Philly Sports Bracket of Pain: Eagles Region
With everyone making brackets about just about anything they love, how about we do a bracket about things we hate?
Philadelphia sports have plenty of good things to celebrate, but that also means the city has a ton of things to lament and anger over the past several decades. Over the next several days we’re going to make a Philadelphia Sports Bracket of Pain in order to figure out what the worst moment in the history of Philadelphia sports.
What team is better to kick off this bracket than the one that always found a way to break the city hearts for a 57 year stretch? (And a couple of times afterwards.)
Here’s every match-up in the Eagles region of the Philly Sports Bracket of Pain.
You can vote for your pick on our Twitter account @phillyfanlife
No. 1: 2002 NFC Championship Game
The easy pick for the worst game and moment in Eagles history was when the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, a team that were eliminated from the playoffs in Philly in each of the past two seasons and were historically terrible in the cold, shut down the Vet under the most miserable of circumstances. After jumping off to a 7-0 lead, the Eagles were completely ineffective and let the Bucs trounce all over them. The haunting images of Joe Jurevicius and Rhonde Barber’s long touchdowns were permanently etched in minds of Eagles fans everywhere. It took winning Super Bowl LII for the fanbase to recover from the funeral-like atmosphere of that game.
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No. 16: Dick Vermeil Resigns
By 1982 Dick Vermeil was the Eagles most accomplished head coach of the Super Bowl era having guided them to four straight playoff appearances and a berth in Super Bowl XV. After that season however Vermeil resigned his post due to burnout in an emotional press conference. He stayed away from coaching for 15 years before reviving his career with the St. Louis Rams and leading the Greatest Show on Turf to a win in Super Bowl XXXIV. The Eagles never found stability at the head coaching position until Andy Reid arrived.
No. 2: Donovan McNabb Pukes in the Huddle
To this day, Donovan McNabb is the most accomplished quarterback in Eagles history with a decade’s worth of accolades no other signal-caller has reached in Philly. That being said, the defining moment of his career wasn’t even a play, but an alleged puking in the huddle in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXIX. Would the outcome of the game have changed either way had he not puked? Probably not, but the event itself has overshadowed his great career for the Eagles.
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No. 15: Clowney knocks out Wentz in playoffs
In December of 2019, Carson Wentz took an Eagles offense consisting of Greg Ward and Boston Scott on his back and led the Birds through the gauntlet of four consecutive division wins. The Ginger Jesus finally proved to his critics that he could complete a full regular season and was finally going to start a playoff game. The stage was set for him to get some postseason experience at home against a banged-up Seattle Seahawks. That was until early in the first quarter when Wentz scrambled and dived to the ground only for Jadeveon Clowney hit the crown of his helmet. Minutes later and Eagles fans were horrified at the sight of their franchise quarterback walking to the locker room and never returning. For the third straight season Wentz’s season ended with a bad injury, and the Eagles fell short 17-9 with Josh McCown (who was also injured) playing for most of the game.
No. 3: Rodney Harrison’s Endzone Interception
Super Bowl XXXIX could have gone differently if the Eagles scored a touchdown on their opening drive. Donovan McNabb dropped back in the red zone and threw a pick, but thankfully it got called back. McNabb then dropped back again with Brian Westbrook open in the endzone and, get this, through ANOTHER interception to Rodney Harrison that counted. McNabb claimed that the wind took it.
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No. 14: Reggie Goes to Green Bay
Chuck Bednarik maybe the greatest Eagle of all-time, but Reggie White is the greatest player to ever suit up for the franchise. So it’s mind-boggling that one of the Top 10 players of all-time was not re-signed in 1993 by owner Norman Braman and instead went to the Green Bay Packers as the first marquee free agent signing in NFL history. White teamed up with Brett Farve and revived the historic franchise to six playoff appearances, two conference titles and a victory in Super Bowl XXXI. The Eagles made the playoffs only twice in that six year span.
No. 4: Ricky Manning Jr. & the 2003 NFC Championship Game
Coming off the high of 4th and 26, the 2003 Eagles magical season ended in a dud against Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers, a franchise that was only 8 years old at the time. Though not as talked about as the Tampa Bay game, the wounds of this game still stung for years, highlighted by rookie Ricky Manning Jr.’s three interceptions.
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No. 13: Bryce Paup Injures Randall Cunningham in 1991 Opener
The best defense of the Gang Green Era was essentially wasted in the opening game of the 1991 season when Bryce Paup of the Green Bay Packers blew out quarterback Randall Cunningham’s leg. The Eagles went 10-6 that year with subpar quarterback play and missed the playoffs. Had Cunningham not been injured, who knows how good the 1991 team could have beem?
No. 5: Larry Fitzgerald & the 2008 NFC Championship Game
The 2008 Eagles had an up and down season before getting hot and magically sneaking into the playoffs at 9-6-1. Their 44-6 beatdown of the Cowboys in Week 17 was awesome, then road playoff wins against the Vikings and Giants were even more impressive. Now they were back in the NFC championship game for the fifth time in eight seasons and took on the lowly Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately they ran into a Cardinal team that had Larry Fitzgerald giving one of the greatest single-postseason performances in history. Fitz scored three touchdowns but the Eagles actually came back and had the lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to a miracle touchdown catch by Desean Jackson. Arizona scored to go-ahead later on and the Eagles failed to respond. The worst franchise in NFL history was making their first Super Bowl trip at the hands of the Eagles. This was the last chance for this group of Eagles to win a Super Bowl but they lost in typical fashion.
