Philadelphia Eagles

The Frankford Athletic Association was organized in May 1899 in the parlor of the Suburban Club. The cost of purchasing a share in the association was $10. However, there were also contributing memberships, ranging from $1 to $2.50, made available to the general public. The Association was a community-based non-profit organization of local residents and businesses. In keeping with its charter, which stated that "all profits shall be donated to charity", all of the team's excess income was donated to local charitable institutions. The original Frankford Athletic Association apparently disbanded prior to the 1909 football season. Several of the original players from the 1899 football team kept the team together, and they became known as Loyola Athletic Club. In keeping with Yellow Jackets tradition, they carried the "Frankford" name again in 1912, to become the Frankford Athletic Association.

In the early 1920s, the Frankford Athletic Association's Yellow Jackets gained the reputation as being one of the best independent football teams in the nation. In 1922, Frankford absorbed the Philadelphia City Champion team, the Union Quakers of Philadelphia. That year, Frankford captured the unofficial championship of Philadelphia. During the 1922 and 1923 seasons, the Yellow Jackets compiled a 6–2–1 record against teams from the National Football League. This led to the Association being granted an NFL franchise in 1924, thus becoming the Frankford Yellow Jackets. In spite of winning the NFL championship in 1926, midway through the 1931 season, the Yellow Jackets went bankrupt and were forced to cease operations.[13]

Shibe Park was the Eagles' home field in 1940 and then from 1942 to 1957.

Philadelphia Municipal Stadium was the Eagles' home field from 1936 to 1939 and in 1941.

After more than a year of searching for a suitable replacement, the NFL granted an expansion franchise to a syndicate headed by Bert Bell and Lud Wray and awarded them the assets of the failed Yellow Jackets organization. The Bell–Wray group had to pay an entry fee of $3,500 (equal to $45,000 today) and assumed a total debt of $11,000 that was owed to three other NFL franchises.[14] Drawing inspiration from the Blue Eagle insignia of the National Recovery Administration, which was a centerpiece of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal,[14] Bell and Wray named the new franchise the Philadelphia Eagles. This makes it appear that the Yellow Jackets sat out the 1932 season and returned as the Eagles in 1933. However, neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regard the two franchises as the same, citing the aforementioned period of dormancy. Almost no Yellow Jackets' players were on the Eagles' first roster.

The Eagles, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the now-defunct Cincinnati Reds joined the NFL as expansion teams. Wray became the Eagles' first head coach after being convinced by Bell, his former teammate at Penn, to take the position. The team originally planned to play their home games at Shibe Park, which was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics baseball club. When negotiations fell through, the team managed to make a deal with the Athletics' crosstown rival, the Philadelphia Phillies, to play at the Baker Bowl.

The Eagles played their first game on October 15, 1933, against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York City; they lost, 56–0.[15] The Eagles struggled over the course of their first decade, never winning more than four games. Their best finish was in their second season, 1934, when they tied for third in the East. For the most part, the Eagles' early rosters consisted of former Penn, Temple, and Villanova players who played for a few years before going on to other things.

In 1935, Bell proposed an annual college draft to equalize talent across the league. The draft was a revolutionary concept in professional sports. Having teams select players in inverse order of their finish in the standings, a practice still followed today, strove to increase fan interest by guaranteeing that even the worst teams would have the opportunity for annual infusions of the best college talent.[16] Between 1927 (when the NFL changed from a sprawling Midwestern-based association to a narrower, major-market league) and 1934, a triopoly of three teams (the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and Green Bay Packers) had won all but one title (the exception being the Providence Steam Roller of 1928). By 1936 the club had suffered significant financial losses and was sold through a public auction. Bert Bell was the only bidder and became the sole owner of the team. Wray refused a reduction in his salary and left the team. Bell assumed the head coaching position and led the team to a record of 1–11, for last place in the league.

From 1936 to 1939, the Eagles played at Municipal Stadium in South Philadelphia. In 1940, Bell balked at a 66% rent increase plus 10% of the gate receipts proposed by the city for using the stadium and signed a lease for Shibe Park (renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954). The Eagles would also be able to play night games as Shibe Park had installed lights the year before.[17] In the 1941 season, the Eagles played their home opener at Municipal Stadium, but then moved to Shibe Park.[18][19][20] To accommodate football at Shibe Park during the winter, management set up stands in right field, parallel to 20th Street. Some 20 feet high, these "east stands" had 22 rows of seats. The goalposts stood along the first base line and in left field. The uncovered east stands enlarged the park's capacity to over 39,000, but the Eagles rarely drew more than 25,000 to 30,000.[21] The team finished the 1937 season 2–8–1 and would continue to struggle over the next three seasons.

In December 1940, Bell conciliated the sale of Art Rooney's Steelers to Alexis Thompson,[22] and then Rooney acquired half of Bell's interest in the Eagles.[23] In a series of events known as the Pennsylvania Polka,[22] Rooney and Bell exchanged their entire Eagles roster and their territorial rights in Philadelphia to Thompson for his entire Steelers roster and his rights in Pittsburgh.[24] Ostensibly, Rooney had provided assistance to Bell by rewarding him with a 20% commission on the sale of the Steelers.[25] Bell became the Steelers' head coach and Rooney became general manager.[26]

After assuming ownership, Thompson promptly hired Earle "Greasy" Neale as the team's head coach. During the first years under Neale, the team continued to struggle by finishing the 1941 season with a 2–8–1 record. The 1942 season showed no improvement as the team went 2–9.

In 1943, when manpower shortages stemming from World War II made it impossible to fill the roster, the team merged with the Steelers forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles", known as the Steagles. Greasy Neale coached the team along with Steelers head coach Walt Kiesling. The team finished the season with a 5–4–1 record. The merger, never intended as a permanent arrangement, was dissolved at the end of the season.

In 1944, led by head coach Greasy Neale and running back Steve Van Buren, the Eagles had their first winning season in team history. After two more second-place finishes in 1945 and 1946, the team reached the NFL Championship game for the first time in 1947. Van Buren, Pete Pihos, and Bosh Pritchard fought valiantly, but the young team fell to the Chicago Cardinals, 28–21 at Chicago's Comiskey Park.

Steve Van Buren, Eagles halfback from 1944 to 1951, was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

Pete Pihos, Eagles tight end from 1947 to 1955, was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970.

Chuck Bednarik, Eagles linebacker and center from 1949 to 1962, was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

Undeterred, the young squad rebounded in 1948 to return to the NFL Championship game. With home-field advantage (and a blinding snowstorm) on their side, the Eagles won their first NFL Championship against the Chicago Cardinals, by a score of 7–0. The only score came in the fourth quarter when Steve Van Buren ran for a 5-yard touchdown. Because of the severe weather, few fans witnessed the joyous occasion.

Before the start of the 1949 season, the team was sold by Thompson to a syndicate of 100 buyers, known as the "Happy Hundred", each of whom paid $3,000 for a share of the team. While the leader of the "Happy Hundred" was noted Philadelphia businessman James P. Clark, one unsung investor was Leonard Tose, a name that would eventually become very familiar to Eagles fans.[27]

The team returned to the NFL Championship game for the third consecutive year. The Eagles were favored by a touchdown,[28][29][30] and won 14–0 for their second consecutive title-game shutout. Running back Steve Van Buren rushed for 196 yards on 31 carries for the Eagles, and their defense held the Rams to just 21 yards on the ground.[31] Chuck Bednarik was selected as the first overall pick in the 1949 NFL Draft. An All-American lineman/linebacker from the University of Pennsylvania, Bednarik would go on to become one of the greatest and most beloved players in Eagles history.

