July 17, 2024
Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports
Brandon Graham and the 2017 Eagles defense rose to the occasion time and time again.
One of the best parts of being a sportswriter is getting to answer questions no one asked.
Which teams in Philadelphia sports history have had the best offenses ever? Which have had the best defenses ever?
The ultimate goal of this statistical and mental exercise is to eventually tackle an ambitious list, ranking the best offenses and defenses of all time across the four major teams in the city.
The Eagles' offense has been impressive in recent seasons with Jalen Hurts and slew of weapons to sling to. How do its most recent iterations rank? Do the Andy Reid/Jim Johnson defenses take the cake? Or do our writers prefer the 70 sack team from a few seasons ago?
Our sports staff took time to research and rank their picks for the top offenses and defenses. Below is a look at the averaged out ranking order of our selections for the five best offenses in Eagles franchise history:
Shamus Clancy: Stop me if you've heard this one before... Doug Peterson led a backup quarterback to score 41 points in the Super Bowl against the greatest defensive mind of all time. Whether it was Carson Wentz or Nick Foles under center, a coaching nucleus that was in an all-time groove, the league's best offensive line and a group of reliable gamers at the skill position spots made this the most special offense in franchise history.
38 points against the NFL's top defense with a backup QB.
41 points against Bill Belichick and the greatest football dynast ever with a backup QB.
Never forget it.
Evan Macy: This was a record-setting offense in a lot of ways for the Eagles. Jalen Hurts was a touchdown machine and A.J. Brown had the best season for an Eagles wideout in history. This team had a really good defense too, but the 28 points per game they scored was the main reason they dominated the regular season. It will be interesting to see how this era of Eagles' teams is remembered when all is said in done should they fail to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
| Player | 2022 Stats |
| Jalen Hurts | 35 total TD |
| Miles Sanders | 1,269 yards, 11 TD |
| DeVonta Smith | 1,196 yards, 7 TD |
| A.J. Brown | 1,496 yards, 11 TD |
Evan: During 12 Micheal Vick starts, the one-time superstar threw for 21 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding nine rushing TD and 676 rushing yards. Extrapolating these figures to a 16-game season: 4,042 passing yards, 28 passing TD, 12 rushing TD and 901 rushing yards. That would make for a team record for touchdowns in a season and passing yards.
| Team | Points | Notes |
| 2014 Eagles | 474 | McCoy 1,4.74 yds, Maclin 1,318 yds |
| 2013 Eagles | 422 | McCoy 2,146 yds, Jackson 1,332 yds |
| 2002 Eagles | 415 | Staley 1,570 yds, McNabb 23 TD |
And now on to the five best defenses in Eagles franchise history:
Shamus: Not only is this the best defense in Eagles history, it's the best D in NFL history. The '91 Eagles were No. 1 against both the pass and the rush. Reggie White, a top-two defender ever, was a beast and was flanked by other First-Team All-Pro choices Clyde Simmons and Jerome Brown.
| Player | 1991 Stats |
| Eric Allen, Wes Hopkins | 5 INT each |
| Reggie White | 15 sacks |
| Clyde Simmons | 13 sacks |
| Jerome Brown | 9 sacks |
| Seth Joyner | 6 FF, 2 TD |
It's a shame that an inept Eagles offense kept this team from reaching the postseason. A Week 1 Randall Cunningham injury doomed this season and, especially in a pre-2017 world, stood as the biggest "what-if" in franchise history. Imagine how many lives throughout the Delaware Valley would've been radically altered if this were the first Birds squad to capture a Super Bowl title. The defense held up their end of the bargain.
Evan: The defensive line was the headline for the 2022 Eagles' D. Here's a look at the distribution of their 70 sacks, the second most ever:
| Player | Sacks |
| Hasson Reddick | 16 |
| Brandon Graham | 11 |
| Javon Hargraves | 11 |
| Josh Swear | 11 |
| Fletcher Cox | 7 |
| 9 other players | 14 combined |
Who would have thought that pushing your opponent back 70 times would set your entire defense up for continued success?
Shamus: The '17 defense made the single most important play in the history of Philadelphia sports:
👀🏈 Brandon Graham's strip sack gets the slow-mo treatment from @nflfilms @insidetheNFL 🔥#SuperBowl#Eagles pic.twitter.com/r8WECMtcw0
— Fanatics View (@fanaticsview) February 6, 2018
Holding Tom Brady at the peak of his powers to "only" 33 points is an achievement in its own right, but they were vicious throughout the regular season as well. You know the vibes were at an all-time high for this team when they were doing the electric slide celebration mid game:
⚠️ Electric slide celeb alert ⚠️
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) November 26, 2017
The @Eagles have all the moves#OnlyInTheNFL | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/Ftqpg7tQhA
Legends.
Nick: A run to the Super Bowl that fell just short is always a tough act to follow, but the '81 Eagles defense did return on a mission, even though it didn't progress nearly as far. Still, they locked teams down during the regular season, holding seven out of 16 opponents to 13 points or less on the way to a Wild Card berth, with All-Pro Charlie Johnson and Pro Bowlers Frank LeMaster and Roynell Young leading the charge.
Shamus: I had this defense No. 2 on my individual list. This was the peak of the Jim Johnson era. Brian Dawkins and Troy Vincent were First-Team All-Pro selections. Hugh Douglas made the Pro Bowl with 12.5 sacks. Bobby Taylor locked down opposing receivers and received a Pro Bowl nod, too. The defense under Johnson's leadership was second in points, fourth in yards and first in third down conversion rate. This was unquestionably a Super Bowl-quality defense. Just don't ask Philadelphians what happened in the final game at Veterans Stadium...
| Team | Points | Notes |
| 2001 Eagles | 208 | Dawkins All-Pro |
| 1980 Eagles | 222 | Led NFL in Points allowed |
| 2004 Eagles | 260 | 5 defensive Pro Bowlers |
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