The 10 (or so) Greatest Eagles Plays of the Decade

Share

The decade of the 2000s for the Eagles featured four playoff runs, a Super Bowl championship, the 10th-best record in the NFL and three NFC East titles (so far). So it’s been a good decade for the Eagles. They ran 10,660 offensive plays (6,217 passes, 4,443 runs), punted 715 times, attempted 317 field goals, returned 340 punts and onside kicked 16 times. What were the 10 (or so) best plays of the decade? We found them!

1. Philly Special
Feb. 4, 2018, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
Eagles 41, Patriots 33

An undrafted rookie running back flips the ball to an undrafted backup tight end who lobs it into the end zone to the backup quarterback for a Super Bowl touchdown just before halftime. Doesn’t get any better than that. There have been other unforgettable plays in Eagles history – 4th and 26, Chuck Bednarik stopping Jim Taylor on the final play of the 1960 NFL Championship Game, Randall Cunningham throwing a TD pass to Jimmie Giles after getting flattened by Carl Banks – but the Philly Special stands alone.

2. Graham Brady strip sack
Feb. 4, 2018, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
Eagles 41, Patriots 33

Tom Brady dropped back 50 times in the Super Bowl and was sacked once. But what a sack. Brandon Graham, playing with an ankle injury that required surgery, strip-sacked Brady at the Partriots’ 33-yard-line with 2:16 to go. Derek Barnett recovered, and four plays later Jake Elliott’s field goal gave the Eagles an eight-point lead. One Hail Mary scare later the Eagles were champions.

3. DeSean game-winning punt return TD as time expired
Dec. 19, 2010, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Eagles 38, Giants 31

The Eagles had already rallied to tie the game at 31 after trailing 31-10 six minutes into the fourth quarter. With 14 seconds left the Eagles forced the Giants to punt from their own 29-yard-line. DeSean Jackson muffed Matt Dodge’s punt at the 35, ran back and scooped the ball back up, then ran 65 yards through traffic, jig-jagging along the 1-yard-line as the clock ran down to 0:00 before eventually making his way into the end zone as the game ended. It remains the greatest 4th-quarter comeback in franchise history.

4. Zach Ertz Super Bowl game-winner
Feb. 4, 2018, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
Eagles 41, Patriots 33

Back to the Super Bowl. Patriots up 33-32 with 9:22 left. Eagles take over at their own 25. They face a 4th-and-1 near midfield and convert it on a short Foles-to-Ertz pass, then, with 2:25 left on 3rd-and-7 from the 11, Foles connects again with Ertz for the game-winner. Not until a booth review confirmed the touchdown did the Eagles officially have the lead for good. It was the latest game-winning 3rd-down TD pass in Super Bowl history.

5. Corey Clement miracle TD
Feb. 4, 2018, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
Eagles 41, Patriots 33

Four Super Bowl plays? Yup. Could have picked more! Like the Ertz TD Clement’s miracle touchdown catch in the back of the end zone was challenged by a booth review and upheld. Clement, a rookie running back, beat double coverage and caught Foles’ perfect pass in the extreme rear of the end zone. It remains the longest TD catch ever by a rookie running back in a Super Bowl.

6. Shady 57-yard go-ahead TD in 4Q for lead in snow vs. Lions
Dec. 8, 2013, Lincoln Financial Field
Eagles 34, Lions 20

The Eagles trailed the Lions 20-14 early in the fourth quarter and were having all kinds of trouble moving the ball in the snow that fell all day at the Linc. Then, on a 1st-and-10 from the Eagles’ 43, LeSean McCoy blasted behind left tackle and trampled 57 yards through the snow for the go-ahead touchdown on the way to a 34-20 win. McCoy has more 4th-quarter rushing touchdowns of 40 yards or more than anybody in NFL history (8) and none were more fun to watch than that one.

7. Vick to DeSean, 88 yard TD, first play of game
Nov. 15, 2010, FedEx Field, Landover, Md.
Eagles 59, Redskins 28

The Redskins had beaten the Eagles six weeks earlier at the Linc despite a poor performance from Donovan McNabb. That didn’t stop McNabb from cackling after the game about how the Eagles had made a mistake trading him. In the rematch, it only took 18 seconds for the Eagles to take a 7-0 lead on Michael Vick’s spectacular 88-yard TD pass to DeSean Jackson. The Eagles were up 28-0 before the first quarter was over. That remains the longest TD pass on the first play of a game in the last 25 years.

8. Jake Elliott 61-yard game-winning FG vs. Giants
Sept. 24, 2017, Lincoln Financial Field
Eagles 27, Giants 24

It was early in the Super Bowl season, and the Eagles were 1-1 and coming off a loss in Kansas City when they found themselves tied with the Giants and on their own 38-yard-line with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter. Carson Wentz fired a 19-yard strike to Alshon Jeffery, setting up Jake Elliott for a 61-yard field goal attempt with one second on the clock. Elliott crushed the kick, the longest in Eagles history, 3rd-longest walkoff FG in history and longest ever by an NFL rookie.

9. Patrick Robinson pick-6 in 2017 NFC Championship Game
Jan. 21, 2018, Lincoln Financial Field
Eagles 38, Vikings 7

The Eagles desperately needed a big play to turn the momentum in their favor in the 2017 NFC Championship Game, and they got it from slot corner Patrick Robinson. The Vikings took a quick 7-0 lead and were driving again when Case Keenum dropped back to pass, Chris Long tipped his arm and Robinson stepped in front of his errant pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. By halftime the Eagles were up 24-7 on their way to a historic 38-7 win that propelled them to the Super Bowl.

10. Carson 4th-down TD pass to Alshon vs. Rams after ACL
Dec. 10, 2017, L.A. Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Eagles 43, Rams 35

The Eagles trailed the Rams 28-24 in the third quarter but had a 1st-and-goal on the Rams’ 2-yard-line. Carson Wentz scrambled for the go-ahead touchdown, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty on Lane Johnson. That’s when we all noticed Wentz limping. But he stayed in the game and after two Corey Clement runs got the Eagles back to the 2-yard-line, Wentz threw a TD pass to Alshon Jeffery on a 4th-and-goal. Turns out he had suffered a knee injury, and his season was over. But not before he threw a huge 4th-down touchdown in a pivotal game over an 11-win team on the road with a torn ACL.

11. Nick Foles to Golden Tate in Chicago
Jan. 6, 2019, Soldier Field, Chicago
Eagles 16, Bears 15

On Sunday, Golden Tate will be trying to keep the Eagles out of the playoffs. Last year, he helped the Eagles advance in the playoffs. Tate didn’t do much after he joined the Eagles in the middle of the season, but with the Eagles trailing the Bears 15-10 and facing a 4th-and-2 with a minute left in the Eagles-Bears wild-card game, Tate caught a 2-yard TD pass from Nick Foles. It was the go-ahead score, and it turned out to be the game-winning score when Cody Parkey double-doinked his 43-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

More on the Eagles

Contact Us