Defensive Gems

One of the things that made last year’s defense so frustrating is that the Eagles have had some of the best defensive coaches and players in NFL history. Watching the team struggle to cover, hit and tackle was pure torture. Hopefully the hiring of Vic Fangio and some personnel changes will get the defense back on track.

Let’s take a look at some of the best defensive games of the last 30 or so years.

1991 – PHI 24, DAL 0 

Dallas went from underdog to playoff team in 1991, but they looked hopeless in this early season beatdown by Gang Green. Dallas finished with 90 total yards. No points. The Eagles sacked Troy Aikman 11 times (almost tying the NFL record of 12) and picked him off 3 times. Clyde and Jerome combined for 7 sacks. This was the first game where we got to see that the ’91 defense might be special.

1991 – PHI 13, HOU 6

The House of Pain Game. The Oilers were the top offense in football, with their dynamic Run ‘n Shoot attack led by Warren Moon. The Eagles held them to 247 total yards (only 21 on the ground). The Eagles sacked Moon 4 times and came up with 5 takeaways. Wes Hopkins delivered some vicious hits to receivers trying to work the middle of the field. It is awkward to watch now with what we know about CTE. Seth Joyner had a great game and established himself as a star LB.

1992 – PHI 30, DEN 0

The Broncos weren’t a powerhouse in ’92, but it was still crazy to see what the Eagles did to John Elway. Denver was limited to 82 total yards. Elway went 8 for 18 for 59 yards. That is nuts. The Eagles picked him off once and sacked him 3 times. Just a total beatdown. The Eagles held Seattle to 87 total yards later that year, but Stan Gelbaugh was the QB in that game. Not quite as impressive.

1992 – PHI 7, PHX 3

Heavy winds made this a sloppy game from both sides, but it did feature an amazing goal line stand.

The Cardinals had 7 snaps near the goal line and never got in. Byron Evans and Seth Joyner were absolutely amazing. Huge hits and key tackles.

1993 – PHI 20, GB 17

Reggie White was the opponent for the first time. Philly went to Green Bay to take on their old friend and his new team. The Packers weren’t elite yet, but had a lot of star power. Brett Favre and Sterling Sharpe helped them finish 6th in the league in scoring. But the Packers had no answer for Bud Carson’s defense on this day. The Eagles held Favre to 12-24-111 and the Packers finished with 159 total yards.

1994 – PHI 13, GB 7

Reggie White’s first game in Philly as a visitor. This didn’t go any better than the previous meeting. Green Bay did have 275 total yards, but the Packers could not score. The Eagles sacked Favre 6 times and picked him off twice. Green Bay had a chance to steal the game at the end, but the Eagles D came up big and ended the game despite GB being inside the 10-yard line. This was the first game where I remember the Eagles wearing throwback uniforms.

1994 – PHI 40, SF 8

The very next week. When this defense was healthy, it was really good. That showed in the beatdown by the bay. The Niners were the best offense in the league and would end up winning the Super Bowl. The Eagles limited them to 189 yards. The defense had 3 sacks and 3 takeaways. QB Steve Young was pulled from the game and got into a huge shouting match with coach George Siefert. The highlight was William Fuller sacking Young for a safety.

1995 – PHI 20, DAL 17

The Cowboys led 17 to 6 at halftime and looked to be on their way to win number 11 for the season. The Eagles defense did everything they could, but the offense struggled. Ricky Watters and the offense finally got going in the second half. The Eagles tied the game at 17-17 in the fourth quarter. That led to one of the most memorable sequences in team history.

It is absolutely mind-blowing that Barry Switzer went for it on fourth down after the initial stop. The Eagles stuffed Emmitt a second time and gave the ball back to the offense. That led to the go-ahead FG. William Fuller closed the game out with a sack of Troy Aikman.

The Eagles held Dallas to a season-low 196 total yards. The next lowest total was 293 yards. That should give you an idea how good the defense was that day. Aikman finished 11-28 for 110 yards. MLB Kurt Gouviea forced an Emmitt Smith fumble at the 5-yard line. That was a scrappy defense and they played great football in the second half of the game.

1996 – PHI 27, NYG 0

The Giants offense stunk all year long, but a shutout is a magical thing to be celebrated. And this would be the last one for 18 years. Ugh. The Eagles limited the Giants to 121 yards, 37 in the air and 84 on the ground. The defense had 5 sacks and 4 takeaways. Rookie LB Ray Farmer won NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. He had an INT and a sack. He forced 2 fumbles and recovered another. He added a big hit on STs. Farmer looked like the next great Eagles LB. Sadly, knee injuries cut his career short. Farmer got into the personnel side of things and even became a GM.

