Eagles 1980 Defeating Eventual Super Bowl Winner

[LeonardRachiele]

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the eventual Super Bowl winners in the above back to back years.  This compensates a little for losses in the post season.   Both of these victories were at Veterans Stadium.

1979 Pittsburgh Steelers 17 to 14.  Game 5

The first half ended in a seven all tie.   Eagles came flying out in the third quarter and Tony Franklin kicked a 48 yard field goal.  Score 10 to 7 Then came three turnovers, two in the third quarter, that made the difference. LB John Bunting intercepted a pass deep in Steeler territory and ran 15 yards to the two.  Wilbert Montgomery ran in for a touchdown on the next play for a 17 to 7 lead. After the Steelers drove to the Eagle two, Franco Harris fumbled.  Frank LeMaster recovered. Herman Edward squashed another drive with an interception in the Eagles End Zone. Touchback Terry Bradshaw threw a 37 yard touchdown pass to John Stallworth, which only made it close.

Philadelphia won 17 to 14.  The Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl 31 to 19.

1980 Oakland Raiders 10 to 7.  Game 12

With the exception of one big play in the last quarter, the Philadelphia Eagles on defense played a perfect game.  They sacked Jim Plunkett eight times for a whopping 62 yards in losses; intercepted two passes; and recovered a fumble.

After an exciting but scoreless first half,  Tony Franklin kicked a 51 yard field goal.  The Eagles led 3 to 0 after three quarters.   Just about everyone felt that no one could stop the Raiders all day without big offensive drives.  We were correct.  Plunkett threw a perfect pass to Cliff Branch for an 86 yard touchdown.   Undaunted, the Eagles came right back.  Ron Jaworski threw a 43 yard pass to LeRoy Harris to the Oakland two.  Who would have  thought that a halfback would catch the key pass of the day.  Wilbert Montgomery easily ran the next play over.  This was a thrilling 10 to 7 win.