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No. 12: The Rich Kotite Era
Following up beloved Eagles coach Buddy Ryan, Rich Kotite took his crack at leading the team that still had loads of talent. Kotite had the misfortune of losing his quarterback in 1991 and actually winning a playoff game in 1992, but things started to turn downhill afterward. The coup de grace of his tenure was in 1994 when the Eagles actually started 7-2…and then finished 7-9. New owner Jeffrey Lurie held off on giving Kotite a contract extension and was proven right to do so by season’s end. But hey, at least Kotite got a job with the Jets after that.
No. 6: The Chip Kelly Era
It feels as though it never happened now, but for a three year stretch Chip Kelly was the most discussed and debated figure in Philadelphia sports. After 14 years of Andy Reid, Eagles fans got something new in this innovative offensive mind who brought out the best in Reid’s talented players. His first season was great as the team went from 4-12 to 10-6 and the playoffs, highlighted by Nick Foles and Lesean McCoy’s best seasons.
Then…things got weird. After going from 9-3 to 10-6 at the end of the 2014 season, Jeffrey Lurie decided to let Kelly run the show and…wow. Desean Jackson was released after the 2013 season and he was desperately needed the following year. Then after 2014 Chip traded Foles for Sam Bradford, traded McCoy for Kiko Alsono, let Jeremy Maclin walk, and signed Byron Maxwell and DeMarco Murray. Fans were actually excited for what was to come in 2015. Instead they saw a team that was a Frankenstein’s monster of an offense and completely ineffective. The team finished 7-9 IN SPITE of the offense and Kelly’s play calls. They went 2-5 on prime time games meaning the Eagles were constantly humiliated on national level.
After being embarrassed by the Washington Redskins on Saturday night at the Linc, Lurie had enough and fired Chip a couple days later. What happened after was even more remarkable because Lurie, Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson practically erased Chip from history by putting together a Super Bowl team in 2017.
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No. 11: Alshon’s Drop
The 2018 Eagles Super Bowl defense wasn’t going great until Nick Foles came back and rallied the team to the playoffs. The Double Doink game was another wild sign that the Eagles may pull off the unthinkable again.
In a grueling back-and-forth game against the Saints in the Superdome, the Eagles were driving down the field with a chance to score a game winning touchdown. Nick Foles dropped back to pass just before the two-minute warning and threw to Alshon Jeffrey. Jeffrey mind-bogglingly let it go through his hands and into the arms of Marshon Lattimore for the game ending interception. Who knows how far the Eagles could have gone if that drop didn’t happen?
No. 7: The Fog Bowl
The Buddy Ryan era could have gone much differently if his first playoff game as Eagles head coach was played under normal weather conditions. In the 2nd half of their playoff game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, a roll of fog came over the field and no one could see anything. Nevertheless they still played…despite not being able to see anything. It would have been one thing if the Birds played and lost in normal conditions, but the bizarre nature of the weather makes everyone think about what if? Nowadays, the NFL would never allow a game to be played where no one can see it, especially if it’s a playoff game.
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No. 10: Dream Team
After an impressive 2010 campaign, the Eagles decided to sign a plethora of free agents to go all in on a Super Bowl run. Newly signed back-up quarterback Vince Young infamously dubbed this squad as the “Dream Team”, thus dooming any chances this team had for success. What proceeded was an epic disaster, especially with prize free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha becoming a total liability. But hey at least he’s married to Kerry Washington and has a career in acting now.
No. 8: Super Bowl XV
Think about how all of Philly’s worries and miseries could have been avoided from 1981 to 2018 if the Eagles had won in their first Super Bowl appearance. After the high of defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the 1980 NFC championship game, head coach Dick Vermeil allegedly overworked the Eagles leading up the big game and the team fell flat in response. The Oakland Raiders were the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl despite being underdogs and linebacker Rod Martin managed to get three interceptions off Ron Jaworski. At least this Super Bowl never gets talked about because nothing interesting happened during it.
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No. 9: T.O. vs. McNabb Drama
With all due respect to Tommy McDonald and Harold Carmichael, Terrell Owens is the best receiver in Eagles history and his one-and-a-half seasons with the team was enough to show why. He was the luxury of a dominant receiver Eagles fans always craved for and finally got in 2004. He instantly became everyone’s favorite Eagle that year, especially with his heroic performance with an injured ankle in Super Bowl XXXIX.
But alas, all good things can’t last and Owen’s petty drama with Donovan McNabb and the Eagles organization turned the 2005 off-season into a circus unlike anything in NFL history. T.O. managed to play in 2005 but eventually his actions and statements had him suspended for the remainder of the season. The defending NFC champions attempt at going back to the Super Bowl turned into a 6-10 disaster thanks in large part to the pettiest drama the city has ever seen. The Eagles released Owens at season’s end and the franchise hasn’t come close to finding a receiver of his caliber since.