The first Monday night contest of the 2003 season is a rematch of last year's NFC Championship Game. The Philadelphia Eagles open their brand-new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, to cap the NFL's opening week against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs earned a berth in the Super Bowl with an impressive 27-10 victory over the Eagles in the conference title game. It was the final contest at Veterans Stadium, the Eagles' previous home field.

"I want them to concentrate on this game. I don't want spend any time on the last one. I want them to take care of business now," said Eagles head coach Andy Reid of the way his team ended last season. "All in all, we look forward to the challenge coming up on Monday night. We get to play a great football team. It has worked its way into a rivalry the last five times that we played. It will be a challenge and we look forward to it.

"I think we have the chance to be a good football team. We need to go do it. That is where you sit in the first game of the season every year. I felt the same way last year before the first game and that is how I feel this year. You have to go prove yourself every game and really, every play. You have to take it one play at a time and one game at a time."

The Eagles are coming off back-to-back NFC title contest losses, but the past won't hinder the future, according to the team's All-Pro quarterback.

"It is not important for us to remember [last season's loss]," Donovan McNabb said. "It is important for [the media] to remember that. You act like this team can't be beat. There were teams that beat [the Bucs] last year. You tip your hat to them; they won the Super Bowl. No one really cares what happened last year. This is a new year. Our main focus is to go out and be ready to play and set the tempo for the year."

All eyes will be on the Buccaneers, who enter a season as defending champions for the first time in franchise history. Tampa Bay might actually be better in its second season under fiery head coach Jon Gruden, who seems to have contained his excitement leading up to the prime-time opener.

"Every game is a big game," Gruden stated. "I don't know if last year's opener was any less big than this. There are some games that maybe have a little bit more national interest than others, but they're all big. I know it sounds corny, but they're all big."

SERIES HISTORY: The Eagles lead the regular-season series 5-3, including victories in each of the past two in-season affairs. These clubs met in the regular season last year (October 20, 2002) as the Eagles handed the Bucs a 20-10 loss. McNabb passed for a touchdown and ran for another in the Philadelphia victory. Duce Staley led the Eagles' ground attack with 152 yards on 24 carries.

MONDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT: Tampa Bay owns the fourth-best Monday night winning percentage in the NFC (7-5, .583). Philadelphia is 18-15 on Monday nights.

Reid owns a personal 9-0 record in prime-time games.

BUCS OFFENSE VS. EAGLES DEFENSE

Brad Johnson was the NFC's best passer last year, accumulating a career-best 92.9 QB rating in his first season under Gruden. At 35, however, Johnson is far from being one of the most talented players at his position. His strengths are his 6-foot-5 frame, passing accuracy and penchant for limiting turnovers. And that's just about all Gruden needs from his quarterback to win thanks to the team's all-world defense.

Johnson threw 22 touchdown passes and just six interceptions in 2002. He eventually exhibited a good feel for Gruden's offense and did a fine job of distributing the ball. Still, Johnson is one of the most fragile quarterbacks around and his skills are declining at this point in his career.

Philly's defensive mastermind Jim Johnson headed up the fourth-best unit in the league last season (297.1 yards per game). Only Tampa Bay (12.3) gave up fewer points per game than Philadelphia (15.1) in 2002.

Johnson will have to do without several key veterans this time around, however, as DE Hugh Douglas, safety Blaine Bishop and linebackers Shawn Barber and Barry Gardner are all gone. Douglas led the team with 12.5 sacks last year but wasn't given a new contract because of the club's philosophy on re-signing players over 30 years of age.

With rookie DE Jerome McDougle (ankle/hip) out for this game, the Eagles will need to generate a strong pass rush with DE N.D. Kalu and DT Corey Simon. DE Derrick Burgess (foot) is also hobbled by injury.

"You have to give them a lot of credit," Brad Johnson said of the Philadelphia defense. "They've won the most games the last three seasons of any team in the NFL. Defensively, they take a lot of pride in what they do. Jim Johnson, he has a unique way of creating certain different zone blitzes and creating a lot of havoc for a lot of different teams. We know what they do and we're not going to change for anybody. They're very good at what they do and you have to give them a lot of credit for that. They have five or six new starters on defense and they're still playing at the same level, so you've got to give the coaching staff quite a bit of credit."

Gruden's biggest worry on offense is his unsettled backfield situation. Michael Pittman has escaped a legal hearing for the time being and will play on Monday night, Mike Alstott has done everything but run the ball consistently and the Bucs don't know what they have in ex-Cardinal Thomas Jones. Aaron Stecker, a holdover from last season's roster, also figures into the mix.

"I think [Gruden] will utilize all the backs," Stecker said. "I think he'll see different things and come Monday hopefully we'll all get the opportunity to go out there and touch the ball somehow. We all bring different dimensions to the game, and given the chance all of us could make some things happen out there. If that happens it could be very tough to contain."

