Top 10 Most Memorable Packer Games in Eagles History
This Thursday, the Eagles go to Lambeau Field already under an enormous amount pressure against the Packers. Green Bay is off to a great start at 3-0 and it’s not even because the usual greatness of Aaron Rodgers. Their defense and offensive line are finally stepping up for what seems like the first time since their 2010 Super Bowl season.
The Eagles and Packers are two of the elder NFL franchises with not a lot of Bad Blood but plenty of memorable match-ups. Green Bay is so old that they’re somehow older than the NFL itself, meaning that the Eagles have always existed when the Packers have.
Perhaps the biggest moment between the Birds and the Pack is not an actual football game but an off-season acquisition. In 1993 Green Bay signed away Reggie White, the best player in Eagles history, for reasons such as:
- Norman Branman was an awful owner and thank God for Jeffrey Lurie
- Green Bay offered the most money
- God told Reggie to go to Green Bay
Nevertheless, on this list we will not feature a free agency signing, but the Top 10 most memorable games in head-to-head matchups between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers.
10. 2007 Opener
In the 2007 opener, the Eagles lost on a brutal muffed punt by Kevin Curtis with a minute left in regulation, leading to a game-winning 43 yard field goal. This game would set the tone for a meh-Eagles season and an amazing Packers season that ended in a loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game.
9. Rodgers vs. Wentz Part I
https://youtu.be/TSZYsTCa2Nc
Carson Wentz and Aaron Rodgers had their first of hopefully several head-to-head match-ups on Monday Night Football at the Linc in 2016. By this point in the season the dawn of the Wentz/Pederson era took a bleak turn from 3-0 to 5-8.
As predicted, the experienced Rodgers out-dueled the struggling rookie in a convincing 27-13 win.
8. 1962: Lombardi’s Revenge
In their first match-up since the 1960 NFL title game, Vince Lombardi’s best Packers team ever annihilated the Eagles 49-0, a video on that game starts at 16:42.
I’m sure young Ray Didinger and Howard Eskin were taking plenty of calls that week in their garages.
7. Reggie White Turns The Bulk into The Bust (1990)
Have you heard the legend of Tony Mandarich?
The generational offensive tackle from Michigan State was selected by the Green Bay Packers 2nd overall in the 1989 NFL draft. The same NFL draft that had a Top 5 featuring Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders.
Mandarich was on the juice in college and decided to get off it when entering the NFL, quickly exposing him as a bad tackle. The total destruction of his confidence came in 1990 when he was lined-up against not only the best defensive end in the league at the time, but the GOAT defensive end and a Top 10 player of all-time in Mr. Reginald Howard White.
Reggie would humiliate Mandarich at the Vet and felt so bad for the Packers that he decided to join them in 1993 to help them get over passing on three future Hall of Famers.
6. Aaron Rodgers Drops a 50-Burger in Acme Packers Jerseys
During arguably his most dominant season, Aaron Rodgers picked apart a struggling Eagles defense for a blowout 53-20 win. It was another sign of Chip Kelly’s system (with Mark Sanchez at the helm no less) not being capable of winning big games against elite opponents.
5. McNabb’s 5 Touchdown First Half
Donovan McNabb had arguably the finest game of his career at the peak of the magical 2004 season, throwing five first half touchdowns. It was also a historic occasion for Andy Reid with this win making him winningest coach in franchise and Brett Favre’s streak of 37 straight games with a touchdown pass. The Birds may have never looked better in the McNabb/Reid Era.
4. The Kelly Green Game
Week 1 of the 2010 season was one of the strangest games in Eagles history.
They played their first game since trading Donovan McNabb and began the Kevin Kolb era. The Kolb era lasted less than a half when Clay Matthews planted him into the grass and was never the same after that. It’s also a rare occasion where the Eagles wore throwback uniforms in honoring the 50th anniversary of the 1960 NFL Championship team.
Despite the loss, Michael Vick came in relief of Kolb and nearly brought the Birds back from a 17 point deficit, showing his potential for what would become a great comeback season.
3. Tramon Williams Endzone Interception in 2010 Playoffs
The wild and exciting 2010 Eagles season ended with a dud as they closed the season just as they opened it: a home loss to Green Bay.
In what would be Andy Reid’s last playoff game as Eagles head coach, Aaron Rodgers got his first career playoff win at the Linc that would be the beginning of an incredible run to his first Super Bowl championship. One can only wonder is what would’ve happened if the Eagles won this game?
Would the Vick era get more longevity and the Dream Team is, well, a real Dream Team?
Would Andy Reid have stayed longer?
Does Rodgers ever even go on to win a Super Bowl or is he Dan Marino for the 21st century?
2. 1960 NFL Championship Game
https://youtu.be/LsSFUtvknNk
Hey, it’s a championship!
Until February 4th, 2018, the closest thing Eagles fans had to watching a Super Bowl highlight video was footage of the 1960 NFL Championship game against the Green Bay Packers at Franklin Field.
The importance of that championship only grew as the title drought continued throughout the decades. The win grew more impressive as Lombardi’s Packers became the defining team of the 60s, winning 5 titles including the first two Super Bowls. It was the only postseason loss the NFL’s greatest dynasty of all-time until Brady and Belichick arrived.
Say, the Eagles last two championships were won against Lombardi and Belichick, who else can say that?!
- 4th and 26
https://youtu.be/KNKYvxKnL1s
Okay, so it’s not a championship and only led to another brutal home NFC championship game loss (to a small-market Super Bowl virgin and Ricky Manning Jr.) but this is still the best Eagles/Packers game ever and one of the iconic games in Birds history.
In fact, it was probably the Eagles most dramatic playoff win until Super Bowl LII. In the first postseason game at the Linc, the Birds overcame sloppy play and a 14-0 deficit to tie it at 14.
Then trailing 17-14 with 4th and 26 to go, Green Bay mindbogglingly left Freddie Mitchell open downfield for him to make one of the signature catches in Eagles history. Instead of going down a major first round bust who could’ve been Reggie Wayne, Freddie Mitchell got to be a major first round bust while also having a piece in Eagles lore thanks to his hands “being so great” in that one moment.
It’s the most clutch play in Eagles history until The Philly Special, followed by the Ertz 4th and 1 conversion, followed by the Ertz go ahead score, followed by Brandon Graham-you know what I mean…
And who could forget Brett Favre throwing maybe the worst interception of his career (which is saying something!) to Brian Dawkins in overtime to set up the winning kick.
As David Akers delivered the game-winning field goal, Eagles fans for one shining moment had a legendary playoff victory to celebrate.