Eagles celebrate second league championship in four seasons
By "Joey Scarfone"

Playoffs 2090 (Philadelphia) - On the plane ride out to Detriot seven weeks ago, the Eagles were sitting at 5-5 after a heartbreaking 27-17 loss at home to the New England Patriots. The playoffs seemed like an impossibility. But not to Quarterback Bill Mays.

Mays was a rookie sitting on the bench four seasons ago, watching the aging Greg Singleton lead the Eagles to their improbable Sundby Cup Championship.

'Billy reminded all of us that we were sitting in the same exact spot that those guys were in,' said WR Rowan O'Hara who was on the 2086 Eagles practice squad.

In week 10 of the 2086 season, the Eagles suffered a humiliating 17-13 loss to the 1-8 Washington Redskins and then turned around and won 7 straight games (4 regular season and 3 post-season) on their way to their 4th USAFL crown in the modern era.

'I just thought that if those guys could find a way, why couldn't we,' recalled a happy Bill Mays after winning the Super Bowl MVP award for his flawless effort in the Sundby Cup (21/30 193yds 70% 3TDs).

WEEK 11: The Eagles responded to Mays inspiring call, rolling over the Detroit Lions, 31-9. Mays won Player of the Week honors for his effort (18/27 239yds 67% 3TDs). Eagles are now 6-5.

WEEK 12: Down 24-18 mid-4th quarter, Mays rallied the troops again, leading them on two long scoring drives (8 plays 60yds, 12 plays 78yds), including the magical game-winning drive, taking the team 78yds down the field in just over two minutes, hooking up with WR Jerry Clem on a 7yd strike with 48 seconds on the clock. The Packers fell 25-24. The Eagles are now 7-5, win streak at two.

WEEK 13: Dallas comes to town and Mays begins the game by throwing two consecutive interceptions leading to 10pts for the Cowboys. By the time the 3rd quarter is winding down, the Eagles are down 19-9. Cue Hugo. Hugo Sandstrom carried the Eagles on his back, taking them on two lengthy scoring drives (18 plays 76yds 10:13, 13 plays 80yds 3:57), each ending with Hugo scoring a rushing touchdown.

The Birds comeback from behind two weeks in a row, winning 23-19 and more importantly, their three game win streak has guaranteed them a Wild Card playoff spot. The Eagles are now 8-5, win streak at three.

WEEK 14: Entering the post-season with momentum is a must. So ending the season on a high-note is priority number one for Mays and the Eagles' offense. The Birds are traveling to the 6-7 Chicago Bears for what should be a win, but the Bears are a proud team. Just two years earlier they finished up a streak of winning 5 championships in 9 years. Not the kind of team you want to look past. The Bears came out of the gate fierce, going up 10-0 before the 2nd quarter was underway.

Mays settled the guys down and led them on two consectutive scoring drives (17yd strike to backup TE Brian Frizell and 23yd strike to third WR Sylvester Simpson) to enter the half leading 14-13. The Bears scored first in the 2nd half, moving ahead 19-14, but the Eagles would not be denied and they responded with two more scoring drives (3yd pass to WR Jerry Clem and a 30yd run for Sandstrom) to win the game 27-19.

The Eagles finished the season 9-5 and were excited to repeat the efforts of the '86 Eagles team. The win streak is now at four.

FIRST ROUND: The Eagles were not happy that they would be facing the Green Bay Packers again, especially after what it took to beat them in week 12. It was an ugly game for the Birds. It took four punts and a lost fumble before Kicker Levi Jackon could put a FG on the scoreboard with the first half clock ticking down. They were down 10-3 at the half.

