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The Philadelphia Eagles have had their share of worthy foes in their 86 years of existence. Here’s a look at five teams that gave Philly the toughest challenges.
New England Patriots
Despite finding themselves in opposing conferences, the battles between the Eagles and Patriots have made its mark in league history. The two franchises met for the first time in postseason play at Super Bowl XXXIX wherein Andy Reid’s Eagles were finally able to play in the big game after three consecutive losses at the NFC Championship Game.
However, the explosive triumvirate of Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Terrell Owens, came up just short when a Rodney Harrison interception dashed their hopes of taking home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Eagles fans would have to wait for 13 years to get their retribution when backup quarterback Nick Foles led Philly to a special moment by winning its first-ever Super Bowl.
Philadelphia leads the all-time series over New England, 8-7.
Pittsburgh Steelers
“The Battle of Pennsylvania” has its roots in 1933 with the establishment of the Eagles and Steelers. Placed in the old NFL Eastern Division, both teams would meet each other at least two times until 1970 when the Steelers were moved to the AFC Central, thus resulting in infrequent meetings.
The rivalry would take a backseat in 1943 when the two teams merged to form what was unofficially called the “Steagles” due to a shortage of players brought upon by World War II.
Their next meeting is scheduled to take place in 2020 in Pittsburgh, with Philly currently leading the head-to-head record at 48-28-3.
Washington Redskins
As is the case with the rest of their NFC East foes, the Eagles have always brought their physicality to the Redskins. Philly’s hard-hitting style was on full display on November 12, 1990, when at least nine Washington players were injured. It got so bad for the Redskins that rookie Brian Mitchell, a running back by nature, had to take snaps and play quarterback.
Philadelphia won, 28-14, and would reportedly rub it in their fallen opponents.
One Eagle allegedly yelled, “Do you guys need any more body bags?”
“You guys are going to need an extra bus just to carry all the stretchers!” belted out another Philly player.
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The infamous matchup would make its entry to NFL lore as “The Body Bag Game.”
New York Giants
Familiarity breeds contempt.
The Eagles-Giants rivalry remains one of the fiercest and most well-known in all of sports. Both squads have been placed in the same division since 1933.
Statistically speaking, the rivalry is as close as it can get with the Eagles holding a slight edge at 88-86-2, with the series deadlocked at two wins apiece in postseason play.
The geographic proximity likewise plays a huge factor since the passionate fanbases are just about a 90-minute drive away from each other’s home stadiums. A visiting squad’s loyal supporters taking over is not an unfamiliar sight at all.
Dallas Cowboys
Philly’s rivalry with the Cowboys is often characterized by tough, physical play, perhaps most infamously featured during “Bounty Bowl” games of 1989.
During the Thanksgiving Classic, Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson accused Buddy Ryan’s Eagles of putting a bounty on their former kicker Luis Zendejas and the Cowboys’ star quarterback Troy Aikman.
All the hullabaloo carried on to the rematch just two weeks later with the Eagles fans getting involved by throwing snowballs and beer onto the field, with Cowboys punter Mike Saxson and Jimmy Johnson getting pelted. As if team personnel were not enough, back judge Al Jury and the men calling the action on television at the time, Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw also getting hit.
Philly won both games by an average of 18.5 points to send the Cowboys to a dismal 1-15 campaign.