With the new decade came another turn in team fortunes. In 1950, the Eagles opened the season against AAFC champion Cleveland Browns, who (along with two other AAFC franchises) had just joined the NFL. The Eagles were expected to make short work of the Browns, who at the time were widely considered the dominant team in a lesser league. However, the Browns lit up the Eagles' vaunted defense for 487 total yards, including 246 passing yards, in a 35–10 rout. The Eagles never really recovered, and finished 6–6.

Greasy Neale retired after the 1950 season and was replaced by Bo McMillin. Two games into the 1951 season, McMillin was forced to retire due to terminal stomach cancer. Wayne Millner finished out the season before being replaced by Jim Trimble.

While the remnants of the great 1940s teams managed to stay competitive for the first few years of the decade, and while younger players like Bobby Walston and Sonny Jurgensen occasionally provided infusions of talent, the team lacked the stuff of true greatness for most of the 1950s.

After the 1957 season, the Eagles moved from Connie Mack Stadium to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin Field would seat over 60,000 for the Eagles, whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39,000.[32] The field's grass was replaced by AstroTurf in 1969, making it the first NFL stadium to use artificial turf.

In 1958, the franchise took key steps to improve, hiring Buck Shaw as head coach and acquiring quarterback Norm Van Brocklin in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. During the 1959 season, the team showed flashes of talent, and finished in second place in the Eastern Division. Former Eagles owner and co-founder Bert Bell, who at the time was the commissioner of the NFL, attended a game on October 11 at Franklin Field, when the Eagles faced the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team whom Bell also used to own. Bell refused the box seats that the Eagles had reserved for him and purchased his own tickets to sit with the fans. During the fourth quarter while sitting behind the end zone, he suffered a heart attack and died later that day.

Franklin Field, the Eagles' home field from 1958 to 1970

1960 remains one of the most celebrated year in Eagles history. Shaw, Van Brocklin, and Bednarik, each in their last season before retirement, led a team more notable for its grit than its talent. One observer later quipped that the team had "nothing but a championship" to its first division title since 1949. The team was aided by their two Pro Bowl receivers, wide receiver Tommy McDonald, who would later pen a short autobiography titled They Pay Me to Catch Footballs and tight end Pete Retzlaff.

On November 20, 1960, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, Bednarik launched a tackle against New York Giants' running back Frank Gifford, which has come to be known as The Hit, that is routinely ranked as one of the hardest and most vicious hits in NFL history. With the game tied 10 to 10 in the fourth quarter, Gifford caught a short pass over the middle and was immediately hit by Bednarik with a clothes line tackle so hard that it dropped Gifford to the ground unconscious. Gifford was removed from the field on stretcher and transported to a local hospital by ambulance, where he remained for ten days. Gifford was diagnosed with a deep concussion that resulted in his retirement from the game for 18 months.[33] On the 100th anniversary of the NFL's founding, the NFL ranked Bednarik's tackle the 44th greatest play in league history.[34] On December 26, 1960, one of the coldest days in recorded Philadelphia history, the Eagles faced Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship game and dealt the formidable Lombardi the sole championship game loss of his storied career. Bednarik lined up at center on offense and at linebacker on defense. Fittingly, the game ended as Bednarik tackled a struggling Jim Taylor and refused to allow him to stand until the last seconds had ticked away.[35]

Van Brocklin had come to Philadelphia and agreed to play through 1960 with the tacit understanding that, upon his retirement as a player, he would succeed Shaw as head coach. Ownership, however, opted to promote assistant coach Nick Skorich instead, and Van Brocklin quit the organization in a fit of pique, instead becoming head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings. Back-up quarterback Sonny Jurgensen became the Eagles' starter for the 1961 season; they finished a half-game behind the New York Giants for first place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 10–4 record. Despite the on-the-field success, however, the franchise was in turmoil.

The 1962 team, decimated by injury, managed only three wins and were embarrassed at home in a 49–0 loss to the Packers. The off-field chaos continued through 1963, as the 65 shareholders remaining from the original Happy Hundred sold the team to Jerry Wolman, a 36-year-old millionaire Washington developer who outbid local bidders for the team, paying an unprecedented $5.505 million for control of the club.[36][37]

In 1964, Wolman hired former Cardinals and Washington Redskins coach Joe Kuharich to a fifteen-year contract. Over the next five seasons the team failed to make the playoffs and the failures of the team over this period were highlighted by the Santa Claus incident, when fans pelted a Santa Claus with snowballs during a halftime Christmas pageant. The team had only one winning season, in 1966, finishing second in the NFL Eastern Conference. The Eagles lost to the Baltimore Colts 20–14, in the post season third-place game, the Playoff Bowl, which was held at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Eagles finished 6–7–1 in 1967 and the following season fell further in the standings, going 2–12 in 1968.

Veterans Stadium in South Philadelphia was the Eagles' home field from 1971 to 2002.

In 1969, Leonard Tose bought the team from Wolman for $16.155 million[38] (equal to $119 million today), a new record for a professional sports franchise. Tose's first official act was to fire Coach Joe Kuharich after a disappointing 24–41–1 record during his five-year reign. He followed this by naming former Eagles receiving great Pete Retzlaff as General Manager and Jerry Williams as coach.

With the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970, the Eagles were placed in the NFC East Division with the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles' heated rivalry with the Giants is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating back to 1933, and is often cited as one of the best rivalries in the NFL.[7][39][40] 1970 was also the last season for the Eagles at Franklin Field; the team finished the first post-merger season in last place in their division at 3–10–1.

In 1971, the Eagles moved to the new Veterans Stadium. In its first season, the "Vet" was widely acclaimed as a triumph of ultra-modern sports engineering, a consensus that was short-lived, as was Williams' tenure as head coach. After a 3–10–1 record in 1970 and three consecutive blowout losses to Cincinnati, Dallas, and San Francisco to open the 1971 season, Williams was fired and replaced by assistant coach Ed Khayat, a defensive lineman on the Eagles' 1960 NFL championship team. Williams and Khayat were hampered by Retzlaff's decision to trade longtime starting quarterback Norm Snead to the Minnesota Vikings in early 1971, to leave the team a choice between journeyman Pete Liske and the raw Rick Arrington. Khayat lost his first two games but won six of the season's last nine, thanks largely to the efforts of the defense, led by All-Pro safety Bill Bradley, who led the NFL in interceptions (11) and interception return yardage (248).

The team regressed in 1972 to finish 2–11–1, and Khayat was released. The two wins (both on the road) proved to be surprises, however. Philadelphia beat the Kansas City Chiefs (which had had the best record in the AFC a year before) 21–20 and the Houston Oilers 18–17 on six field goals by kicker Tom Dempsey. The latter game had been called the "Johnny Rodgers Bowl," because the loser, in finishing last in the league, would gain the first overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft, which was then presumed to be Nebraska wingback Johnny Rodgers, the Heisman Trophy winner. With their loss, the Oilers got first pick and took University of Tampa defensive end John Matuszak (who later faced Philadelphia in Super Bowl XV). With the second overall pick, the Eagles went with USC tight end Charle Young.

