive, including a 22-yard touchdown reception from Donovan McNabb to tie the score. Kyle Orton passed to Marty Booker for a 23-yard touchdown to make it 14–7 Chicago in the second quarter, but the Eagles came right back with a quick drive ending in Correll Buckhalter scoring from a yard out. After a missed 50-yard field goal by David Akers, the Bears used the short field to set up a 20-yard touchdown pass to Devin Hester.

Akers missed another field goal in the third quarter before making two short kicks that came after Kyle Orton fumbled. Robbie Gould booted a 41-yard kick to make it 24–20 Bears in the fourth quarter.

McNabb then took the Eagles down the field, and with 5:40 left to play, Philadelphia had 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Buckhalter got to the 1-yard line on first down, but he and

The Eagles dropped a divisional matchup to a

Playing without several offensive starters, the Eagles pulled out a 40–26 win with a gutsy fourth quarter comeback against the

The Eagles improved to 10–0 after the bye under

With the win, the Eagles improved to 4–3.

Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks

Philadelphia shook off a shaky start and cruised to a 26–7 victory over a banged-up Seattle Seahawks team. Seattle scored on their first play from scrimmage on a 90-yard reception by Koren Robinson, but did not threaten the rest of the game. Robinson beat Lito Sheppard and Brian Dawkins missed the tackle as the Seahawks jumped out to a 7–0 lead. Donovan McNabb had another ugly start, firing incompletions on his first seven pass attempts. However, in the second quarter, the Eagles began to move the ball and McNabb found Reggie Brown for a 22-yard touchdown. On the next drive, with first and goal, the Eagles ran a play-action fake and McNabb threw it to offensive guard Todd Herremans (who was lined up as a tight end) for a 1-yard touchdown and a 14–7 lead. Philadelphia's next four drives led to David Akers field goals as they sailed to a 26–7 win. The Eagles' defense forced Seattle to punt on their final ten possessions and Darren Howard had two sacks. McNabb finished with 349 yards passing, two touchdowns, and an interception. Backup tight end Brent Celek had the game of his life – finishing with six catches and 131 receiving yards.

With their 3rd-straight win, the Eagles improved to 5–3.

Week 10: vs. New York Giants

The Eagles, who had not won on prime time in two years, faced off against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants on a Sunday night game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mike Patterson batted up and intercepted Eli Manning, returning the ball inside the New York 10-yard line. Two plays later DeSean Jackson took the direct snap and rushed 9 yards, diving to the pylon for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Manning then led the Giants up the field and he found Plaxico Burress for a 17-yard touchdown. The Eagles fumbled the kickoff, and New York cashed in for a field goal. On New York's next drive, Manning capped off another long drive with a short touchdown pass to Kevin Boss to take a 17–7 lead early in the second quarter. A fumble by Giant rusher Brandon Jacobs gave Philadelphia the ball in New York territory. Six plays later, Donovan McNabb completed a 10-yard pass to Jason Avant for an Eagle touchdown. Sam Madison picked off McNabb deep in Eagle territory on the next drive, but the Giants settled for a field goal to make it 20–14. McNabb ran the two-minute drill before the half to get the Eagles a 29-yard field goal before halftime, narrowing the score to 20–17. After a good kickoff return by rookie Quintin Demps, the Eagles navigated the short field for another touchdown, this one a fade to Hank Baskett and a 24–20 Philadelphia lead. The Giants, continuing to have success with their ground game, drove down the field. On a critical 3rd-and-10 from the Eagle 20-yard line, Manning completed a 17-yard pass to Boss, but was flagged for crossing the line of scrimmage. Giants' coach Tom Coughlin challenged the call, and it was reversed, giving New York 1st-and-goal. They scored when Jacobs powered forward on a 3-yard run. Another long Giant drive led to a field goal early in the fourth quarter making it 30–24 Giants. The Giants scored again on their next drive, a 3-yard rush by Jacobs. Andy Reid challenged consecutive plays at the end of the drive, but lost both of them, leaving the Eagles with only one timeout, 9:30 left to play, and a 36–24 deficit (after New York missed on the two-point conversion). A 32-yard completion to DeSean Jackson jump-started the offense, and McNabb hit Kevin Curtis for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth down to keep Philadelphia alive. The Eagles got the ball back with 3:14 left, but could not convert on a 4th-and-1 near midfield to lose the game 36–31. McNabb had three touchdown passes, but Brian Westbrook was limited to just 26 yards on 13 carries. Jacobs rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns for the Giants. The Eagles fell to 5–4, 0–3 in their division.

Week 11: at Cincinnati Bengals

The Eagles and

With the tie, the Eagles fell to 5–4–1, putting them back into last place in the NFC East.

Week 12: at Baltimore Ravens