The Eagles’ last voyage to the NFC championship game nine years ago wasn’t the 13-3 pleasure cruise that this one has been.
It didn’t include any of the swell perks earned by this year’s team. There was no first-round bye. There was no home-field advantage.
The Eagles were lucky to even make the playoffs in 2008. They finished 9-6-1 and needed the improbable Week 17 help of two other teams just to get the sixth and final NFC invitation.
This year’s Eagles lost their quarterback to injury in Week 14. The ’08 Eagles benched theirs in Week 12 after an awful 8-for-18, three-turnover first half by Donovan McNabb in a 36-7 loss to Baltimore.