In the two games the Eagles faced the Giants in 1996, they allowed a total of 271 yards and 10 points. The Eagles had a good defense. But boy that Giants offense was dreadful.

2000 – PHI 41, DAL 14

The Pickle Juice Game. Troy Aikman went 0 for 5 before he was knocked out of the game. Jeremiah Trotter had a pick-six and the Eagles defense dominated from start to finish. The score was 24-6 at halftime. Dallas scored their lone TD late in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys finished with 167 yards. Old friend Randall Cunningham replaced Aikman and found out that going against a Jim Johnson defense was no fun. Dallas QBs were sacked five times and picked off twice.

2002 – PHI 37, WAS 7

Steve Spurrier found out that going against a Jim Johnson defense was no fun. The SEC is hard, but the NFL is a whole other level of difficult. Washington did not score an offense point. They had a 90-yard punt return for their only points of the game. The Eagles defense held them to 179 yards. The defense had 3 takeaways and 4 sacks. Darwin Walker was only credited with half a sack, but he was disruptive all game long.

2004 – PHI 27, ATL 10

The Eagles played their best defensive game of the year in the NFC title game. Michael Vick and the Falcons led the NFL in rushing, but only managed 99 yards against the Eagles. Jim Johnson put together a creative gameplan for attacking Vick and keeping him in the pocket. DE Derrick Burgess had 2 sacks. Vick couldn’t get out into space to work his magic. He was stuck in the pocket. He was sacked 4 times and held to just 26 rushing yards. Dawk had the hit of the game.

2005 – PHI 20, SD 17

The Eagles gave up 17 points and 291 yards. There isn’t anything special about those numbers. But the defense did a number on LaDainian Tomlinson, who was the best RB in the league. He had scored a TD in 18 straight games. He averaged more than 100 yards rushing per game coming into the contest. The Eagles defense wasn’t known for stopping the run, but they had one of those crazy games where they played at an elite level. LT finished the game with 17 carries for 7 yards. He didn’t have positive yards until the fourth quarter. He never got into the end zone. The Eagles won when Matt Ware ran back a blocked FG for a TD. Wild game in a very weird season.

2006 – PHI 23, DAL 7

Tony Romo found out that going against a Jim Johnson defense was no fun. He took over as QB in the middle of the season and the offense played at a Top 5 level. Their worst game was 17 points. This was Romo’s first start against the Eagles and it didn’t go well. The game was played on Christmas afternoon in Dallas and the Cowboys played like they drank too much egg nog. The Eagles allowed 201 yards and just 7 points. They sacked Romo 3 times and picked him off twice. This was a terrific Christmas present from the guys in green.

2008 – PHI 15, PIT 6

Big Ben came to Philly for the first time and it didn’t go well. The Eagles piled up 9 sacks and got a ton of pressure. They came up with 3 takeaways. The Steelers finished with 180 yards and struggled all game long. Neither offense played well, but the Eagles defense stole the show.

Dawk’s sack of Big Ben to seal the game is one of those moments that sticks in my head.

2008 – PHI 44, DAL 6

The Cowboys did gain 298 yards. But the Eagles defense made big play after big play. They had 5 takeaways and scored a pair of TDs. The winner of this game would take the NFC East title. Dallas fell behind 27-3 at halftime. Everything went right for the Eagles. That always makes you a bit nervous. Dallas came out in the third quarter and marched right down the field. Was this going to be another miracle Cowboy comeback?

No. Dawk made sure of that.

If you’re ever feeling down, just go watch highlights of that game. The Eagles dominated and took the division title.

2009 – PHI 38, CAR 10

The first game of the Sean McDermott era. Things got off to a great start. The Panthers were the top seed in the playoffs in 2008 and had high expectations for 2009. McDermott had other ideas. He came up with an aggressive, creative gameplan and Carolina had no answers. The Eagles finished with 7 takeaways and 5 sacks. That is one heck of a start. My biggest memory was Trent Cole lining up like a MLB and rushing up the middle. That wrinkle gave the Panthers fits. They only gained 169 yards for the game.

2014 – PHI 27, NYG 0

There weren’t many memorable games in the Bill Davis era, but he gave us a shutout of Eli Manning and the Giants. That gets this game a mention on the list. The defense only had one takeaway. They did sack Eli 6 times and kept him under pressure. The Giants took over in scoring territory and got inside the 10. They were stopped on downs. They only crossed midfield on their own once and that was late in the game. Connor Barwin led the way with 3 sacks and the Eagles controlled the game.

2018 – PHI 24, WAS 0

Jim Schwartz helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl in 2017. He topped that by delivering a shutout in 2018. Washington was limited to 89 total yards. Josh Johnson was the QB for them and that offense didn’t cross midfield until the fourth quarter. They never got inside the 30-yard line.

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