Who Are The Philadelphia Eagles' Biggest Rivals?

The Philadelphia Eagles’ main rivals are the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Washington Commanders. The Eagles were established back in 1933 and are one of the oldest teams in the NFL. The Eagles were able to capture three NFL Championships before the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. These occurred in 1948, 1949, and 1960. Despite being one of the oldest teams in the NFL, the Eagles won their first and only Super Bowl in 2017, when they defeated the New England Patriots. The Eagles have had a few eras of success, including the early 1980s and early 2000s. These eras have created many rivalries for the midnight green and black; keep reading to find out.

New York Giants

The New York Giants are the Eagles’ biggest rivals. The two teams have faced off a total of 183 times in their regular season histories, with the Eagles leading the head-to-head matchup  93-88-2. The Eagles and Giants have also faced off in the postseason five times, with the Eagles also leading that series 3-2.

One of the two teams’ more iconic playoff games came in 2007, when the Giants and Eagles faced off in the 2006 NFC Wild Card Game. The Eagles held a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, which quickly evaporated when Eli Manning found Plaxico Burress in the end zone to tie up the game. The Eagles would get the last laugh, as quarterback Jeff Garcia and running back Brian Westbrook led a slow and methodical drive to put the Birds in field goal range. David Akers kicked a field goal as time expired and the Eagles won the game 23-20.

The Eagles-Giants rivalry hit new heights in 2010 when the two teams faced off on December 19th for the very first time at MetLife Stadium. The Giants led 31-10 with a little over seven minutes on the clock. The Eagles climbed all the way back thanks to heroic efforts from Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy. The score was 31-31 when the Giants were forced to punt with a few seconds left. DeSean Jackson returned the punt back for a touchdown as time expired, completing the unbelievable comeback and marking the first time in NFL history a punt return won a game. The game was named “The Miracle at the Meadowlands.”

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are another of the Eagles’ biggest rivals. The Cowboys and the Eagles have faced off a total of 128 times, with the Cowboys leading the head-to-head series 73-55. The two teams have also faced off four times in the playoffs, with Dallas winning three out of the four matchups. The Eagles and Cowboys have a particularly heated rivalry, with fans citing a mutual hatred for the other team. One of the key reasons for the rivalry is that both teams play in the NFC East, meaning they play each other twice per season.

One of their most memorable games in recent history came in 2008, when the winner of a Week 17 matchup would get into the playoffs and the loser would not. The game took place in Philadelphia, and the Eagles got out to a huge lead at half, and would win the game 44-6. Many Cowboys fans and football analysts deemed this one of the most embarrassing losses in Cowboys history. To add insult to injury, this game was also star wide receiver Terrell Owens’ last game with the Cowboys.

Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders are also one of the Eagles’ biggest rivals. Like the Cowboys and the Giants, one of the key reasons for the rivalry is that both teams play in the NFC East and play each other twice per season. The Eagles and Commanders have faced off a total of 178 times, with Washington leading the series 89-83-6.

The most iconic game these two teams played came in 1990. Ahead of their Monday Night Football matchup, Eagles coach Buddy Ryan proclaimed that they would beat Washington so badly “they’ll have to be carted off in body bags.” The Eagles backed up their coach's words, as nine Washington players had to leave the game with injuries, including all of their quarterbacks eligible to play. Washington running back Brian Mitchell had to come in and play quarterback for the decimated Commanders. The Eagles would win the game 28-14.

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