Philadelphia Eagles: Ranking the top 5 seasons of the Super Bowl era

3. 1980

1980 was another great season for the Eagles. This time the man in charge of the team was Dick Vermeil. When Vermeil took over the the reigns in 1976 the Eagles had only one winning record in the previous 14 seasons. By Year 5 of the Vermeil era, the Eagles were coming off two consecutive playoff appearances and seemed to be on the doorsteps of winning the franchises first Super Bowl.

The offense was led by “The Polish Rifle” Ron Jaworski at quarterback. They just don’t make nicknames anymore the way they used to. In the backfield was two-time Pro-Bowler Wilbert Montgomery. On the outside was the Eagles all-time leading receiver in yards, receptions and touchdowns, Harold Carmichael.

Defensively, the Birds were a force to be reckoned with, as All-Pro noes tackle Charlie Johnson was featured up front on the defensive line. Behind him was Bill Bergey leading the linebackers and Herman Edwards anchoring the secondary. With three consecutive years of improvement under Vermeil, the sky was the limit for the 1980 team.

The Eagles acted like the best team in the league with a 3-0 start, and all the games being blowouts. After a loss in Week 4 the Eagles railed off eight consecutive wins to get to an 11-1 record. In that span they had impressive wins over two teams that were dominating forces in the 1970’s, the Cowboys and Raiders. Even with losing the final three out of four games they were still able to win the division with a 12-4 record.

In the Divisional Round the Eagles rallied from being down 14-0 at home to the Minnesota Vikings. They were able to outscore Minnesota 24-2 in the 2nd half and pull away for a 31-16 victory.

That win locked in a matchup at The Vet between the Eagles and their heated-rival, the Dallas Cowboys. It was the Eagles who set the tone from the start with Wilbert Montgomery running for a 42-yard touchdown to open the scoring. From there, the Cowboys were only able to find the end zone once all game. The Eagles took down the Tom Landry-led Cowboys with a final score of 20-7.

Up next was the Eagles’ first Super Bowl appearance against the Raiders in Super Bowl XV. Going into the game, the Eagles appeared to be the better team on paper as they were a three-point favorite over the Raiders.

The Raiders started quick, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Jaworski set a then Super Bowl record by throwing three interceptions. The Eagles just couldn’t get anything going and went on to lose, 27-10. It was the Raiders who made history that night at the Superdome in New Orleans, as they became the first ever Wild Card team to win a Super Bowl.

For the Eagles, it was the closest they would come to winning a Super Bowl during the Vermeil regime. He retired at the young age of 46 and didn’t return to the NFL sidelines as a coach again for 14 years. It took the Eagles another 24 years to return to the ultimate game of the year.