PHILADELPHIA -- The 2023 Philadelphia Eagles could do down in franchise history for all the wrong reasons. Philadelphia is the first team to start 10-1 and lose five-or-more games since the 1986 New York Jets, losing five of six to close the regular season and etching their own place in NFL history.
Philadelphia limped into the postseason at 11-6, making sure the 10-1 start had some merit towards making the postseason. Losing five of six heading into the playoffs isn't ideal for a franchise with Super Bowl aspirations, even though history has shown teams that limped into the postseason can still make a run.
But even if the Eagles do bow out in the wild card round, this collapse might not be the worst in franchise history. The Eagles have experienced these late-season meltdowns before.
1961 (10-4 record, missed playoffs)
The 1961 season couldn't have started any better for the defending NFL champions. Timmy Brown returned the opening kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown and the Eagles beat the Cleveland Browns in the opener. There were significant changes from the title team, as Norm Van Brocklin (reigning league MVP) retired and line coach Nick Skorich replaced the retired Buck Shaw as head coach.
Led by Sonny Jurgensen, who led the league with 3,723 passing yards and 32 touchdowns, the Eagles jumped out to a 7-1 start. But then All-Pro cornerback Tom Brookshier went down with a broken leg and Philadelphia went 3-3 to close the year.
Philadelphia finished a half game behind the New York Giants (only division champions played for the championship), ending the season at 10-4. The Eagles missed the playoffs and an opportunity to repeat, not making the postseason again until 1978.
1981 (10-6 record, lost in wild card round)
The Eagles were coming off their first Super Bowl appearance and were immediate contenders to go back to the Super Bowl. Philadelphia started 6-0 and rushed out to a 9-2 start before collapsing in December. Back-to-back fourth-quarter collapses to the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins dropped the Eagles to 9-4, while another blown late lead against Washington had the Eagles at 9-5.
The Eagles could still snatch the NFC East, but allowed 21 unanswered points to the Dallas Cowboys after taking a 10-0 lead in a 21-10 loss. Philadelphia needed to win and the Green Bay Packers to lose to make the playoffs in Week 17. The Eagles turned the ball over five times and still won, 38-0, over the St. Louis Cardinals, making the playoffs after the Packers lost to the New York Jets to finish 10-6.
Even with the No. 1 defense in points and yards allowed, the Eagles had two special teams fumbles and lost, 27-21, to the New York Giants in the wild card round at Veterans Stadium. The Eagles cut the deficit to 27-21 after going down 20-0, but were unable to get the ball back.
Philadelphia wouldn't make the playoffs again until 1988 and wouldn't reach the Super Bowl until 2004. The Dick Vermeil-era was slowly on the brink of extinction.
1994 (7-9 record, missed playoffs)
This is arguably the worst collapse in Eagles history. Philadelphia started 7-2 and beat former head coach Buddy Ryan with a 17-7 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Fred Barnett caught 11 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the win as the Eagles were cruising amongst the best in the NFC.
They didn't win another game. Bill Belichick's Cleveland Browns started the skid, followed by Ryan beating Philadelphia in Arizona the next week to drop the Eagles to 7-4. The Eagles continued to fall, committing 13 turnovers during the seven-game slide.
The icing on the cake was in Week 17 against the three-win Cincinnati Bengals. Philadelphia gave up the tying field goal with three seconds left in regulation and then fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Cincinnati kicked a field goal to win, capping the season at 7-9. The Eagles had a 27-10 lead in the third quarter of the season finale.
Head coach Rich Kotite was fired two days later, the first under owner Jeffrey Lurie. No team would go on to have seven wins or more and lose seven straight to end the season until the 2022 Tennessee Titans.
1996 (10-6 record, lost in wild card round)
This collapse doesn't get talked about as much as the other ones because the Eagles did win two straight games to close out the regular season. Ty Detmer came in for an injured Rodney Peete and led the Eagles to a 7-2 record, upsetting the Cowboys, 31-21, at Texas Stadium. James Willis intercepted a Troy Aikman pass in the end zone in the final minutes, lateraling the ball to Troy Vincent down the right sideline for a 103-yard touchdown return to give the Eagles a 31-21 win.
The Eagles followed that up with four losses in their next five games to fall to 8-6, the final one a 27-point loss to the Indianapolis Colts on national television. The Eagles snapped the skid by rallying from a 20-7 deficit in the second half, taking the lead for good on a Detmer touchdown pass to Irving Fryar in the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia ended up losing, 14-0, to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild card round, as Detmer exited the game for Mark Rypien. The Eagles would miss the playoffs the next two seasons, leading to Ray Rhodes' firing after the 1998 season.
2014 (10-6 record, missed playoffs)
The most recent collapse culminated with the beginning of the end of the Chip Kelly era, as the Eagles started 9-3 and led the NFC East after a 33-10 beatdown of the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Philadelphia was 3-1 with backup quarterback Mark Sanchez and had an 88.9% chance of making the playoffs after beating Dallas.
The collapse began immediately after. The Eagles had seven giveaways in a three-game losing streak, two of which were at home to the Seahawks and Cowboys. Those giveaways contributed to 30 of the 89 points Philadelphia gave up during the skid.
After a loss to the Cowboys in which Dez Bryant had three touchdown catches, the Eagles needed to beat Washington in a "win-or-go home" scenario. Cody Parkey missed two field goals (from 34 and 46 yards) as the Eagles fell, 27-24, and were eliminated from the postseason.
Kelly took over the front office shortly after in a power move and overhauled the roster in 2015, leading to a 7-9 record. He was fired prior to the end of that season, and Doug Pederson took over another roster overhaul. The Eagles won the Super Bowl in Pederson's second season (2017).