Khayat was replaced by offensive guru Mike McCormack, for the 1973 season. Aided by the skills of Roman Gabriel and towering young receiver Harold Carmichael, they managed to infuse a bit of vitality into a previously moribund offense.

New general manager Jim Murray also began to add talent on the defensive side of the line, most notably through the addition of future Pro Bowl linebacker Bill Bergey in 1974. Overall, however, the team was still mired in mediocrity. McCormack was fired after a 4–10 1975 season.

Dick Vermeil, Eagles head coach from 1976 to 1982, led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XV in 1981.

Wilbert Montgomery, Eagles running back from 1977 to 1984, in the 1980 NFC championship game against the Dallas Cowboys at Veterans Stadium

In 1976, Dick Vermeil was hired from UCLA to coach the Eagles, who had managed only one winning season from 1962 to 1975.[41] Vermeil faced numerous obstacles as he attempted to rejuvenate a franchise that had not seriously contended in well over a decade. Despite the team's young talent and Gabriel's occasional flashes of brilliance, the Eagles finished 1976 with the same 4–10 record as in 1975. In 1977, the first seeds of hope began to emerge. The team obtained hard-throwing quarterback Ron Jaworski in a trade from the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for popular tight end Charle Young. The defense, led by Bergey and defensive coordinator Marion Campbell, began earning a reputation as one of the hardest-hitting in the league.

1978 saw one of the great moments in Eagles history: "The Miracle at the Meadowlands", when Herman Edwards returned a fumble by Giants' quarterback Joe Pisarcik for a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the game, resulting in a 19–17 Eagles victory.[42] The Eagles would edge into the playoffs with a 9–7 season. Young running back Wilbert Montgomery became the first Eagle since Steve Van Buren to exceed 1,000 yards in a season.[43] In 1979, the Eagles tied for first place with an 11–5 record, as Montgomery shattered team rushing records with a total of 1,512 yards.

In 1980, the team dominated the NFC, facing its chief nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys, in the NFC Championship Game. The game was played in cold conditions before faithful fans at Veterans Stadium. Led by an outstanding rushing performance by Montgomery, whose long cutback TD run in the first half is one of the most memorable in Eagles history, and a gutsy game from fullback Leroy Harris, who scored the Eagles' only other TD that day, the Birds earned a berth in Super Bowl XV with a 20–7 victory.[44]

The Eagles traveled to New Orleans for Super Bowl XV, where they were heavily favored over the Oakland Raiders, who had squeaked into the playoffs as a wild-card team. Things did not go the Eagles' way, beginning with Tose's imprudent decision to bring comedian Don Rickles into the pregame locker room to lighten the mood. Jaworski's first pass was intercepted by Rod Martin, setting up an Oakland touchdown. Later in the first quarter, a potential game-tying 40-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Parker was nullified by an illegal-motion penalty. The final score was 27–10. Journeyman quarterback Jim Plunkett was named the game's MVP.[45]

The team got off to a promising start in the 1981 season by winning their first six games. They ended up 10–6 to earn a wild-card berth. However, their hopes to repeat as NFC champs were dashed in the wild-card round by the New York Giants, who won 27–21.

After the Eagles finished 3–6 in the strike-shortened 1982 season, Vermeil quit the team, citing "burnout".

Defensive coordinator Marion Campbell, nicknamed "the Swamp Fox," replaced Vermeil as head coach. Campbell had helped to popularize the "bend-don't-break" defensive strategy in the 1970s. Philadelphia struggled through the mid-1980s, marked by flagging fan participation. The team failed to make the playoffs in 1983 and 1984.

In 1985, Tose was forced to sell the Eagles to Norman Braman and Ed Leibowitz, highly successful automobile dealers from Florida, for a reported $65 million (equal to $164 million today) to pay off his more than $25 million ($63 million today) in gambling debts at Atlantic City casinos.[46] The team again struggled during the 1985 season, and Campbell was fired after week 16, to be replaced by assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Fred Bruney for the season's last game.

In the 1985 Supplemental draft, the Eagles acquired the rights to the Memphis Showboats' elite pass rusher Reggie White.

Jerome Brown, Eagles defensive end from 1987 to 1991, was named to the 1990 and 1991 Pro Bowl teams before dying in a tragic car accident in June 1992 at age 27.

Reggie White's jersey on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio

In 1986, the arrival of head coach Buddy Ryan and his fiery attitude sparked team performance and ignited the fan base. Immediately infusing the team with his hard-as-nails attitude, the Eagles quickly became known for their tough defense and tougher attitudes.[47] Ryan began rejuvenating the team by releasing several aging players, including Ron Jaworski. Randall Cunningham took his place and, despite a 5–10–1 season, began showing considerable promise. 1987 saw another strike, which shortened the season by one game.[48] The substitutes who had filled in for the strikers performed poorly and were crushed 41–22 by the Dallas Cowboys. After the strike, the regular Eagles' 1987 team won a 37–20 revenge game against Dallas. The season record was 7–8, of which three games had been played by substitutes.

The Eagles reached the playoffs in 1988, but lost to the Chicago Bears, the team that Ryan had helped lead to a Super Bowl XX victory as defensive coordinator. The game became known as the "Fog Bowl", due to the inclement weather during the game. The Eagles lost, 20–12.[49]

The following two years would see playoff appearances as well, but the team never made it past the first round. This failure was very frustrating to Eagles fans, as the team was widely regarded as among the most talented in the NFL. On offense, the Eagles were led by quarterback Cunningham, one of the most exciting players of his generation; tight end Keith Jackson; and running back Keith Byars. The defense is commonly acknowledged as among the greatest in league history, and as the best to never win a championship.[50]

The two 1989 matches with Dallas were known as the Bounty Bowls. Both were won easily by the Eagles (the Cowboys finished 1–15 that year), and were marked by Ryan insulting new Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, putting a "bounty" on their kicker, and for Eagles fans throwing snowballs.[51] On November 12, 1990, during a Monday Night Football game at the Vet, the Eagles defeated the Washington Redskins by a score of 28–14, as the defense scored three of the team's four touchdowns. This game, more lopsided than its score would indicate, acquired the sobriquet "the Body Bag Game" for the physically tough play of the Eagles squad. The Eagles knocked out the starting Washington quarterback, and seriously injured his replacement. Running back Brian Mitchell, who would later be signed by the Eagles, was called upon to finish the game as the Redskins' quarterback.[52] Washington returned to Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs to defeat the Eagles 20–6, ending their season.

Buddy Ryan was fired on January 7, 1991, replaced by offensive coordinator Rich Kotite.[53] The team started the 1991 season with the loss of starting quarterback Randall Cunningham due to a knee injury. Backup quarterback Jim McMahon assumed the starting role for the rest of the season. Despite having the top-rated defense in the league, the team failed to make the playoffs by finishing third in the NFC East with a record of 10–6.

