1995 Philadelphia Eagles: A Fresh Start & A Playoff Trip

The four years since Buddy Ryan’s dismissal following the 1990 season had been frustrating ones in Philadelphia. The Eagles played competitive football, going 36-28 in that span, but they had missed the playoffs three of the four years. Ray Rhodes was hired as the new head coach and the 1995 Philadelphia Eagles returned the postseason, then did some damage when they got there.

Philadelphia went out and got a big-name free agent, signing running back Rickey Watters away from the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers. In spite of a mediocre offensive line, Watters rushed for almost 1,300 yards. Charlie Garner was a solid change-of-pace back, going for over 500 yards and averaging better than five a pop.

But there was instability at quarterback. Randall Cunningham was still the starter, but he was on thin ice. The Eagles brought in a veteran backup, signing Rodney Peete. Before the first quarter of the season was out, Peete had the job.

Although in either case, throwing the ball was not a Philly strength in 1995. Peete’s final numbers of 57% completion rate, 6.2 yards-per-attempt and a 3.7% interception rate all put him in the lower third of the league. Calvin Williams and Fred Barnett were respectable receivers, but no one was going to fear the Eagle passing game. And the offense would ultimately rank 21^st in the NFL for points scored.

Philadelphia’s defense was built on a good front seven. William Fuller was a Pro Bowler with 13 sacks from his defensive end spot. Andy Harmon was on the interior and had 11 sacks of his own. Linebacker William Thomas intercepted seven passes and made the Pro Bowl. The Eagle defense wasn’t great, and it was young—a pair of rookie starters with Mike Mamula at end and Bobby Taylor on the corner. But they were competitive and finished 15^th in the league for points allowed.

The season got off to a less than auspicious beginning, Playing at home against a mediocre Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, Philadelphia couldn’t protect Cunningham, as he was sacked five times and was unable to get the ball down the field—or in the end zone. The Eagles lost 21-6.

A Sunday Night visit to Arizona, where the Cardinals were headed for a terrible season, was the right tonic. Thomas got the scoring started when he intercepted a pass and took it 37 yards to the house. Philadelphia dominated the line of scrimmage, winning rush yardage 168-30, en route to a comfortable 31-19 win.

San Diego had gone to the Super Bowl in 1994, and the Chargers would return to the playoffs in 1995. They came into Philadelphia for Week 3. Cunningham threw three touchdown passes—but Philadelphia’s offense also gave up a touchdown, as did their special teams, leading to a 27-21 loss. It got worse on a road trip to face the mediocre Oakland Raiders. In spite of taking a 17-0 lead, the Eagles gave up the next 48 points, including two defensive touchdowns.

Reeling at 1-3, Rhodes pulled the trigger on a quarterback change. Cunningham had electrified Philadelphia since the latter part of the 1980s, and he would have a career revival three years later in Minnesota. But his time in Philly had run its course, and he had started his final game as an Eagle. Peete got the job.

Ball control was the key to a stop-the-bleeding win at New Orleans. Philadelphia held the ball for nearly 40 minutes and churned out a 15-10 win over a so-so Saints team. The offense had to do a little more the following week at home against Washington. While the Eagles lost three fumbles, they also kept trading blows with the Redskins in a back-and-forth game. Watters generating 139 yards rushing and 90 more receiving. The game went to overtime, and Philadelphia pulled it out 37-34.

Another bad NFC East opponent was up next, with a road trip to play the New York Giants. Watters ran for 122 yards. With a 7-0 lead, defensive back Mike Zordich returned a fumble 58 yards for a score. The Eagles won 17-14 and went into their bye week at 4-3, with reasons to feel hopeful.

The Rams, playing their first year in St. Louis, were off to a good start and would stay in the playoff race all season. In a tough defensive game, Philadelphia led 13-9. This time it was defensive tackle Kevin Johnson coming up with the scoop-n-score, sealing a 20-9 win for the home crowd.

A Monday Night road trip to Dallas would open November. The Cowboys had won the Super Bowl in 1992 and 1993, reached the NFC Championship Game in 1994, and were setting the pace for the entire league so far in ’95. Dallas and San Francisco were seen as head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league in this era. And it certainly played out that way on Monday Night.

The Eagles hung in the game into the third quarter, trailing 17-12. But they had no passing game and couldn’t stop the Cowboy running game. The four-game winning streak ended with a 34-12 loss.

Another prime-time date was on deck, this time with the Denver Broncos coming into Philly for a Sunday Night date. This was the John Elway Era, but Elway was out with an injury and the Broncos were en route to an 8-8 season. Peete was sharp, going 25/37 for 264 yards, with Barnett catching seven balls for 105 yards. The Eagles cruised to a 31-13 win.

