Eagles and Raiders fancied for Super Bowl showdown
Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium has been a house of horrors for Tampa Bay, who have been eliminated from the play-offs there each of the last two years. But they can’t get to the Super Bowl in San Diego without downing the Eagles there in the NFC championship game.
In the AFC title game, the Tennessee Titans travel to Oakland, where the Raiders routed them 52-25 in September.
That loss dropped the Titans to 1-3 and they lost again the following week to Washington before reeling off 11 wins in their next 12 games, including the 34-31 overtime victory over Pittsburgh last week in the divisional playoff.
The Raiders enter tomorrow’s game with eight wins in their last nine games, including a 30-10 triumph over the New York Jets last week in the divisional playoffs.
Quarterback Steve McNair, running back Eddie George and the rest of the Titans are seeking their second Super Bowl trip in four years.
Despite their rich history under owner Al Davis, the Raiders have not been to the Super Bowl since the 1983 season. That year they were situated in Los Angeles and routed the Washington Redskins, 38-9 in Super Bowl 18. The Raiders previously won Super Bowl titles for Oakland in 1976 and 1980.
Bill Callahan, who was promoted by Davis after Jon Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay, is trying to become the first rookie coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl since George Seifert guided the San Francisco 49ers to a 55-10 rout of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 24. Don McCafferty of the Baltimore Colts is the only other rookie coach to win a Super Bowl.
In Philadelphia, the Buccaneers will be trying to erase the memory of two embarrassing first-round playoff defeats - by a combined score of 52-9. Tampa Bay also lost in Philadelphia earlier this season.
Tampa Bay failed to register a touchdown in either play-off games, suffering a 21-3 defeat in 2000 and a 31-9 loss in Philly last January. The loss last season led to the firing of coach Tony Dungy, who was replaced by Jon Gruden.
“We’re not going to sit here and try to justify what happened two or three years ago, or what happened earlier this year,” Gruden said.
“It’s irrelevant now. We respect Philadelphia for what it has done this year. What happened there before has no bearing.
“We’re going to get on the plane, and we’re going to play them anywhere, play them anyplace. Whether it be in ‘The Vet’ or on the Walt Whitman Bridge, we’re going to be there.”
Tampa Bay corner-back Ronde Barber knows the Bucs are looking for redemption. “We have some demons up there that would be nice to erase,” Barber said. “It’s about us, not about them. And, we’ll go out and play our best game.”
Eagles Pro Bowl defensive end Hugh Douglas is not banking on what happened the last two seasons.
“That was last year. This is a whole new year,” Douglas said.
“The stakes are a lot higher and we’ve got to come to play. We still have to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and we know what kind of football team they have down there.”
The Eagles are in the NFC title game for the second straight season. Last year, Philadelphia suffered a 29-24 loss at St. Louis in the conference championship game.
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