On June 25, 1992, All Pro defensive tackle Jerome Brown was killed in an automobile accident. The team and fan base dedicated the 1992 season to "bring it home for Jerome".[54] The team finished second in the NFC East with an 11–5 record to earn a wild-card playoff spot. Kotite led the Eagles to a victory over the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card game but then fell to the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional round. Another blow to the team was the loss of all-time sacks leader Reggie White to free agency in the off-season.

Among the team's offensive stars during that period were quarterback Randall Cunningham, tight end Keith Jackson, and running back Herschel Walker. But the "Gang Green" defense, led by Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Wes Hopkins, Mike Golic, Byron Evans, Eric Allen, Andre Waters and Mark McMillian, defined the team. In 1993, Kotite's Eagles would fall apart after a promising start and missed the playoffs, going 8–8.

By this point, team owner Norman Braman had become largely unpopular among local fans and a polarizing presence in the front office. Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles on May 6, 1994, for an estimated $185 million. The club is now estimated to be the 21th most valuable sports team, worth $3.4 billion, as evaluated in 2021 by Forbes.[55]

In Lurie's first season as owner in 1994, the team went 7–9 and again missed the playoffs. Rich Kotite was fired and replaced by San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes, who successfully lured 49ers star Ricky Watters to join the team as a free agent.

In 1995, Rhodes's first season, the Eagles got off to a slow start by losing three of their first four games but subsequently rebounded to finish with a 10–6 record and a playoff spot. In the Wild Card Round, the Eagles, playing at home, overwhelmed the Detroit Lions 58–37, with 31 of Philadelphia's points coming in the second quarter. However, the Eagles were again eliminated in the next round by the Cowboys by a score of 30–11. This would be Randall Cunningham's last game as an Eagle. Cunningham scored the only touchdown of the game and the last Eagles postseason touchdown for six years.

1995 marked the end of Cunningham's tenure as starting quarterback. Rhodes benched Cunningham in favor of Rodney Peete, leading to friction between the two. Earlier, rumors had circulated that Lurie and Rhodes had tried to trade Cunningham to the Arizona Cardinals. However, no such trade materialized and Cunningham retired shortly after the season.

In 1996, the Eagles' uniform colors were changed from the classic Kelly green to a darker midnight green. The team got off to a good start, winning three of their first four games. However, a week-5 Monday night game at Veterans Stadium against the rival Cowboys witnessed a season-ending knee injury to Peete, loss of the team's momentum, and the transition to an offense led by Ty Detmer and Watters. While Detmer played well and Watters rushed for 1,411 yards, the season conformed to what had become a familiar pattern: 10–6 record and early elimination (a 14–0 shutout by the 49ers) in the playoffs. In the 1996 NFL draft, future fan-favorite and hall-of-famer Brian Dawkins was chosen in the 2nd round. The continued early playoff exits led fans and local media to cast blame on high-priced free agents (Irving Fryar, Watters, Troy Vincent, and Guy McIntyre) for not stepping up in big games, especially in the postseason. Rhodes gradually deteriorated under the stress of the job, and players were beginning to grow tired of his brash demeanor and often autocratic coaching style.[56]

After a see-saw 6–9–1 campaign in 1997, the bottom fell out in 1998. The Eagles suffered a 3–13 record, their worst since 1972, and were ranked dead last in numerous offensive statistics. Home attendance was declining, a quarterback controversy was deteriorating an already rudderless locker room, and the players had all but tuned out the embattled coaching staff. Left with little choice after a disastrous season, fan revolt, and sagging team morale, Lurie fired Rhodes and hired Green Bay Packers quarterback coach Andy Reid as head coach.[57]

Andy Reid, Eagles head coach from 1999 to 2012, led the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004.

Brian Dawkins, Eagles safety from 1996 to 2008, was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Donovan McNabb, Eagles quarterback from 1999 to 2009

DeSean Jackson played for the Eagles from 2008 to 2013 and then returned to the team from 2019 to 2020; his December 19, 2010 punt return against the New York Giants, known as the Miracle at the New Meadowlands, is considered one of the greatest plays in Eagles' history.

LeSean McCoy, Eagles running back from 2009 to 2014

Fletcher Cox, Eagles defensive tackle since 2012

The Eagles reemerged as a predominant NFL team under the leadership of new head coach Andy Reid, whose first notable step was drafting Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb with the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. The Eagles' awful 1998 record would have entitled them to first pick, but it was awarded to the rebooted Cleveland Browns. Despite clearing the roster for new talent by releasing unpopular, aging veterans such as Watters and Irving Fryar, Reid was still a virtual unknown before his arrival as head coach, and his appointment was met with considerable skepticism in Philadelphia. The draft of McNabb was also not favored by many Eagles fans, who booed the selection, with the belief that the pick should have been Ricky Williams.

The choice proved fortunate, though, with Reid leading the way and McNabb emerging as one of the game's premier players. However, 1999 was a rebuilding year; the Eagles won only five games and attendance was still soft, as two home games failed to sell out, resulting in local TV blackouts, and the other six were sold out only because several local small business owners bought the remaining unsold tickets to spare TV viewers. The week-5 home game, on Sunday, October 10, 1999, saw Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin suffer a career-ending spinal injury. The incident gave rise to a popular legend that Eagles fans “stood up and cheered as Irvin lay on the field.” Irvin would later say that the fans were cheering his departure rather than his injury.[58] The team finished the season with a record of 5–11.

The 2000 regular-season opener in Dallas (September 3), became known in NFL lore as the "Pickle Juice Game". Kickoff temperature in Texas Stadium was 109 degrees Fahrenheit and soared to nearly 120, making it the hottest game in league history, beating a previous record set in a 1997 Cowboys–Cardinals match in Arizona. The nickname came about because an Eagles trainer had prepared for the predicted heat by having the players drink the juice from jars of dill pickles in order to retain body moisture and stave off cramps and heat exhaustion. The experiment proved successful as the Eagles won 44–14 while multiple Cowboys players had been consigned to the bench, unable to handle the torrid climate (the Eagles had no players benched). The game was also significant as marking the beginning of Philadelphia's domination of the NFC East. The team finished the season at 11–5, reaching the playoffs as a wild card, which restored fan optimism. After brushing aside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21–3, the Eagles moved to the second round of the playoffs, only to lose 20–10 to the New York Giants. After compiling an 11–5 record in 2001, the Eagles reached the playoffs again, this time at the top of their division. In a near-rerun of the previous year, they disposed of the Buccaneers in a 31–9 game. In the second round, the Eagles defeated the Bears 33–19 at Soldier Field. In the NFC Championship game, they were unable to stop the St. Louis Rams, who defeated them 29–24.

Despite injuries, McNabb led the Eagles to a 12–4 season in 2002. Once again, they reached the NFC Championship game, but lost at home 27–10 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the last game at Veterans Stadium.

