1979 Eagles- Missed Opportunity?

[CSKreager]

When looking at Dick Vermeil's 4 playoff teams, we know about the Miracle at the Meadowlands in 1978 and their first winning season in a decade, the Super Bowl run of 1980, and the fast start/late fade of 1981.

But 1979 seems to fall beneath the cracks when the Eagles had basically the same roster that made Super Bowl 15

They had the defense, Jaws, Wilburt, Harold, Vermeil.

They were 11-5 (only 1 game worse than next year) and actually had a chance to win the NFC East and make the DAL/WSH week 16 showdown moot but the wily Cowboys found a way to frustrate the young Eagles

(Ironically, if WSH holds on to that late lead, the Eagles IIRC would have hosted an NFC Wild Card Game vs Dallas in Round 3 at the Vet a year before the NFC Championship Game)

Instead they ended up getting their first playoff win since 1960 by beating a Bears team that had no business making the playoffs and the next week somehow lost at a Tampa Bay team that backed into the playoffs.

With Dallas also losing in the divisionals, the Eagles really missed a chance to make a SB the previous year before they did in real life (I don't think the Rams would have won at Veterans Stadium)

And it would have been a regular season rematch ala OAK the next year as they would have faced Pittsburgh (who they barely beat in week 5) at the Rose Bowl.

Not saying they beat the Steelers, but a Keystone matchup would have been more fun than that fluke 9-7 Rams team

[Gary Najman]

It would have been interesting to watch 13-year veteran CB Bob Howard trying to cover Swann and Stallworth in Super Bowl XIV. Howard retired at the end of 1979 and was replaced by rookie Roynell Young in 1980.

[Brian wolf]

Yep, Staubach was cool under pressure and Ron Springs starred in that Dallas win at the Vet in wk 15 ... The Eagles regrouped against Chicago but ran into a tough Bucs defense in the playoffs.

[SixtiesFan]

When looking at Dick Vermeil's 4 playoff teams, we know about the Miracle at the Meadowlands in 1978 and their first winning season in a decade, the Super Bowl run of 1980, and the fast start/late fade of 1981.

But 1979 seems to fall beneath the cracks when the Eagles had basically the same roster that made Super Bowl 15

They had the defense, Jaws, Wilburt, Harold, Vermeil.

They were 11-5 (only 1 game worse than next year) and actually had a chance to win the NFC East and make the DAL/WSH week 16 showdown moot but the wily Cowboys found a way to frustrate the young Eagles

(Ironically, if WSH holds on to that late lead, the Eagles IIRC would have hosted an NFC Wild Card Game vs Dallas in Round 3 at the Vet a year before the NFC Championship Game)

Instead they ended up getting their first playoff win since 1960 by beating a Bears team that had no business making the playoffs and the next week somehow lost at a Tampa Bay team that backed into the playoffs.

With Dallas also losing in the divisionals, the Eagles really missed a chance to make a SB the previous year before they did in real life (I don't think the Rams would have won at Veterans Stadium)

And it would have been a regular season rematch ala OAK the next year as they would have faced Pittsburgh (who they barely beat in week 5) at the Rose Bowl.

Not saying they beat the Steelers, but a Keystone matchup would have been more fun than that fluke 9-7 Rams team

If the Eagles and Rams had met in the 1979 NFC Championship game it would have been played in Los Angeles. The Rams would have gotten the home field by being a division winner. The Eagles were a wild card team. You never know what would have happened but the Rams had a great defense and by playoff time their offense was better with Wendell Tyler at RB.

[Brian wolf]

Had the Eagles won the division and hosted the Rams in the championship game at the Vet, that might have been a great defensive game but Dallas might have upset them in the wild-card round?
Yet Roger The Dodger put all that to bed before taking a concussion from Jim Youngblood in Texas Stadium to end his career ...

I had to edit my comment ... With what happened to Roger, in hindsight, I would have rather seen the team give the division to Philly, if it meant a longer career for him ...