1991 Eagles in Detail

[LeonardRachiele]

In prior writing, we have talked about how great the Philadelphia Defense was in the subject year. Had Randall Cunningham avoided the ACL in the season's first game, it's certain their record would have been 12-4 rather than 10-6. Nobody was going to overtake the 14-2 Washington Redskins. Nevertheless, the Eagles would have been a Wild Card team. Once a team is playoff bound, anything can happen.

The season had the following subsets.

[1] A 3-1 start. There were two great defensive games, both on the road

In week one, the Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 20 to 3. Philadelphia allowed just a field goal after Vi Seka Hema returned a punt to their own nine yard line. That's how good the Eagles were. Randall Cunningham got injured 18 minutes into the game was lost for the season.

In week 3, the Eagles shutout the Dallas Cowboys 24 to 0. Let's talk about this defensive masterpiece later.

[2] A four game losing streak. In two of the losses, 23 to 0 to the Washington Redskins and 23 to 7 to the San Francisco 49ers, the better team won; but the other two losses kept the Eagles out of the Post Season. They were at home to the New Orleans Saints 13 to 6 and on the road to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 to 13. I will talk about these later. 

[2] A six game winning streak. It was just one great defensive game each week.

[3] In Week 15, Dallas defeated the Eagles at Veterans Stadium 25 to 13. This broke an eight game winning run over Dallas and eliminated Philadelphia from the playoffs.

[4] Week 16 was the last game of the Regular Season at home versus the Washington Redskins. The Eagles came from a 19 to 7 deficit to a 24 to 22 victory. Roger Ruzak kicked a 38 yard field goal with seconds left in game. The Eagles got three sacks raising the Redskin sacks allowed to just eight for the season.  Washington had a great offensive line, dubbed the Hogs. Getting those sacks showed how good the Eagles defense really was. As I said, Washington's final record was 14-2. TBC

[7DnBrnc53]

1991 Eagles are one of the biggest "what ifs" in NFL history. A healthy Randall Cunningham and that defense could have done some damage in the postseason.

[Brian wolf]

Jimmy Johnson got entered into the Cowboys Ring Of Honor, into a stadium he might care nothing about saturday night but I am sure he would point to this team win in Philly, in 1991, as the turning point of his pro coaching career ...

[LeonardRachiele]

Often I wondered what happened to the Eagles defense in the 25 to 12 loss. No turnovers & just one sack for 7 yards

[Jay Z]

Often I wondered what happened to the Eagles defense in the 25 to 12 loss. No turnovers & just one sack for 7 yards

It's still only 210 yards. 9 points were scored by the Cowboys' defense. Two of the FGs and another missed FG were drives that started in Eagles' territory because of turnovers.

The outlier was the week 2 loss to the Cardinals. Tom Tupa only completed 6 passes but for 218 yards. The best route against that defense was the long pass.

[Brian wolf]

This game has already been discussed. What I want to know is what Leonard thinks of the Eagles recent collapse? The Eagles got lucky though prying Fangio from Miami. Moore should help open the passing game but the Eagles have to utilize more running backs. Swift could be leaving along with Kelce. Would Moore try to bring in Elliot from NE as another red zone option?

[Bob Gill]

Swift could be leaving along with Kelce. Would Moore try to bring in Elliot from NE as another red zone option?

Odd pairing, all things considered. For a minute I thought you had shifted gears and were talking about the Chiefs for some reason.

[Brian wolf]

Yeah, that sounded odd ... Swift, the running back. Jason Kelce may come back as well. Kellen Moore still needs another running back unless he is happy with Gainwell. Could AJ Brown convince Derrick Henry to come to Philly?

[ChrisBabcock]

Swift could be leaving along with Kelce. Would Moore try to bring in Elliot from NE as another red zone option?

Odd pairing, all things considered. For a minute I thought you had shifted gears and were talking about the Chiefs for some reason.

Yeah I noticed that little Eagles last name anomaly earlier this season.

[LeonardRachiele]

The collapse was amazing. Every week we heard the same. "we need to clean this up...The Eagles are better team than this...they will start winning now as the end of season nears...we had a group meeting....this was just a matter of a few plays...

As I see it the close games hurt New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, and the Arizona Cardinals were the killers. In the cases of the 49ers, the Cowboys, and the Giants it was a matter of the better team winning. I have often wondered and, maybe you can elucidate, how a teams that met during the season can differ so much in the post season. Here are four examples with the Eagles and there are numerous others.

1980 With great defense defeated the Oakland Raiders 10 to 7 at the Vet. Lost the Super Bowl at New Orleans 27 to 10

Three games listed below were at Veterans Stadium in 1990 and Lincoln Financial & Lincoln Financial Field for 02 and 03.
1990 Redskins-Great Body Bag Game won 28 to 14. Lost in playoffs 20 to 6.
2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers won 20 to 10. Lost NFC Title 27 to 10.
2003 Carolina Panthers won 25 to 16. Lost NFC Title 14 to 3.

2008 Arizona Cardinals-Regular season at home NFC Title Game at Arizona
won Thanksgiving Day 48 to 20; lost NFL Title Game 32 to 25.