In the opening game of the 2003 season, the Eagles were shut out 17–0 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first regular-season game ever played at their new home, Lincoln Financial Field. Once again, the team went 12–4 for the season and then reached the conference championship game. In doing so, the Eagles became the first team in modern history to get that far in the postseason after having been shut out at home in its first game. They achieved that distinction despite getting only five touchdown receptions all year by their wide receivers, which tied the league-low since the regular-season schedule was lengthened to its present 16 games in 1978 (this record would be broken in 2004 when the New York Giants' wide receivers caught only two touchdown passes). The Eagle receivers went through both September and October without a TD catch; the last time an NFL team had done that was in 1945. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs, the Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 20–17 in overtime thanks in part to a late-game completion from McNabb to Freddie Mitchell on 4th and 26. They lost the NFC Championship game to the Carolina Panthers 14–3. Panthers cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. had three interceptions in the game.[59]

The Eagles actively pursued premier wide receiver Terrell Owens, and acquired him in a controversial three-way deal with the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, on March 16, 2004.[60] The 2004 season began with a bang as Owens caught three touchdown passes from McNabb in their season opener against the New York Giants. Owens ended up with exactly 1,200 receiving yards and 14 touchdown receptions, although his season ended prematurely with an ankle injury in a December 19 game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles' 12–7 victory in this game gave them home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs for the third year in a row. The Eagles tied a record by clinching the NFC East division crown (their fourth straight) after only their eleventh game of the season, matching the mark set by the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 1997 San Francisco 49ers. Their final two regular-season games thus rendered meaningless, the Eagles sat out most of their first-string players in these games and lost both, yet still finished the season with a 13–3 record. McNabb had his best season to date, passing for 3,875 yards and 31 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions. This made him the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 30 or more TD passes and fewer than 10 interceptions in a single regular season. They then began their playoff run with the Divisional round at home against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles led from the start and never looked back, as McNabb led a very efficient passing attack (21 of 33 for 286 yards and 2 TDs), Brian Westbrook dominated on the ground with 70 rushing yards, and Freddie Mitchell performed very well on the receiving corps (5 receptions for 65 yards and a TD), as Philadelphia won 27–14, setting up their fourth-straight NFC Championship appearance. Facing the Atlanta Falcons, McNabb threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 32 yards. Westbrook rushed for 96 yards and caught five passes for 39. Winning the game 27–10, the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl XXXIX, where they faced the New England Patriots. Although McNabb threw 3 touchdown passes and 357 yards in the game, and the score was tied 14–14 going into the fourth quarter, the Patriots outscored the Eagles with ten straight points. McNabb completed a 30-yard touchdown pass, and the Eagles defense held the Patriots to a 3 and out, but a crucial interception with 46 seconds left sealed their fate, as the Patriots won 24–21.

The team took a step back in 2005 with a 6–10 record, failing to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season. McNabb had played with a sports hernia and a broken thumb, starting 4–2 then losing three in a row, before he finally succumbed to injury and missed the rest of the season. For obnoxious behavior and a feud with McNabb, Owens was suspended after 7 games and was eventually cut.

In 2006, the team lost McNabb 10 games in and went into turmoil. However, Westbrook stepped up, and the Eagles earned their fifth NFC East title under coach Reid, with a 10–6 record. They won the Wild Card game against the New York Giants, but lost in the Divisional Round to the New Orleans Saints. The 2007 season would end with the Eagles finishing 8–8 and failing to make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. However in 2008, the team finished the season with a 9-6-1 record, making the playoffs with a wild card berth, The team upset the Minnesota Vikings in the first round, winning the game 26-14. The team then went on to defeat the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants 23–11 en route to their sixth NFC Championship Game. In the NFC Championship game, the Eagles rallied from down 24–6 at halftime to up 25–24 in the fourth quarter, but they lost to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 32–25 after quarterback Kurt Warner scored a touchdown with just under three minutes remaining in regulation.

Entering the 2009 season, the Eagles signed quarterback Michael Vick.[61] On December 6, 2009, Andy Reid became only the fifth coach in NFL history to win 100 or more games with a single team in a single decade (the other four are Tom Landry, Don Shula, Tony Dungy, and Bill Belichick.[62] McNabb finally had a complete receiving corps, between first-round draft pick Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson's 1,000-yard season, and Brent Celek ranking among the top 5 tight ends in the league. Without Brian Dawkins, defensive end Trent Cole stepped up and became the dominant force on defense with 12 sacks, earning him his second trip to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. In 2009, the Eagles started 5–4, then won six straight. After a shutout by the Dallas Cowboys in week 17, the Eagles failed to secure a first-round bye, and with a record of 11–5, they were the NFC's sixth seed. In their January 2010 wild card game, the Eagles played against their divisional foes for the second consecutive week, losing 34–14 to hand Dallas their first playoff win since December 1996. On January 11, 2010, General Manager Tom Heckert, Jr. was hired away by the Cleveland Browns; he was replaced by Howie Roseman, who was promoted from Vice President of Player Personnel. On March 5, 2010, Brian Westbrook was cut from the Eagles after eight seasons with the team. On April 4, 2010, the team traded long-time starting quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins in exchange for a second-round draft pick.[63] Kevin Kolb was immediately named the starter for the 2010 season, but after suffering a concussion in week 1 against the Packers, Vick took over as the starter. Week 4 saw the return of McNabb to Philadelphia. The Redskins got a touchdown early in the first quarter. After that, both offenses sputtered and the Eagles had to settle for two field goals. But things rapidly fell apart when Vick injured his ribs and chest late in the first quarter when two Redskins defensive backs crushed him from both sides while running near the end zone. Kolb was once again brought out to play, but delivered an uninspiring performance. He managed a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. A two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown failed, and Washington won 16–12. In Week 15, the Eagles beat New York in a stunning upset by overcoming a 21-point deficit in the second half. In the closing seconds of the game, DeSean Jackson returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to win 38–31. This became known as the Miracle at the New Meadowlands.[64] Vick led the Eagles to their sixth NFC East division title in ten seasons. With a record of 10–6 the Eagles clinched the third seed. In the wild card round, the Eagles lost 21–16 to the eventual Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers.

The 2011 season for the Eagles was a major disappointment. The off-season was marred by a lockout that began in March after the NFL's collective bargaining agreement expired, making practices, trades, and free agency impossible. During the draft, the Eagles did comparatively little. After the lockout ended in July, the team embarked on a rash of high-profile FA signings, including Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha, Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown, Giants WR Steve Smith, Packers TE Donald Lee, Titans DE Jason Babin, and Packers DT Cullen Jenkins. Meanwhile, Kevin Kolb, displeased at losing the starting quarterback job to Michael Vick in 2010, was traded to Arizona for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Replacing him as 2nd-stringer was ex-Titans quarterback Vince Young. Young created a lot of hype by calling Philadelphia the "Dream Team".[65] The team managed to finish only 8–8 and missed the playoffs.

