The last Patriots-Eagles Super Bowl was the most boring Tom Brady Super Bowl

The Patriots have played in seven Super Bowls in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. All seven have been classics.

While seeing New England in the big game may be repetitive to the point of breeding contempt, no one can say the Pats don’t deliver when it comes to providing an exciting game. Brady’s masterful two-minute drills have wrung every ounce of drama from a series of games that’s cemented his place as the greatest quarterback of all time.

In his first appearance, Brady engineered a 53-yard drive over the game’s final 81 seconds before Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal gave a two-touchdown underdog its first NFL title. In his last, he somehow piloted the Patriots back from a 28-3 third-quarter deficit to win the only overtime game in Super Bowl history. Even when Brady loses — two times, each to the Giants — the contest has been decided by a touchdown scored with less than a minute to play.

But somewhere in the middle of all this, in between a fiery shootout with the Panthers decided by another clutch Vinatieri field goal and a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback sealed by Malcolm Butler’s end zone interception against Seattle, is an overlooked three-point victory. Brady’s third Super Bowl title came against the same Eagles franchise he’ll see Sunday in Minneapolis — and it was the least memorable of all the Belichick-era championship games.

The victory that sealed New England’s dynasty status was comparatively low-key for the Patriots. The Eagles came into the 2004 season with plenty to prove after three consecutive season-ending losses in the NFC Championship. Donovan McNabb had been invited to four straight Pro Bowls leading up to the season, but if he couldn’t bring Philly an NFL title, he’d be no different than Ron Jaworski or Randall Cunningham in terms of legacy.

This postseason would be his last real chance to write his happy history. McNabb and his Eagles cruised in the playoffs behind a pair of double-digit victories in the NFC, setting up a showdown with a Patriots team looking for its third title in four seasons. Behind him, the league’s second-ranked scoring defense, led by a secondary that featured three Pro Bowlers (Lito Sheppard, Brian Dawkins, and Michael Lewis) was hungry to prove itself against a quarterback who already had two Super Bowl MVPs.

Even the Eagles’ coaching tree was stacked; future head coaches like Brad Childress, Pat Shurmur, Steve Spagnuolo, Sean McDermott, and John Harbaugh were all assistants that season in Philadelphia.

There were concerns, however. Terrell Owens had proven his value as an elite receiver with 1,200 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games, but a broken leg had erased his playoffs and threatened to keep him from the Super Bowl. And, for a team that had choked away big opportunities in each of the past three seasons, major questions swirled around whether or not Andy Reid was more than just a “good” coach.

Philadelphia’s defense held strong early, putting the Eagles in position to take an early lead even after McNabb squandered his first red zone opportunity by throwing an interception to Rodney Harrison. A 6-yard touchdown pass to L.J. Smith gave them a second-quarter lead, but the Patriots would respond to tie the game at 7-7 to cap off an otherwise uneventful first half.

But the Patriots played an extremely Patriots game en route to a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. Linebacker Mike Vrabel caught a touchdown pass. Deion Branch caught 11 of the 12 balls thrown his way. Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk combined for 113 rushing yards against a defense that faded away in the fourth quarter like a photograph of the McFly children.

That meant McNabb and his offense had to score twice in the game’s final 8:40 — a scenario that put the Pats’ win probability up around 98 percent. Despite those long odds and a ticking clock, the Eagles’ ensuing drive suggested little expedience. It wasn’t until the first play after the two-minute warning that McNabb would finally punch the ball in to make this a one-score game.

That necessitated an onside kick, which failed, and a defensive three-and-out that did not. The Eagles got the ball back at their own 4-yard line with 46 seconds to play, and a second Harrison interception would close the books on their unlikely comeback effort.

Not remotely. Philadelphia’s comeback effort made the game interesting, and McNabb’s lack of urgency launched a thousand screaming takes on sports radio over the following weeks. It also gave way to the possibly apocryphal tale of a nervous McNabb vomiting all over his huddle in the fourth quarter, which is an amazing sports culture contribution on its own.

Like every other Patriots Super Bowl under Brady, there was still plenty of action to follow in the game’s final minutes. However, the 2005 edition lacked the exhilarating drama of the team’s comeback wins and come-from-ahead losses. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just the forgotten child in an exceptional family.

This Sunday, the Eagles can put in the work to make Super Bowl 52 more memorable than their last appearance in the big game.