1991 Philadelphia Eagles season

1991 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner	Norman Braman
Head coach	Rich Kotite
Home field	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Uniform
← 1990 Eagles seasons 1992 →

The 1991 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 59th season in the National Football League.

Despite having a 10–6 record and finishing with the top-ranked defense in the NFL, the Eagles failed to make the playoffs. During Week 1, quarterback Randall Cunningham was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Statistics site Football Outsiders ranks the 1991 Eagles as the greatest defensive team in their ranking's history.^[1] Says Football Outsiders:

The 1991 Eagles completely lap the field in terms of defensive DVOA. Only the 2002 Bucs had a better pass defense, and only the 2000 Ravens had a better run defense, and the Eagles were much more balanced than either of those teams.

It's crazy to imagine how few points the Eagles might have given up if they were playing with a halfway-decent offense instead of losing Randall Cunningham to a torn ACL in the first game of the season. The Eagles were stuck depending on an over-the-hill Jim McMahon for 11 starts, plus Jeff Kemp for two and Brad Goebel for two. McMahon actually wasn't half bad ... but the other two quarterbacks were awful, especially Goebel who had no touchdowns with six interceptions. And the running game was dreadful, with 3.1 yards per carry as a team.

Still, the Eagles were fifth in the league in points allowed, and first in yards allowed by nearly 400 yards – and the team that was second in yards allowed is also on that top-ten defenses list, the 1991 New Orleans Saints. The Eagles allowed 3.9 yards per play, where no other team allowed fewer than 4.5. As bad as their running game was, their run defense was even better, allowing 3.0 yards per carry. Three-fourths of the starting defensive line was All-Pro (Reggie White, Jerome Brown, and Clyde Simmons). Linebacker Seth Joyner and cornerback Eric Allen made the Pro Bowl as well.

Overview[]

A "real" fresh start[]

On January 8, team owner Norman Braman opted not to renew the contract of Buddy Ryan, the Eagles' head coach since 1986. On the same day, Braman promoted then-offensive coordinator Rich Kotite, making him the 18th head coach in club history. They opened with a 3–1 mark, their best start since 1981, despite having lost Cunningham for the year due to a knee injury suffered at Green Bay thanks to a hit from Bryce Paup on opening day. After coming on to lead the Eagles to their solid start, backup QB Jim McMahon was also injured in Game 5, a shutout loss to the Redskins.

A winless October[]

With McMahon sidelined, the Birds offense would stall completely, including a stretch of 11 straight quarters without scoring a touchdown, culminating into a four-game skid. By mid-season, Philadelphia had used five different quarterbacks, including rookie Brad Goebel, Former Jets backup Pat Ryan and former Niners third-stringer Jeff Kemp in eight games and seen its record sink to 3–5.

A relatively healthy McMahon returns[]

Week 10 saw McMahon return to the lineup for a Monday night, 30–7 victory over the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants at Veterans Stadium. However, the following week at Municipal Stadium would be a little closer. The Eagles won 32–30 as Philadelphia spotted Cleveland a 23–0 lead early in the second quarter, before staging a comeback behind a battered McMahon (passing for 341 yards and three touchdowns). Before the game, McMahon's elbow was so swollen, his roommate Ron Heller had to tie his pony tail for him, and then told his lineman he wouldn't be able to play. But Birds trainer Otho Davis used a concoction he calls "Grandma's Goop" on the elbow and McMahon was able to go. These wins would resurrect the season, and the Birds would continue this surge into contention for a playoff berth with a six-game winning streak (the club's longest since the start of '81). This upped their record to 9–5.

The signature win of the run was a 13–6 Monday night victory against the Oilers in Houston on December 2, later dubbed the "House of Pain" game for the Eagles' defense punishing Warren Moon and his receiving corps en route to victory.

Heart of a champion[]

"In '91, I broke five ribs off my sternum in New York and bruised my heart. I could've punctured it, but it just bruised." -Jim McMahon, 2014 The season ending rib injury to McMahon in Week 15 (a 19–14 win against the Giants) made way for a devastating loss at home to Dallas in Week 16, ending Philadelphia's playoff hopes. However, the season was highlighted by a 10–6 record, allowing the Eagles to join the 49ers as the only NFL clubs to post 10-or-more wins in each of the last four seasons. Both teams missed the postseason in '91 despite winning 10 games.

