Fourth and twenty-six. January 2004, a divisional game, the Eagles a play from elimination, and Donovan McNabb found Freddie Mitchell for exactly the twenty-six yards they needed to keep the season alive. Philadelphia went on to win that game. I remember thinking nobody converts fourth and twenty-six. The Eagles did, because for a long time they got to January and then found a way to make you ache.

From perennial heartbreak to champions

The early-2000s Eagles were the kings of the painful January, losing three straight NFC Championship Games before finally reaching a Super Bowl. The breakthrough took longer than it should have, but when it came it came big, a title to close the 2017 season behind a backup quarterback and the boldest trick play in Super Bowl history. They added a second, dismantling the Chiefs to end the 2024 season.

A short title defense

Defending it did not last long. This past January, as reigning champions, the Eagles ran into the 49ers in the wild-card round and lost 23-19, a quiet exit for a team that had been so loud a year earlier. January gives, and the next January takes it back.

Years of heartbreak, then two trophies inside a decade, then a fast title defense ended early. Eagles fans, your franchise turned the longest run of January pain into a parade, twice. The Philly Special was the kind of nerve my cautious old team never had. The recent quick exit barely dents what you built.