5 Time the Eagles Lost and it Didn’t Totally Suck

Losing sucks. And it especially sucks for Philadelphia Eagles fans when their team loses. Even with a Super Bowl title won recently there is still an atmosphere of grumpiness and frustration after a Birds loss matched by only by a few fanbases (And if you’re a Jets fan, a win in 2020 exceeds all of that Philly grumpiness.)

But there have been those rare times in history where because of the outside circumstances, losing a game doesn’t totally suck. Moral victories mean nothing in the NFL, but there are those occasions where a good effort in a loss makes you feel good about the team. Here are five occasions in Eagles history where a loss didn’t bring up the typical bitterness they usually do.

2001 NFC Championship Game

Losing an NFC Championship Game by one possession when being 52 yards away from winning and throwing an interception sounds like the definition of the soul crushing loss. But in the context of the 2001 NFC Championship game against the St. Louis Rams being that close is impressive. The Eagles were in just their second playoff appearance of the Andy Reid era and were coming off an upset win over the Chicago Bears in the divisional round. The 2001 edition of the Rams were The Greatest Show on Turf at their peak. The Birds hung around until Marshall Faulk and that loaded offense of Hall of Famers were too much to handle. Not to mention that the interception Donovan McNabb threw at the end was to another Hall of Famer in Aeneas Williams. People forget how good the Rams were that year because they went on to be upset in the Super Bowl by baby Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. For the Eagles their impressive display looked like the beginning of a potential dynasty, but as we all know it was just the beginning of a full decade of playoff devastation.

2007 vs. Patriots

In their first meet-up with the Patriots since Super Bowl XXXIX, Eagles fans were hungry to get some revenge on New England. Only problem was that the 2007 version of the Patriots were even better than 2004. It was a Sunday Night primetime game and the 10-0 Patriots hosted a 5-5 Eagles team with A.J. Feeley starting at quarterback. While it looked the game would be a Patriots blowout, the Birds embarked on a surprise back-and-forth shoot-out and gave Pats Nation a scare. But Feeley’s three interceptions to future Eagle Asante Samuel cost the Eagles the win including a Pick Six in the first quarter. The Pats may have won to go 11-0, but it was thrilling for Eagles fans who watched their team nearly slay the greatest regular season team ever.

2013 Wild Card Game vs. Saints

Since winning Super Bowl XLIV the Saints have had a decade of soul crushing playoff losses that would make the Eagles of the 2000s stunned. But the only time when things go right for Drew Brees and Sean Payton in the postseason is when they play the Eagles. And the case wasn’t any different when they showed up to the Linc in the 2013 NFC Wild Card Game and won on a last second field goal. It always stinks to lose a home playoff game, but the 2013 season overall was a success thanks to Chip Kelly and his (then) revolutionary offense turning a 4-12 team into a 10-6 NFC East winner. It was also the playoff debut of Nick Foles, who left the field with the lead and began the most legendary playoff career in Eagles history.

2017 vs. Chiefs

While revisionist history suggests the 2017 Eagles would be any team ever, at the start of the season expectations were actually modest. The Chiefs were coming off a domination of the depending Super Bowl Champion Patriots in the NFL Kickoff game and had all the momentum in the NFL. Fans thought the Eagles were a ten win playoff team before the season started and knew their chances were low at Arrowhead Stadium. Alex Smith and Carson Wentz dueled in a competitive game that looked to be a convincing Kansas City win, but the Birds made a late surge that took a Hail Mary deflection to end the game. Everyone knew that if the Eagles could work out a few kinks they could be really good, and the rest is history.

2020 vs. Cardinals

In Jalen Hurts’ first road start of his career, he dueled fellow Oklahoma alumni Kyler Murray in Arizona. Despite struggling in the beginning the way Carson Wentz did in 2020, Hurts bounced back to lead the Eagles to tie the game 26-26 despite their punter/holder Cameron Johnston getting injured. In the middle of December with playoff chances small, the Eagles loss to the Cardinals helped their draft position (Hello Jets) but Hurts and the offense still looked impressive enough to inspire hope for the future of the Birds.