Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

This will be the first time the 49ers have travelled to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in a playoff game. The only other time they played was 1996, when SF beat Philly 14-0 in San Francisco.

There have been 13 different years both teams made the playoffs. 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022.

I actually pulled for the Eagles and Ty Detmer to beat SF in the 96 playoffs but they couldnt score. I thought there might also be a rematch of that crazy game in Philly in the 89 playoffs but was delighted the Rams beat the Eagles at the Vet ...

Yeah, no real history at all in that respect. I know things can change quite a bit in a week but after seeing SFO struggle in its last game now I'm thinking that PHI is the likely NFC representative in this year's S.B. (before last Sunday I was thinking that the 49ers - provided they got past the NFC entry based in TX, of course - were a good bet to get to Glendale).

Yep.

Bengals and Chiefs are also only playing in the playoffs for the second time. First time was last year.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... cin&yr=all

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:Yep.

Bengals and Chiefs are also only playing in the playoffs for the second time. First time was last year.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... cin&yr=all

The only other times that they were close were 1986 and 2005.

In 1986, the Bengals would have been in the playoffs (and on their way to KC for the WC game) if the Patriots would have lost to the Dolphins (in the last Dolphin game at the OB before Joe Robbie Stadium opened). However, the Pats were able to pull it out, and clinch the AFC East.

In 2005, the Chiefs were 10-6, but lost a tie-breaker to the Steelers, who went to Cincinnati instead (their first step in their march to Detroit for SB 40).

If the Birds are on all-cylinders as they were for the most part of '22 amidst their 8-0/13-1 start, then tomorrow's National Football Conference Championship Game at the Linc should be a Dandy (although I still think SF will win in the end either way)! Yes, their other playoff match was in '96 as already mentioned; and had Birds completed the rally in that '81 NFC Wild Card game vs Perkins'/rookie LT's bunch, then we would have had ourselves a Vermeil/Walsh showdown in the divisional round! I always thought a Philly (making it through the 'Fog') at San Fran NFCCG would have been intriguing. But not so the case had both met in the divisional round the following year; nor the year after that.

Notable NON-playoff games between both franchises?

Up-until-now, you got the obvious from that third Sunday in '89. And then you got the one five years later which seemed to mark a sudden downfall for San Fran, but of course we all know what happened that January. Don't think any other regular season affairs top those two in significance, but any others worth mentioning?

Buck Shaw, of course, HC'ed both franchises.

A game I want to collect but cant find, is the matchup between the Niners and Eagles to start the 1983 season. A rare saturday game, due to a scheduling conflict with the pennant winning Phillies, this was a good defensive game at the Stick, with the Eagles shutting down Montana and the offense, with Roger Craig making his debut and Wendall Tyler joining the team(A stupid trade from the RAMS)

Joe Pisarcik led the Birds to victory after relieving Jaworski and a strong game from Mike Quick, who will have a monster season. Had Quick not succumbed to injuries starting in 1988 and stayed healthy his entire career, he and Randall Cunningham might have made the HOF ...

Brian wolf wrote:A game I want to collect but cant find, is the matchup between the Niners and Eagles to start the 1983 season. A rare saturday game, due to a scheduling conflict with the pennant winning Phillies, this was a good defensive game at the Stick, with the Eagles shutting down Montana and the offense, with Roger Craig making his debut and Wendall Tyler joining the team(A stupid trade from the RAMS)

Joe Pisarcik led the Birds to victory after relieving Jaworski and a strong game from Mike Quick, who will have a monster season. Had Quick not succumbed to injuries starting in 1988 and stayed healthy his entire career, he and Randall Cunningham might have made the HOF ...

Of course the '83 opener! Swamp Fox's HC-debut with the Eagles. I've mentioned this one a few times here. The first two NFC champs of the '80s who each went 3-6 in the strike-shortened campaign; and get pitted against each other in this opener. Montana also didn't play the whole game, enter Guy Benjamin. Wendell made a late, costly fumble only for the Birds to give it right back! But a miracle Benjamin-to-Clark TD was all for naught due to a holding call. Eagles win and go off to a 4-2 start in which all four wins were on the road. Real playoff-looking but all for naught as well as they would win just one more game the rest of '83!

In each of Marion Campbell's two other years with Philly as their HC, the Eagles also played San Fran. Not as good a game as they gave the other SB-participant-to-be, Miami, but Eagles didn't do too shabby vs SF either in '84 at the Vet. The score was just 14-9 at the end of three quarters in an eventual 21-9 defeat. The following year they met at the Stick in a battle of 4-4s and Birds didn't give playoff-bound them a bad game either (24-13 at end of three, and the score stayed that way). Both wouldn't meet again until that '89 affair, hence we also never saw a Buddy-vs-Walsh pairing. Remember, their scheduled Week #3 meeting at the Stick in '87 ended up being cancelled.

Back to that '83 opener - if I ever did know that it was a Saturday game, I have since forgot until now. But I never at all knew there was a Phillies scheduling conflict involved. Yes, that pennant run...'83 WS was just like the '01 NBA Finals - Philly takes 'Game 1' on the road then that'd be it!

Yes, Mike Quick...not as strong a case as Sterling Sharpe, but still a case of injuries shortening his career from Canton (as well as, yes, helping to add to Cunningham's HOVG or HOF case).

I could be wrong on the Phillies conflicting with the Niners on that opening game but the Eagles were still a tough team at that time under Campbell but couldnt help out Jaworski enough with a running game once Montgomery had injury problems. Other than Quick, Jaws had no one else to throw to as well with Kenny Jackson a non-factor on the other side. Campbell's last year coaching the Eagles was still better than Ryan's first season in 1986.