The 2000 regular-season opener in Dallas on September 3 became known in NFL lore as the "Pickle Juice Game". Kickoff temperature in Texas Stadium was 109 degrees Fahrenheit and soared to nearly 120, making it the hottest game in league history, beating a previous record set in a 1997 Cowboys–Cardinals match in Arizona. The nickname came about because an Eagles trainer had prepared for the predicted heat by having the players drink the juice from jars of dill pickles in order to retain body moisture and stave off cramps and heat exhaustion. The experiment proved successful as the Eagles won 41–14 while multiple Cowboys players had been consigned to the bench, unable to handle the torrid climate while the Eagles had no players benched. The game was also significant as marking the beginning of Philadelphia's domination of the NFC East. The team finished the season at 11–5, reaching the playoffs as a wild card, which restored fan optimism. After brushing aside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21–3, the Eagles moved to the second round of the playoffs, only to lose 20–10 to the New York Giants. After compiling an 11–5 record in 2001, the Eagles reached the playoffs again, this time at the top of their division. In a near rerun of the previous year, they disposed of the Buccaneers in a 31–9 game. In the second round, the Eagles defeated the Bears 33–19 at Soldier Field. In the NFC Championship game, they were unable to stop the St. Louis Rams, who defeated them 29–24.
the 2000 regular-season opener in dallas on september 3 became known in nfl lore as the "pickle juice game" kickoff temperature in texas stadium was 109 degrees fahrenheit and soared to nearly 120 making it the hottest game in league history beating a previous record set in a 1997 cowboys–cardinals match in arizona the nickname came about because an eagles trainer had prepared for the predicted heat by having the players drink the juice from jars of dill pickles in order to retain body moisture and stave off cramps and heat exhaustion the experiment proved successful as the eagles won 41–14 while multiple cowboys players had been consigned to the bench unable to handle the torrid climate while the eagles had no players benched the game was also significant as marking the beginning of philadelphia's domination of the nfc east the team finished the season at 11–5 reaching the playoffs as a wild card which restored fan optimism after brushing aside the tampa bay buccaneers 21–3 the eagles moved to the second round of the playoffs only to lose 20–10 to the new york giants after compiling an 11–5 record in 2001 the eagles reached the playoffs again this time at the top of their division in a near rerun of the previous year they disposed of the buccaneers in a 31–9 game in the second round the eagles defeated the bears 33–19 at soldier field in the nfc championship game they were unable to stop the st louis rams who defeated them 29–24