The second half didn't start out much better with three straight drives lasting only three plays each. But with the 4th quarter approaching, Mays hit WR Sylvester Simpson on a 9yd slant route to tie the game at 10-10. On the very next drive Jackson drilled a 34yd FG to go ahead 13-10. It all came down to defense and the field position game. The Birds held the Packers to just 19yds on the next drive and had an excellent punt return allowing them to start their offense in Packers territory. But the Eagles fumbled the ball on a bad snap, giving the Packers the chance to tie up the game eight plays later on a 41yd FG try. It went wide and the Eagles escaped with the win. The win streak at five.


NFC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: The Eagles weren't sure what to expect from the Minnesota Vikings as they had not met during the regular season. The Vikings had just ousted the league leading 12-2 Dallas Cowboys in Dallas, 17-9. The Vikings defensive had put up a monstrous 86 QB sacks during the regular season and were #1 in yards allowed in both rushing and passing. This looked to be the end of the road.


By the middle of the 3rd quarter, Mike Rosenbach, Minnesota's star QB, had already thrown 4 touchdowns, putting the Eagles down 27-16. Three series later kicker Bradley Ruzek increased the lead to 30-16 with a beautiful 46yd field goal. The Birds were now down two touchdowns with just under five minutes remaining on the clock. Signal the two-minute drill.

It took Mays three plays in 55 seconds to hit WR O'Hara on a 39yd post pattern, closing the gap to 30-23. The defense needed 1:44 to hold the Vikings to 3 plays and a punt. With 2:02 left on the clock, Mays led the Eagles on a 12 play 80yd drive, culminating with another touchdown pass to Rowan O'Hara with 31 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 30-30. The NFC Championship goes into overtime.

The Eagles kicked off to the Vikings and the Birds defense repeated their game ending effort by holding the Vikes to 3 plays and a punt. Mays didn't waste any time and led the team down the field 45 yards to leave a 36yd chip shot attempt for kicker Levi Jackson. In a dome. Jackson was 7/9 from that distance during the season. The pressure was on ... and the ball went right through the uprights. 33-30. Win streak is now at six.

And the Birds will now be playing the Buffalo Bills for the fourth time in the Sundby Cup.

SUNDBY CUP CXXI: Back in week 8 the Eagles visited Buffalo and won a 29-23 overtime shocker. Turnovers cost the Bills that game as the Eagles scored 17pts off of a fumble and two interceptions thrown by QB Mike Waddle. Turnovers will again be a story in the Super Bowl.

The game got off to a weird start as the Birds were the team that went out to the early lead. Up 14-7 the Eagles benefited from another Mike Waddle gift interception and Hugo Sandstrom put the Eagles up 21-7. The Bills ended the first half with a 22yd Jessee Gordon field goal. At the half the score was 21-10.

Ironically the Eagles were very concerned in the locker room. Each of the previous six games required some soul-searching at the half, pondering how to come from behind. Being up 11pts was very odd. Mays reminded his teammates of their conversation back on the plane on the way to Detroit back in week 11. They had made it through six games on their quest to match the '86 Eagles. They had one half in front of them. Nothing else mattered.

The Eagles got the ball first in the second half and they marched down the field, 16 plays 79yds, and Mays found a wide-open WR Jerry Clem on a 4yd touchdown strike, putting the Birds up 28-10. It all now rested upon the defense. Buffalo managed to score two touchdowns, but could only get as close as 28-23.

The 2089 Philadelphia Eagles had done it. Winning seven straight games, with the last four all on the road. The Eagles had matched their '86 Eagles by starting the season 5-5 and then winning all of the remaining games ... and became the 2089 USAFL Sundby Cup Champions.

The Parade: The city of Philadelphia surprised the team with a parade as they arrived at the airport. The parade went from the airport right down Broad Street, passing the stadium, all the way to City Hall.

When Eagles GM Andrew Lewis finally made it back to his office after all the festivities he found a stack of messages awaiting his attention.

Six of his players had already announced their retirements. Another six of his players announced that they would be testing the waters of free agency.

Welcome to the world of the USA Football League. There's barely any time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

'But that parade ride was incredible,' said Lewis. 'Now it's back to work.'