Philadelphia Eagles: A win on Sunday could erase past demons

The Philadelphia Eagles are just one win away from the Super Bowl, and with a win on Sunday, all of those demons from the past can be erased.

It was 13 years ago, on January 23rd, 2005 when the Philadelphia Eagles last hosted an NFC Championship game. On that day, the Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 27-10 to move on to Super Bowl 39, which was their first Super Bowl appearance since 1981.

That win erased so many hard memories Eagles fans had over the timeframe between the two Super Bowl appearances. Specifically, making and losing three consecutive NFC Championship games from 2002-2004.

What that win in 2005 helped Eagles fans forget about so many hard memories. It helped everyone forget the day Ronde Barber racing down the field in the last game at Veterans Stadium. Or when the Eagles laying an egg in a 14-3 loss to Carolina the week after the 4th and 26 miracle.

But on that bitter day in 2005, those lowlights became a distant memory, as the Eagles were going to the Super Bowl. Which they, of course, would go on to lose to New England, but the memories from that season are unforgettable.

Now on Sunday, the Eagles will once again host an NFC Championship game and hopefully, with a win, they can help fans forget about so many bad memories that have come over the past 13 years, especially since their last NFC Championship game appearance.

It was way back nine years ago when the Eagles last were as close to the Super Bowl as they will be on Sunday. They took on the Cardinals in January of 2009 looking to clinch a spot in the Super Bowl.

The Eagles went on to lose that game, and still to this day, that loss hurts. That is the closest the Eagles have come to the Super Bowl since they made it in 2005. After that loss to Arizona, many thought the Eagles would return to that stage very soon, but it took nine years to finally get back.

Since that loss, the Eagles fired two head coaches and went nine years without even winning a playoff game. They went 0-3 in the playoffs with all three losses coming on Wild Card Weekend.

There was the “Dream Team,” the disaster that was the 2012 season, the quick rise and terrible downfall of Chip Kelly, and a few playoff losses mixed in as well. The Eagles fired Andy Reid in 2012, and Kelly followed three years later.

When Doug Pederson was hired in 2016, it looked like it would take a long time to return to the stage of the NFC Championship game, let alone the playoffs, and all of those bad memories since the Eagles last Super Bowl appearance would continue to stick around.

Well, in 2017 the Eagles turned a corner and looked like a team ready to compete with the league’s best. It seemed like those demons of the past would be forgotten as Carson Wentz looked poised to lead the Eagles to a deep playoff run.

But on a Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, all of those hopes seemed to come crashing down when Wentz tore his ACL. The rest of the Eagles 2017 hopes laid on the shoulders of Nick Foles.

It all but seemed that this would just be another chapter in years of Eagles hardships. There seemed to be a big black cloud hovering over Philadelphia that would just not go away. Well, Foles and the underdog Eagles said not so fast.

Here we are, NFC Championship weekend and the Eagles are one win over the Minnesota Vikings away from reaching their first Super Bowl in 13 years. And just like they did in 2005, with a win on Sunday, years of demons will drift away.

Next: Philadelphia Eagles: NFC Championship Preview vs the Minnesota Vikings

On Sunday, 70,000 disrespected Eagles fans will file into Lincoln Financial Field, many of them probably wearing dog masks. Those 70,000 along with millions worldwide will be watching the first Eagles NFC Championship game since 2009, and with a win, that game and so much more can finally be put in the rearview mirror.

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