The first year of the Ray Roads era, 1995, the Eagles started slowly but finished strong at 10-6. I will never forget the double stop on Emmitt Smith in the 20 to 17 win at home. The 58 to 37 route of the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card was a sheer pleasure with one interception after the other. Most of the points the Lions scored were against the prevent defense. The Eagles gave up points just to kill the clock. This was just a cheap tactic to show some good statistics. It meant absolutely nothing.
Hopes rang high in 1996 and the team had a 7-2 record after nine games. The last of the seven wins was at Dallas. Which of us can forget the Cowboys driving to the Eagles seven yard line with about 75 seconds left in the game. The Eagles reminded me of Jimmy Stewart in the opening scene from Vertigo. Stewart was clinging his fingers to the top of a building knowing that he would fall in a few seconds. The Philadelphia Eagles were clinging to a 24 to 21 lead and I was ready to see Troy Aikman throw a touchdown pass. Somehow the police rescued Jimmy though it wasn’t clear how.
What the Eagles did fans will never forget. James Willis intercepted a pass in the End Zone, lateralled to Troy Vincent, who took it 92 yards for a touchdown. I remember Merrill Reese yelling “The Eagles win about seven times as Vincent ran downfield. “
This win marked , however, a turning point in the Eagles play under Ray Rhodes. The Eagles lost three consecutive games bringing their record to 7-5. They won three of their final four to finish at 10-6, the same record as the previous year. The Eagles were in the playoffs but the San Francisco 49ers shut out them out 14 to 0.
In 1997, the Eagles were 6-6-1 after 13 weeks. After that they lost their final three games to finish at 6-9-1. All of their six wins were at home. A 10 to 10 tie at Baltimore was their best effort on the road. In 1998 the team was 3-13. Talk about this later,