In 2012, the Eagles started off winning three of their first four games, but lost their next eight, which eliminated them from the playoff hunt. They won only one of their last four games. After a loss to the New York Giants on December 30, 2012, head coach Andy Reid was fired after fourteen seasons with the team.[66]

Zach Ertz, Eagles tight end from 2013 to 2021

On January 16, 2013, after a 4–12 season, the Eagles brought in University of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly to succeed Reid as head coach.[67] The Philadelphia Eagles named Michael Vick the starting quarterback going into the 2013 season with much promise running Chip Kelly's fast-paced spread offense. The 2013 season proved very successful for the Eagles. While a hamstring injury took Michael Vick out after a 1–3 start, his backup Nick Foles led the team to a 10–6 regular-season record and its seventh NFC East title in 13 seasons. Before throwing his first interception in Week 14, Foles had thrown 19 touchdowns, just one shy of the all-time NFL record of consecutive touchdowns without an interception to start a season, set earlier in the season by Peyton Manning. Foles also tied Manning for most touchdown passes in a single game, with seven, against the Oakland Raiders, which also made him the youngest player in NFL history to throw for that many touchdowns in a game. Foles finished the regular season with 27 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions, giving him the then-best TD-INT ratio in NFL history. (That record was later broken by Tom Brady, in the 2016 season.) He also finished with a 119.0 passer rating, third-highest in league history behind only Aaron Rodgers in 2011 and Peyton Manning in 2004. He was also only the second quarterback in NFL history to have a game in which he topped 400 passing yards and a perfect passer rating. LeSean McCoy finished his Pro Bowl season as the league's top rusher with 1,607 rushing yards (also a franchise record) and 2,146 total yards from scrimmage, also best in the NFL. As a whole, the Eagles offense scored 51 touchdowns, most in franchise history, passing the previous season-high set back in 1948. Following the 2013 season, the Eagles released Pro-Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson due to his poor "work ethic and attitude", as well as speculation of his involvement in gang-related activities.[68] The team signed All Pro safety Malcolm Jenkins to a three-year contract, worth $16.25 million.

The Eagles opened the 2014 season winning their first three games and making NFL history as the only team ever to trail by ten or more points in their first three games and come back to win.[69] Nick Foles struggled with turnovers, but ultimately did well and led the Eagles to a 6–2 record, before breaking his collarbone, resulting in his replacement by Mark Sanchez, who outplayed Foles. The Eagles held the divisional title from Week 1 to Week 15. After going 9–3 with a crucial win over Dallas, the Eagles lost their next three, and a week after losing the NFC East title, they lost an upset against the 3–11 Redskins and were eliminated from playoff contention with the Cowboys' win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Following the 2014 season, Chip Kelly was given total control and made some controversial personnel moves. He traded LeSean McCoy, who had become the team's all-time leading rusher after the 2014 season, for linebacker Kiko Alonso, a player Kelly coached at Oregon who had missed the entire 2014 season.[70] He also cut ten-year veteran and starter Trent Cole, who was still a consistent threat on defense and was second only to legend Reggie White on the Eagles all-time sack list.[71] He also traded the highly successful Nick Foles for Sam Bradford, who had missed the entire 2014 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.[72] Kelly tried to re-sign Jeremy Maclin, who had stepped up as the team's leading wide receiver, but Maclin signed with the Kansas City Chiefs instead. However, the Eagles also acquired league leading rusher DeMarco Murray,[73] which not only helped the Eagles, but hurt their rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. They also obtained Super Bowl champion Byron Maxwell,[74] who left the Seattle Seahawks in free agency to sign a six-year, $63 million contract. The first two games of the 2015 season were dismal, as they lost both. Bradford had a poor 2–4 TD-INT ratio, Maxwell was constantly beaten by Falcons receiver Julio Jones, and Murray was held to 11 yards on 21 carries. After Murray was injured, Ryan Mathews rushed for over 100 yards in a Week 3 win against the New York Jets. Kelly made Murray the unquestioned starter and although Murray's play improved over the season, he never regained his dominant form and was held to a career-low average of 3.6 yards per carry.

On December 29, 2015, with one game left in the season, head coach Chip Kelly was released by the Eagles after a 6–9 record. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was named interim head coach for the final game against the rival New York Giants, which Shurmur won 35–30.[75]

Doug Pederson, Eagles head coach from 2016 to 2020, led the team to its first Super Bowl win on February 4, 2018 in Super Bowl LII.

The Eagles hired Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator Doug Pederson as their next head coach on January 18, 2016. Pederson had been with the Chiefs for the preceding three years after having spent the four seasons before those with the Eagles. He served as a quality control assistant coach for the Eagles in 2009 and 2010 before being promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He had been praised for his work with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith over the prior several seasons, particularly 2015, as the Chiefs moved into the top 10 in scoring offense.[76][77]

At the end of the 2015 season, the Eagles were slated for the 13th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. They traded that pick, Byron Maxwell, and Kiko Alonso to the Miami Dolphins for the eighth overall pick. Later, they traded the eighth overall pick, their third- and fourth-round picks, a 2017 first-round pick, and a 2018 second-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for the second overall pick and a 2017 fourth-round pick. They used the second overall pick to draft North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. On September 3, 2016, the Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings, who had lost Teddy Bridgewater for the season, for a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 fourth-round pick. Following the trade, the Eagles named Wentz the starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2016 season.[78]

First-time head coach Pederson led the Eagles to a 3–0 record to start the season. His rookie quarterback started with five touchdowns, no interceptions and over 255 yards per game. After a Week 4 bye, they lost four out of the next five games, including losses to every team in their division. They also lost right tackle Lane Johnson to a 10-game suspension following the Week 5 loss against the Lions, which damaged Carson Wentz's hot start. In those four defeats, their average margin of loss was just under 5 points.[79] Pederson and the Eagles won just three of their final seven games. Although Wentz started off the season well, he finished with a TD–INT ratio of 8:7. The rookie head coach-quarterback tandem led the Eagles to a 7–9 record, finishing last in the division.

Nick Foles, Eagles quarterback from 2012 to 2014 and from 2017 to 2018, was named Super Bowl LII Most Valuable Player.

Jason Kelce, Eagles center since 2011, at the championship parade in Philadelphia on February 8, 2018

Malcolm Jenkins, Eagles safety from 2014 to 2019, holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Eagles' February 2018 Super Bowl XLII parade.

The Eagles had a 13–3 record in 2017, including a nine-game winning streak. In a week 14 game against the Los Angeles Rams, starting quarterback Carson Wentz left the game with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and backup Nick Foles, who had been re-signed in the off-season, took over for the rest of the season. Foles's first start was a comeback from a 20–7 deficit against the New York Giants where he scored four touchdowns to win 34–29. Foles struggled in the last two games of the season against the Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys, and threw a touchdown and two interceptions in those two games. Despite this, the Eagles clinched home-field advantage after the win against Oakland in week 16. Foles led the Eagles past the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round 15–10. In the NFC Championship game, the Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings 38–7, despite having been betting underdogs. Foles had his best game since week 15 and threw for 352 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles traveled to Minneapolis to compete in Super Bowl LII, their third attempt at a title, against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 2005.

With Foles at the helm, the game's first touchdown was scored by the Eagles in just three plays: a short pass from Foles to Nelson Agholor, a 36-yard run up the middle by LeGarrette Blount, and a 34-yard touchdown pass from Foles to Alshon Jeffery on the left side of the field. The ensuing extra-point attempt from Elliott was missed wide right, which made the score 9–3 in favor of the Eagles. The Patriots responded by advancing the ball to the Philadelphia 11-yard line on their next drive, which was set up by a 50-yard completion from Brady to Danny Amendola, and the quarter ended.[80]

In the second quarter, Philadelphia faced fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line with 38 seconds left. Deciding to go for the touchdown, they attempted a trick play similar to one that had failed for the Patriots earlier. It would be the most memorable play of the game. As Foles stepped up to the running back position, Clement took a direct snap and pitched the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who then threw the ball to Foles, who was wide open in the right side of the end zone. Foles caught the ball, making him the first quarterback ever to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, and the ensuing extra point was good, giving the Eagles a 22–12 lead, which was taken into the locker room after a short drive by the Patriots. The scoring play came to be known as the Philly Special.[80] The Eagles won their first Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history,[80] and their first league championship since 1960, ending the third-longest active championship drought in the NFL at 57 years.