The best matchup when Tampa Bay has the football is its receivers -- Keyshawn Johnson, Keenan McCardell and Joe Jurevicius -- against a stellar Eagles secondary led by Pro Bowlers Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor and Brian Dawkins.

"You go up there and approach it like you would any other football game," said Keyshawn Johnson. "You prepare during the week, and you try to hit the key points, the important things. You try to capitalize on what you didn't do well the last time you played them or what you watched on film this preseason. You just try to do your job."

Corners Vincent and Taylor combined for seven interceptions during the regular season. There's not much this athletic tandem can't do. They are backed up by a pair of rising stars -- Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. Dawkins is one of the nastiest safeties in the game. His production has been amazingly consistent over the years, and he's a great two-way player worthy of Hall of Fame consideration once his career is over. With the veteran Bishop gone, Dawkins will be teamed up with Michael Lewis, another product of the class of '02. Lewis really played well when given the chance last year.

EAGLES OFFENSE VS. BUCS DEFENSE

The biggest reason the Eagles remain as one of the top Super Bowl contenders is McNabb. The ultra-athletic quarterback bounced back from a fractured ankle to play in the team's two playoff games, and he has shown no ill-effects of the injury.

In just 10 regular-season starts last year, McNabb threw 17 touchdown passes and was intercepted just six times. He set a career high with 569 passing attempts in 2000, and he could approach that number once again this season with a slight shift in the pass-run balance.

"Physically, I feel better than I did coming off the injury. I want to watch the film and analyze it and make sure I don't make the same mistakes that I did last year," McNabb said. "I try not to reflect on what happened last year. Being a leader of this team, you have to be ready, banged up or not. There were plays to be made, that I just didn't make.

"We are confident in the guys that we have in each position, mainly because of the experience factor. Guys have played in big games. On the offensive side, fortunately, we have had the same faces for the past two or three years. We know what to expect and how to prepare. On defense we have some new faces. We all know how to prepare for a big game like this; it is on Monday night. For us as leaders, we don't need to sit down and talk as a team. If you can't get pumped up for a Monday night game against Tampa Bay, you shouldn't be playing."

The Bucs' defense carried them all the way to a championship last year. The names on this unit ring out like an All-Pro team: Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Ronde Barber, Brian Kelly, Dwight Smith. But while Monte Kiffin's defense has speed to burn and enough athleticism to field a basketball team, the team still has to contend with one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL to start the season.

"If he's not the best, he's damn near close to the best," Barber said of McNabb. "You can put your arguments out there but what that guy can do is just about everything. He's great with the ball, great running with the ball. He does a lot of work to make that offense go."

McNabb's cannon of an arm is just one of the weapons that scares opponents to death. The Syracuse product possesses the ability to vacate the pocket and run downfield like a halfback. In his four-year career, McNabb has rushed for 1,884 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Reid has a thinning stable of running backs, led by Correll Buckhalter. The Nebraska product probably would have assumed the feature-back role last season if he didn't tear up his knee during the team's first offseason practice of 2002. Buckhalter, who averaged 4.5 yards per carry as a rookie in '01, has earned praise from the coaching staff for his hard work during his return from a serious injury.

"The knee isn't causing me any problems whatsoever," Buckhalter said. "I'm fine and ready to go. Whatever the coaches need me to do, I'll do."

While Duce Staley ended his prolonged holdout in late August, it remains to be seen how much he can contribute in Week 1. Staley looked rusty in limited preseason action and might not play a big role on Monday night. The one area where he could contribute is as a pass receiver.

"All three of them will play," Reid said of Buckhalter, Staley and second-year man Brian Westbrook. "We will see. It is broken down a certain way. We look at them like they all can be starters."

Philadelphia's trio of receivers is good but not great. Todd Pinkston is closest thing the team has to a No. 1 wideout, while James Thrash and Freddie Mitchell are complementary players in Reid's West Coast offense.

Rice led Tampa Bay with 15.5 sacks last season. That total was the second- highest in team history. As if his presence mixed with the likes of Sapp and Brooks wasn't good enough, the Bucs added speedy OLB Dwayne Rudd in the offseason.

Despite McNabb's presence, Sapp's top priority is to stop Buckhalter, Staley and Westbrook.

"Always. Stop the run. Donovan can get you with his feet, his head and his hands," Sapp said. "The easiest thing to do with a football is turn around and hand it off. If we can get that running game under control then it will turn into, ‘Can we rush them' and ‘Can we cover them.' We feel pretty good about our pass defense.

"Hey, we're finally playing ball. It's a great way to get this thing kicked off, there's no doubt about it. We're looking forward to going up there on Monday night. There's no more emphasis placed on this one than on any other game we're going to play."