Cunningham in top Dozen

[LeonardRachiele]

If someone would say pick the 12 Greatest Players in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles, subject quarterback would be among them. Even so, there are too many inconsistencies and injuries during Cunningham's time in Philadelphia for him to be in the top ten. Here they are: 

--The Eagles made the playoffs in 1988 (10-6), 1989 (11-5), and 1990 (10-6). They lost in the first round in each season, scoring only one touchdown in the three games. The games were puzzling which I will explain later. The first game was at Chicago in the fog bowl. 20 to 12. The other two games were at Veterans Stadium, Los Angeles Rams 21 to 7, and the Washington Redskins 20 to 6.

--In 1991, Randall Cunningham got injured 18 minutes in the season's first game and was out for the season. An eternal question is how good the Eagles might have been had Cunningham not been injured. This was the year of one of the great defenses of all time yet they did not make the playoffs with a 10-6 record. 

--Randall Cunningham came back in 1992 and had a good year. There was a slump in midseason when Richie Kotie started Jim McMahon in a game against the Raiders that the Eagles won 31 to 10. They had their first playoff victory since 1980 at New Orleans 36 to 20. Cunningham threw for a touchdown in the first quarter and then the whole team became lethargic. The Saints led 20 to 7 late in the third quarter. With two minutes left in that quarter, the Eagles kicked a field goal to narrow the score to 20 to 10. Then came a fourth quarter avalanche the likes of which I have seldom seen. The Eric Allen made two interceptions one for a touchdown. Seth Joyner had an interception that set up a touchdown ; Reggie White tackled Bobby Hebert for a safety; Andy Harmon blocked a pass; and Byron Evans tacked a Saints halfback for a negative five yard completion. Final Eagles 36 Saints 20.

--1993 The Eagles won their first four games but during that fourth game Cunningham broke his leg. The Eagles lost eight if their next nine games tumbling to 5-8. They won their final there games to finish at an even .500. Had Cunningham not broken his leg, no doubt Philadelphia would have won more games.

--1994 Cunningham was in great form as the Eagles went 7-2. One of those losses was at Dallas but I figured they would even things out later. Then Randall went into a deep tailspin as did the entire team and the Eagles finished 7-9, losing seven in a row. Ritchie Kotite started Bubby Brister for the final two games. In the final game at Cincinnati, the Eagles blew a 27 to 10 lead against the Bengals and lost in overtime 33 to 30. The Bengals finished 3-13.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Healthy pre-injury Randall Cunningham was one of the top dozen unstoppable players I've seen on pretty much any team. There's a reason why they called him "The Ultimate Weapon." He was great.