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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Best of the 2000’s

Let’s look back at some Eagles players of the past. I’ve put together my All-Eagles team for the 2000’s. My only requirement is that the player needed to start for at least two years as an Eagle.

OFFENSE

WR DeSean Jackson
WR Terrell Owens
WR James Thrash
QB Donovan McNabb
RB Brian Westbrook
TE Chad Lewis
LT Tra Thomas
LG Todd Herremans
C Hank Fraley
RG Shawn Andrews
RT Jon Runyan

DJax, TO and Thrash? DeSean joined the team in 2008 and was an impact player immediately. His speed was unlike anything we had seen from an Eagles player. TO was so much fun for one season. 2004 was magical. Things went haywire after that, but we can’t ignore how good he was when he did play. Thrash posted good numbers in 2001 and 2002. They dipped in 2003 (which is part of why the team went to get TO). I thought about Kevin Curtis, but he only had the one full season (2007). Injuries limited him after that.

McNabb was great. He wasn’t quite Hall of Fame level, but was a special player for a long time. He carried the offense on his back with athleticism early on before developing into a gifted passer. Why did he hate those worms? (old school reference for some right there)

Westy was a truly great player. Knee injuries cut his career short, but he was a weapon from 2002-2009. Westy was a gifted runner and could be a dynamic receiver. He was deadly on screens. He was a shifty runner with good burst. He was also strong enough to break arm tackles. And he was a really good return specialist before the team realized he was too valuable on offense.

Lewis got the nod over Brent Celek mainly due to longevity. Lewis never posted great numbers, but some of that had to do with the offense still developing at the time. Lewis did catch 209 passes during the decade.

Thomas was the best LT of the 90’s as well as the 2000’s. He was an elite pass blocker and solid run blocker. He protected McNabb’s blindside and helped the Eagles have a ton of success. Herremans went from a D2 school to starting in the NFL for a decade. Fraley was nicknamed “Honeybuns” and that alone makes him special. He started 71 games for the Birds. He wasn’t the biggest or best athlete, but Fraley was good out in space and did a solid job overall. Andrews is a complicated subject. At his peak, he was the guard version of Lane Johnson or Jason Peters. Andrews was special. Unfortunately he was a little kid in a man’s body. He preferred playing video games to playing football. That, combined with some injuries, limited him to 50 starts as an Eagle. But boy was he great in 2006. Runyan’s impact on the Eagles can’t be overstated. The OL had been an issue for a long time. Runyan arrived in 2000. He brought talent, stability and attitude. Lots of attitude. Some will say he was dirty. I think he just didn’t hear the whistle because of crowd noise.

DEFENSE

DE Hugh Douglas
DT Corey Simon
DT Mike Patterson
DE Trent Cole
MLB Jeremiah Trotter
LB Carlos Emmons
SS Quintin Mikell
FS Brian Dawkins
CB Asante Samuel
CB Troy Vincent
CB Sheldon Brown

Douglas was good and he was fun. He talked non-stop on and off the field. He made the Pro Bowl from 2000-2002 and had 37 sacks in that span. Cole wasn’t as big/strong as Douglas, but he was a relentless rusher. He gave maximum effort on every single snap. Cole had 47 sacks from 2005-2009.

Simon was drafted 6th overall in 2000. He sacked Troy Aikman on his first ever play. Not a bad way to start a career. Simon was a quick, disruptive player and was key to the defense early on. He gained weight and lost some of his athleticism. A contract dispute ended his time in Philly. Patterson entered the NFL as a 1-gap DT, but got bigger and stronger over time and became a terrific run defender.

Trot was a sledgehammer for Jim Johnson. He would attack blockers and blow up running plays. You just don’t see 260-pound MLBs anymore. The Axeman was a unique player and Johnson got the most out of him. Emmons signed as a free agent in 2000 and was the SAM. He could play the run and cover TEs. Emmons didn’t post gaudy numbers. He was just a reliable player who helped the defense play at a high level. There wasn’t a third LB worthy of putting on this list so I went with three CBs.

Dawk made the Pro Bowl six times between 2000-2008. He was the rare dude who could do it all. Great blitzer. Punishing hitter. Playmaking centerfielder. Mikell was a UDFA who earned his way on the roster by standing out on special teams. He got mixed in on defense over time and became a full time starter in 2007. Mikell made the Pro Bowl in 2009.

Samuel signed as a free agent in 2008 and helped the Eagles reach the NFC title game. He picked off 9 passes in 2009 and made the Pro Bowl both years. Vincent was the team’s best corner from 2000-2003. Brown only missed one start between 2004 and 2009. He didn’t have elite talent, but Brown was a very good hitter and tackler. He picked off 26 passes in the decade. He never made the Pro Bowl, but he was a good corner for a long time.

THAT hit by Sheldon Brown. (Jan. 13, 2007) pic.twitter.com/JV4VLjHr5E

— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) October 24, 2022

SPECIAL TEAMS

LS Mike Bartrum
P Sean Landeta
K David Akers
RS Brian Mitchell
STer Ike Reese

Bartrum was the snapper from 2000-2006. He also caught 4 TDs as an Eagle (backup TE). Landeta punted for the Eagles from 1999-2002 and again in 2005. Akers was the best kicker in team history. He might be losing that title to Jake Elliott, but Akers is still a great Eagles player. Mitch was signed to be a backup RB and STer. He turned out to be a great RS, giving a big boost to the early Reid teams. My best memory of him is Mitch running through a kicker’s arm tackle and injuring the kicker. Mitch wasn’t big, but he was strong. Reese was a role player on defense. He stood out on STs and was a key member of the teams that went to four straight NFC title games.

JUST MISSED

There are always guys you hate to leave off.

Jamaal Jackson started 71 games for the Eagles in the decade (like Fraley). Jackson was big at 330 and gave the Eagles a powerful inside presence.

Jevon Kearse never became the dominating rusher the Eagles hoped, but he was very good in 2004 and had some great moments overall.

Lito Sheppard was great in 2004 and made a ton of plays in 2006. He was wildly inconsistent though. He could have been a star if he played up to his potential on a regular basis.

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