A Brief History of Every Eagles-Packers Playoff Game

On Sunday the Eagles will take their first step on a path they hope will end with a parade coming down Broad Street.

In order for that to happen though, they still have four games they need to win. The first game will be abasing the Green Bay Packers, a team that the Eagles are very familiar with when it comes to the playoffs. How familiar you ask? This game will be the fourth time these two teams have matched up with each other in their history. Currently, the Eagles lead the Packers 2-1 in these three games, but Green Bay has a chance to play spoiler and tie the series up this weekend. If this game ends up being anything like the previous three, then fans on both sides are in for a treat. So let’s take a look back at the previous three times the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers faced off in the playoffs.

1960 NFL Championship Game

This game, which the Eagles won 17-13, is famous for two reasons. First, this was the only ever playoff game that legendary coach Vince Lombardi lost. Following this loss, Lombardi would go on to win three NFL Championships followed by the first two Super Bowls before retirement. When you beat a coach who is as synonymous with winning as Lombardi, it is something your franchise will remember forever, especially considering this would be the Eagles’ third and final NFL Championship, as well as their final championship victory period until Super Bowl LII in the 2017 season.

The second reason this game is famous is because of this photo.

I mean what more can you say about this one? Legendary Eagle and Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik celebrates a victory and makes the game-sealing tackle by simultaneously smoking a cigar and a cigarette. Safe to say you’ll never see anything like this again, which is why this photo will live on forever as a testament to a bygone era of sports.

2003 NFC Divisional Game

Eagles fans will know this game by one simple phrase: “4th and 26.” With a trip to the NFC Championship on the line the Eagles were trailing the Packers 17-14 late in the fourth quarter and running out of time and options. The Eagles had the ball deep in their own territory and were facing a 4th and 26. All the Packers had to do was get a stop. Actually, all the Packers had to do was ensure that the Eagles did not advance the ball more than a quarter of the length of the entire field. Seems simple enough, but Donovan McNabb took the snap and fired a perfect strike to Freddie Mitchell, who was taken down right at the line to gain. For a first-round draft pick, Mitchell had an extremely disappointing career, but his name will always be connected to this pivotal play and let him live on in Eagles immortality.

The Eagles would send the game to overtime, where another legendary Eagle and Hall of Famer, Brian Dawkins, picked off Brett Favre on a throw that was so bad you’d swear Dawkins was the intended target. This set up the game-winning field goal, ending the game at 20-17 and marking the second time the Eagles topped Green Bay in the playoffs.

2010 Wild Card Game

This was the game that the Packers finally had the Eagles number. 2010 marked the first year with Michael Vick under center for the Birds, and was an up-and-down one, to say the least. This was the first year after trading away McNabb, so there were plenty of adjustments, but also plenty of high points, such as the Miracle at the New Meadowlands. The hope was that this up-and-down team would be trending up as the playoffs rolled around, but that was sadly not the case.

This again was a game where the Eagles trailed late but still had a chance to take the lead, and it almost felt as though we were going to see another 4th and 26 scenario play out once again. Unfortunately for the Eagles, this did not end up being the case. Instead of Freddie Mitchell, Vick’s underperforming wide receiver target was Riley Cooper. Actually, that’s not fair, as Cooper was a fifth-round pick rookie who was not expected to do much for the team in 2010. Even so, Cooper only had 18 targets all year prior to this game, so why Vick decided to throw it to him we’ll never know. What we do know, however, is that there were roughly three Packers defenders surrounding Cooper before the ball even hit his hands. Packers cornerback Tramon Williams made sure that the ball never even got the chance, picking it off and sealing the 21-16 victory for Green Bay.

Now we get to see these two teams battle it out once again. I don’t know what this game will have in store, but if history is any indication of what’s to come, I wouldn’t recommend missing even a second of this game.

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