The winning ways continued in the home rematch against the Giants. Watters and Garner combined for 142 yards, Peete was a mistake-free 14/20 for 133 yards and the result was 28-19 win. The following week in Washington, Watters rushed for 124 yards, including a fourth-quarter TD that pulled out a 14-7 victory.

Philadelphia was soaring at 8-4. The NFC East seemed out of reach, with Dallas sitting on a 10-2 mark. But the Eagles were the top wild-card team—a prize that came with a home game in the three-division conference alignment that existed until 2002. They had a two-game cushion on simply making the postseason, and with a 7-2 conference record, the tiebreaker position was strong.

The Eagles responded by missing an opportunity. The Cowboys lost to the Redskins, but Philadelphia did not play well in a road game at the mediocre Seattle Seahawks. The Birds were outrushed 167-69. While Peete threw for 200 yards, he was 19/36. The result was a 26-14 loss. Philadelphia stayed in the top wild-card spot at 8-5, but there were now five different teams at 7-6 chasing them—and the Cowboys were on deck.

The cold, windy early afternoon game did not start well. Peete threw a Pick-6, and the Eagles dug themselves a 17-3 hole. But the defense was playing well, forcing Troy Aikman into a rough game. Peete settled down and played high-percentage football, going 20/29 for 187 yards. Watters rushed for 112 yards. Philadelphia pulled even 17-17 as the game went deep into the fourth quarter.

Then came the sequence this game is remembered for. Facing a 4^th-and-1 deep in their own end, Dallas decided to go for it. Philadelphia stuffed them. But a timeout meant the play didn’t count. The Cowboys went for it again. The Eagle front four stuffed them again. They kicked a field goal and won 20-17. National media lit up Dallas head coach Barry Switzer. And Philadelphia, quite improbably, had a shot at the NFC East. They were 9-5, one game out and had the tiebreaker on division record. And they continued to hold the top wild-card position.

Arizona came east for the rematch (the Cardinals were an NFC East team until the realignment of 2002). Philadelphia fell behind 17-0, but Derrick Witherspoon gave them a boost with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Fred Williams caught seven passes for 105 yards. The Eagles rallied for a 21-20 win and clinched a playoff spot.

The win also secured the top wild-card and the 4-seed. Dallas had survived a scare against the New York Giants. Philadelphia would close the season by visiting the Chicago Bears, who were in a must-win spot in a multi-team race for the final playoff berth. If the Eagles won on Christmas Eve afternoon, they could wait for Christmas Night, when the Cowboys were in Arizona, to see if the division title might also come their way.

Playing a desperate team, Philadelphia was outmuscled at the line of scrimmage in Solider Field. They were outrushed 181-44, Peete was sacked four times, and the result was a 20-14 loss. The Eagles would settle for the wild-card, but there was still a lot of excitement as they got set to host a playoff game.

The Detroit Lions were a hot team with an explosive offense. The great running back, Barry Sanders, was the lynchpin, and the passing game focused on All-Pro receiver Herman Moore. While pedestrian defensively, Detroit could score points in a hurry and they were on a roll coming into this late Saturday afternoon matchup.

Garner got the scoring started with a 15-yard touchdown run, but the Lions answered. In a 7-7 tie after the first quarter, Philadelphia then unleashed one of the great haymakers in the history of the NFL playoffs.

Peete found Barnett for a 22-yard touchdown pass. Veteran corner Barry Wilburn returned an interception to the house. Watters ran for a touchdown. Peete went on top again, 43 yards to Rob Carpenter. In a stunning development, the Eagles ripped off 31 points in the second quarter alone and blew this game wide open.

The defense was collecting turnovers, with six different players intercepting passes, and a fumble recovery mixed in. Detroit was unable to use Sanders and the running game, and Philly enjoyed a 189-72 edge on the ground. Peete went 17/25 for 270 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Barnett caught eight balls for 109 yards.

It was one long party in old Veterans Stadium and the lead rose as high as 51-7. A flurry of Lion points at the end made the final 58-37, but even that doesn’t tell the tale of how devastating this was.

Philadelphia was set for Round 3 against Dallas in the early Sunday afternoon spot on Divisional Round Weekend. The Eagles continued to play the Cowboys tough into the second quarter, with a 3-3 tie. But the drive for a field goal had been costly—Peete was knocked out of the game, just at the point of the year when he was playing his best football. Cunningham made a last appearance as an Eagle, but he didn’t get help from the running game, and Dallas churned out 153 yards in the ground. By halftime, the Cowboys had opened up a 17-3 lead. Unlike early December, there would be no rallying from this deficit. This time, Dallas closed out a 30-11 win en route to a Super Bowl title.

1995 was still a good year for Philadelphia, and they returned to the playoffs in 1996. This ’95 season was the start of a respectable two-year run for Rhodes before a collapse in 1997.