June 23, 2016
Kathy Willens/AP
Philadelphia Eagles' DeSean Jackson fumbles a punt return during the fourth quarter of the NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Eagles beat the Giants, 38-31.
This is the worst point in the NFL offseason. We all know that. We watch the bottom line for any news of any significance and all we get is a scrolling list of the top 100 NFL players, according to NFL players. It never seems to make any sense and yet somehow we should all feel grateful that Fletcher Cox cracked the top 50.
Anyway, the NFL knows this too, so they're sponsoring a Facebook poll to determine which classic NFL games should be uploaded in full to YouTube. One of their polls concerns the Eagles and you can feel free to cast your vote here. We're conducting our own poll to see how it matches up with the NFL's general audience.
Mind you, the NFL Network has lately been playing a lot of the Eagles 24-21 loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. It's difficult to stomach — and not just for Donovan McNabb. Wouldn't you rather check out something a little more agreeable? Like, say, a win?
Here are your five options.
This game was the pinnacle of Jim Johnson's chaotic spare-none defense. We've all seen the close-ups of Tony Romo writhing on the grass at the Linc. It was essentially a playoff game and the Eagles drubbed the Cowboys 44-6 with barely any resistance. At the culmination of a tooth-and-nail season — one that many still believe should have been the Eagles' year — this was a definite high point for the franchise. Just forget that the very next year, we got crushed by the Cowboys in back-to-back games to end the season.
The entire persona of Herm Edwards may be traced back to the single play that sealed this memorable 17-12 victory in the league's first 16-game season. It solidified the Eagles as a rising threat and fierce division foe under Dick Vermeil. After two weak seasons, sitting at 7-5, the Eagles took the game in dramatic fashion and began a three-year-run that produced one of only two Super Bowl appearances.
If this game were played today, it would easily claim the highest viewership in the history of the NFC Championship by a wide margin. In 1980, it the stakes were just as high: Two 12-4 teams vying for a shot at the Lombardi Trophy. Wilbert Montgomery's performance alone — 26 carries for 194 yards and a touchdown — ground the Cowboys defense down despite just 91 passing yards from Ron Jaworski. Final score, 20-7. The tough part would be rewatching this with advance knowledge of a disappointing 27-10 loss to the Raiders, who got out to a 14-0 lead and never really looked back.
For the record, I happened to be at this game. It was freezing cold and McNabb's first-quarter fumble set up Brett Favre for a deep touchdown. I had watched Ronde Barber's pick 6 at the Vet a year ago and it felt like another one of those deals. Credit to Donovan McNabb: outside of his broken-ankle, 4-TD heroics against the Cardinals in 2002, this was truly the gutsiest performance of his career, all in front of an impatient home crowd. The Eagles clawed back into the game and Freddy Mitchell stunned the entire city against an ill-advised Packers Cover 2. The cherry on top was a Brian Dawkins pick.
When Clay Matthews put Kevin Kolb to sleep for the season in week one, Eagles fans basically chalked the year up to the Mike Vick experience. That week one game, commemorating the 1960 Championship, was a coming out party for LeSean McCoy and a feel-good reminder of Vick's toughness as a runner. The team showed promise for much of the season and sat at 9-4 heading into this division matchup.
Then the Giants piled on. With 8:17 left in the fourth, down 31-10, Vick turned into the guy whose early-career overtime victory against the Vikings gave some real legitimacy to his style of play. Everyone got involved. Celek barrelled for a 65-yard touchdown. Riley Cooper snagged an onside kick. Vick chewed up the field and snuck one in. The Eagles D-line suffocated Eli Manning. Maclin spun into the endzone and powerspiked the ball. Finally, DeSean Jackson. Dropping the punt (after showboating, of course) likely set up his whole return, but he and the special teams unit kept their composure to deliver one of the most historically memorable moments in professional sports — voted the best game in NFL history by fans nationwide. 38-31.
This is a difficult call. Bits and pieces of these games are, of course, already on YouTube, but if you're the historian type who wants to savor a full serving of Eagles history, which game would you honestly take the time to rewatch in its entirety? Or if you have a different game in mind, let us know in the comments.