New England's only lead was by one point in the fourth quarter, 33–32. The Eagles rallied back and scored an 11-yard touchdown to tight end Zach Ertz. The last score of the game was a 46-yard field goal by Jake Elliott to make the final score 41–33. The franchise won their first Super Bowl ever and their first championship since 1960. Foles won Super Bowl MVP going 28 for 43 with 373 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, one interception, and one receiving touchdown. Foles became the first backup quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl since his opponent Tom Brady won as the backup for Drew Bledsoe in 2002's Super Bowl XXXVI.

The combined 74 points scored was one point shy of the Super Bowl record of 75, set in Super Bowl XXIX in 1995; this game marked only the second time in the history of the Super Bowl where the teams combined for 70+ points.[81] The game also set a record for most yardage by both teams (combined) with 1,151 yards, the most for any single game, regular season or postseason.[82]

The game set many other Super Bowl records as well, including fewest punts from both teams (one), most yards gained by a team (613 for New England) and most points scored by a losing team (33).[83]

Before the 2018 season started, many injuries plagued the team, including quarterback Carson Wentz, who was still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that he had sustained during the previous season. Nick Foles was named the starting quarterback to begin the season,[84] and helped the team win their opening game against the Atlanta Falcons, 18–12. Wentz returned as the starting quarterback in week 3 after Foles had led the team to a 1–1 record.[85] Injuries continued to be a major problem throughout the season, especially on defense as Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, and Rodney McLeod all suffered season-ending injuries.[86][87][88] Wentz suffered a fractured vertebra in his back after a week 14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys,[89] and Foles was again named the starter for remainder of the season.[90] The Eagles' 4–6 record after 10 games seemed to give them little chance of making the playoffs, but the team managed to win 5 of their last 6, including upsets over the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans. The Eagles finished the season with a 9–7 record and made the playoffs as the sixth seed.

In the Wild Card game against the Chicago Bears, Foles threw 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in a 16–15 win. With ten seconds left, Bears kicker Cody Parkey missed a potential game-winning field goal that became known in NFL lore as the Double Doink. This sent the Philadelphia Eagles to an NFC Divisional matchup against the New Orleans Saints. The Eagles offense initially performed well, ending the first quarter with a 14–0 lead. The Eagles would not score again after the Saints defense rallied, forcing Foles to throw two interceptions. The Eagles ended up losing by a score of 20–14, ending their opportunity to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

In 2019, the Eagles matched their 9–7 record from 2018. They won 4 straight games against divisional opponents to close the season, clinching the NFC East in Week 17 with a 34–17 win over the New York Giants[91] and clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season. Carson Wentz started his first playoff game in the Wild Card round against the Seattle Seahawks, but left the game early in the first quarter after suffering a concussion on a controversial helmet-to-helmet hit by Jadeveon Clowney.[92] Backup quarterback Josh McCown finished the game even after suffering a torn hamstring in the second quarter.[93] The Eagles lost to the Seahawks 17–9, ending their season.[94]

The Eagles opened the 2020 season with consecutive losses to the Washington Football Team and Los Angeles Rams. In week 3, the Eagles tied with the Cincinnati Bengals after controversially punting the ball instead of attempting a potential 64-yard game-winning field goal late in overtime.[95] The decision was widely criticized by sports media and fans as they accused head coach Doug Pederson of settling for a tie, rather than playing to win.[96] Once again, injuries continued to plague the team as almost every offensive starter had suffered an injury throughout the season,[97] and the team fielded 14 different offensive line combinations in 16 games.[98] The team entered the bye week with a 3–4–1 record and proceeded to lose their next four games. During their week 13 match-up against the Green Bay Packers, rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts entered the game in the third quarter in relief of Wentz after poor play.[99] Hurts would later be named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season after a career-worst season performance by Wentz.[100][101] Hurts led the Eagles to a 24–21 victory against the New Orleans Saints in week 14. This would be the team's last win of the 2020 season as they lost their next three games, finishing with a 4–11–1 record and missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

During the 2020 off-season, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz announced that he would step down from his position.[102] A day later, linebackers coach Ken Flajole left his position on the team.[103] After a disappointing 2020 season, Doug Pederson met with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to discuss the future of the team. Pederson proposed changes to the coaching staff that were described by internal reporters as "underwhelming" and out of line with Lurie's vision for the team.[104][105]

On January 11, 2021, the Eagles announced that they had fired Pederson.[106] In a statement, Lurie described the move as in the best interests of both Pederson and the team.[107] Pederson became just the first head coach to be fired within three years of winning a Super Bowl since the Baltimore Colts fired Don McCafferty after the 1972 NFL Season.[108]

The Eagles hired former Indianapolis Colts' offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as their next head coach on January 21, 2021.[109] During the offseason, the Eagles traded starting quarterback Carson Wentz to the Colts for a 2021 third-round draft pick and a 2022 conditional second-round pick.[110] In doing so, Wentz was reunited with Frank Reich, head coach of the Colts who served as the Eagles' offensive coordinator for Wentz's first two years in Philadelphia, including during their Super Bowl–winning season in 2017. The Eagles absorbed a $33.8-million dead-cap hit for trading Wentz.[111]

During the 2021 NFL Draft, the Eagles selected Heisman Trophy–winning wide receiver DeVonta Smith with the 10th overall pick,[112] and maneuvered around the draft to gain an extra first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.[113] Smith was a highly touted prospect out of the University of Alabama, and was the first Heisman winner the Eagles drafted in over fifty years.[114] The drafting of Smith also reunited him with Jalen Hurts, his first quarterback at Alabama.

After training camp, Hurts was officially named the Eagles' starting quarterback for the 2021 season by head coach Sirianni. After starting the season 2–5, the Eagles went 7–3 in their last ten games, clinching a playoff berth in week 17 after a victory over the Washington Football Team along with a loss by the Minnesota Vikings and win by the San Francisco 49ers.[115] The Eagles finished the season with the #1 rushing offense; It was the best rushing offense since the 1985 Chicago Bears, and the best in the franchise history since the 1949 Eagles team. They lost in the wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–15.[116]

The Eagles were a part of the NFL Eastern Division from 1933 to 1949, the National Conference from 1950 to 1953, and the Eastern Conference from 1953 to 1966. They were then placed in the Capitol Division of the Eastern Conference in 1967. When the league reformed into the NFC and AFC in 1970, the Eagles were placed in the NFC East.

The Eagles and Cowboys rivalry has been listed among the best and most acrimonious in the NFL.[122][123] The Eagles won the first game in this rivalry 27–25 on September 30, 1960. Dallas leads the all-time series 69–54 as of the 2020 season, but in recent years, the series has been close, with each team winning 12 games since 2006. There is considerable hostility between the two teams' fan bases, with incidents such as the 1989 Bounty Bowl. The rivalry has even spilled over into Draft Weekend, with Cowboys legend Drew Pearson and Eagles legend David Akers exchanging insults at the opposing franchise in 2017 and 2018, respectively.[124][125]

Their rivalry with the Giants began in 1933 with the founding of the Eagles, and slowly strengthened when both teams came to relative prominence in the 1940s and 1950s. The two teams have played in the same division in the NFL every year since 1933. The ferocity of the rivalry can also be attributed to the geographic New York-Philadelphia rivalry, which is mirrored in Major League Baseball's Mets–Phillies rivalry and the NHL's Flyers–Rangers rivalry. It is ranked by NFL Network as one of the greatest rivalries of all-time,[126] Sports Illustrated ranks it as the fourth best NFL rivalry of all time,[7] and according to ESPN, it is one of the fiercest and most well-known rivalries in the football community.[127] The Eagles lead the all-time series 90–88–2 after the 2021 NFL season.

While not as big as the rivalries with the Giants and Cowboys, the Eagles' rivalry with division foes Washington Commanders has still shown to be fierce. Although the two franchises played in the same division in the Eagles' inaugural 1933 season, their first meeting would not take place until October 21, 1934, during Washington's first year under the Boston Redskins moniker; the Redskins defeated the Eagles 6–0 at Fenway Park. Washington currently leads the all-time series 87–80–8. Since 2010, the rivalry has been very even overall with the Eagles winning 12 of the last 20 matchups.[128]

The Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers are both located in Pennsylvania and began play in 1933. From that season through 1966, this was a major rivalry for both teams, as both were part of the same division. In 1967 they were placed in separate divisions, but remained in the same conference for three years. In 1970 the Steelers (along with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts) moved to the American Football Conference, while the Eagles stayed with the rest of the old-line NFL teams in the National Football Conference. As a result, the Eagles and Steelers no longer played each other every year; instead, they are scheduled to meet once every four years in the regular season, the most recent meeting being in 2020 at Heinz Field, with the Steelers winning 38–29. The Steelers have lost nine straight games on the road against the Eagles dating back to 1966, which was also the start of the Super Bowl era. The Eagles lead the all-time series 48–29–3.

The Eagles lead the Falcons 21–15–1, with a 3–1 lead in playoff games. The rivalry first emerged after the Falcons upset the Eagles in the 1978 Wild Card Round, and only intensified further during the 2000s thanks to the rivalry between prominent dual-threat quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick. Recently, the Eagles' path to winning Super Bowl LII included a 2017 divisional round victory over the Falcons.[129][130]

Notes:

• ^(*) Posthumous honors.
• Despite not being retired, the Eagles have not issued out Randall Cunningham's No. 12 since he left the Eagles in 1995,[131] LeSean McCoy's No. 25 since he left the team in 2015,[132][133] Brent Celek's No. 87 since he left the team in 2018,[134] or Nick Foles' No. 9 since he left the team in 2019.[135]

In 1987, the Eagles Honor Roll was established. Every Eagles player who had been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at that point was among the inaugural induction class. By 2012, the Honor Roll had been retitled as the Eagles Hall of Fame.[136] Players are considered for induction three years after their retirement from the NFL, and there have been 47 inductees into the Eagles Hall of Fame as of 2019.[137]

[138]

+ = min. 500 attempts, # = min. 100 attempts, ∗ = minimum 15 attempts,

∗ = minimum 15 attempts, # = min. 100 attempts, + = min. 500 attempts

∗ = minimum 4 receptions, # = min. 20 receptions, + = min. 200 receptions

From 2008 through 2010, Eagles games were broadcast on both rock-formatted WYSP and sports-talk Sports Radio 610 WIP, as both stations were owned and operated by CBS Radio. In 2011, CBS dropped the music on WYSP, renaming it WIP-FM and making it a full simulcast of WIP. By 2020, 610 WIP had changed call letters to WTEL and rebranded to the Philadelphia affiliate for the Black Information Network, while WIP-FM broadcast all Eagles games. In 2017, the Eagles extended their broadcasting contract with WIP-FM through 2024.[139]

Merrill Reese, who joined the Eagles in 1976, is the play-by-play announcer, and former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick, who replaced offense lineman Stan Walters beginning in 1998, is the color analyst. The post-game show, which has consisted of many Philadelphia sports personalities, as of the 2014 season is hosted by Kevin Riley, a former Eagles linebacker and special-teamer, and Rob Ellis. Riley was the former post-game host for the show on 94 WYSP before the WIP change over; Rob Ellis hosts a weekly show nightly from 6–10 on 94.1 WIP-FM.

Spanish language broadcasts are on WEMG Mega 105.7FM with Rickie Ricardo on play-by-play, and Oscar Budejen as color commentator.

In 2015, the preseason games were being televised on WCAU, the local NBC owned and operated station.

During the regular season, games are governed by the NFL's master broadcasting contract with FOX, CBS, NBC, and ESPN. Most games can be seen on FOX-owned WTXF-TV. When hosting an AFC team, those games can be seen on CBS-owned KYW-TV.

Although the method may vary, studies that attempt to rank the 32 fan bases in the NFL consistently place Eagles fans among the best in the league, noting their "unmatched fervor."[146] Eagles fans have numerous dedicated web communities, ranking the Eagles just The American City Business Journals, which conducts a regular study to determine the most loyal fans in the NFL, evaluates fans based primarily on attendance-related factors,[147] and ranked Eagles fans third in both 1999[148] and 2006.[149] The 2006 study called the fans "incredibly loyal", noting that they filled 99.8% of the seats in the stadium over the previous decade.[150] Forbes placed the Eagles fans first in its 2008 survey,[151] which was based on the correlation between team performance and fan attendance.[152] ESPN.com placed Eagles fans fourth in the league in its 2008 survey, citing the connection between the team's performance and the mood of the city.[153] The last home game that was blacked out on television in the Philadelphia market as a result of not being sold out was against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, September 12, 1999, which was Andy Reid's first home game as new head coach of the Eagles.[154]

The studies note that—win or lose—Eagles fans can be counted on to pack their stadium. As of August 2008, the team had sold out 71 consecutive games, and 70,000 were on the team's waiting list for season tickets.[153] Despite finishing with a 6–10 record in the 2005 season, the Eagles ranked second in the NFL in merchandise sales, and single-game tickets for the next season were sold out minutes after phone and Internet lines opened.[155]

Eagles fans have also been known to chant the famous, "E-A-G-L-E-S – Eagles!" at Flyers, Phillies, and 76ers games when the team is getting blown out late in a game and a loss is inevitable, signifying their displeasure with the given team's performance, and that they are instead putting their hope into the Eagles.

Along with their fierce devotion, Eagles fans have a reputation for bad behavior and sports-related violence, especially when the team plays its rivals.[156] In If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?, Jereé Longman described the fans of the 700 Level of Veterans Stadium as having a reputation for "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness."[157] So many incidents occurred at a 1997 game against the 49ers that at the following home game, Judge Seamus McCaffery began presiding over a temporary courtroom at the stadium; 20 suspects came before him that day.[156] Fan behavior improved after the team's move to Lincoln Financial Field, and "Eagles Court" ended in December 2003.[158]