A defense that rewrote the record books[]

Philadelphia's defense finished the season ranked first in the NFL in fewest passing yards, rushing yards, and total yards allowed. As such, the Eagles became only the fifth club in NFL history and the first since 1975 to accomplish this rare triple. Five members of that defensive unit represented the Eagles in the Pro Bowl – DEs Reggie White and Clyde Simmons, DT Jerome Brown, and LB Seth Joyner were selected as starters while CB Eric Allen also made the NFC squad. The selection of White, Simmons, and Brown marked only the sixth time in NFL history that three defensive linemen from one team were elected to the Pro Bowl.

In addition, the Eagles' defense led the NFL in sacks and fumble recoveries and tied for the league lead in takeaways. The Eagles' 48 defensive takeaways in 1991 is tied for the most in the NFL in the 1990s.^[2]

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

The 1991 NFL draft was held April 21–22, 1991 at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan, New York. The Eagles with a 10–6 record in 1990 had the 19th or 20th pick in each round. They also held the number eight pick of the first round, choosing Antone Davis, an offensive tackle out of the University of Tennessee. The team's first round pick at number 19 was traded away earlier and acquired by the Green Bay Packers. Over the course of the 12-round draft, Philadelphia made 12 selections.

1991 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Antone Davis	Offensive tackle	Tennessee	Pick acquired from San Diego Chargers
2	48	Jesse Campbell	Defensive back	North Carolina State
3	75	Rob Selby	Guard	Auburn
4	104	William Thomas *	Linebacker	Texas A&M
5	131	Craig Erickson	Quarterback	Miami (FL)
6	156	Andy Harmon	Defensive tackle	Kent State	Pick acquired from Seattle Seahawks
7	187	James Joseph	Running back	Auburn
8	216	Scott Kowalkowski	Linebacker	Notre Dame
9	242	Chuck Weatherspoon	Running back	Houston
10	271	Eric Harmon	Guard	Clemson
11	298	Mike Flores	Defensive end	Louisville
12	327	Darrell Beavers	Defensive back	Morehead State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[3]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1991 Philadelphia Eagles staff

	Front office Owner – Norman Braman President/Chief Operating Officer – Harry Gamble Director of Player Personnel – Joe Woolley Head coaches Head Coach – Rich Kotite Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Zeke Bratkowski Running Backs – Dick Wood Receivers – Lew Carpenter Offensive Line – Dan Neal Offensive Line – Bill Walsh			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Secondary – Bud Carson Defensive Line – Dale Haupt Linebackers – Jim Vechiarella Defensive Assistant – Peter Giunta Special teams coaches Special Teams – Dave Atkins Special Teams Assistant – Peter Giunta Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jim Williams

^[4]

Roster[]

1991 Philadelphia Eagles roster

	Quarterbacks  8 Brad Goebel 16 Jeff Kemp  9 Jim McMahon 10 Pat Ryan Running backs 41 Keith Byars FB 36 Robert Drummond 32 James Joseph FB 23 Heath Sherman Wide receivers 86 Fred Barnett 81 Roy Green 80 Rod Harris KR/PR 83 Kenny Jackson 89 Calvin Williams Tight ends 88 Keith Jackson 87 Maurice Johnson		Offensive linemen 72 David Alexander C 69 Bruce Collie G 77 Antone Davis T 73 Ron Heller T 76 John Hudson G/C 62 Dennis McKnight G 75 Rob Selby G 63 Daryle Smith T 66 Ron Solt G Defensive linemen 99 Jerome Brown DT 95 Mike Flores DE 90 Mike Golic DT 71 Cecil Gray DE 91 Andy Harmon DT 74 Mike Pitts DT 96 Clyde Simmons DE 92 Reggie White DE		Linebackers 56 Byron Evans MLB 54 Britt Hager MLB 59 Seth Joyner OLB 57 Scott Kowalkowski OLB 55 Ken Rose MLB 52 Jessie Small OLB 51 William Thomas OLB Defensive backs 21 Eric Allen CB 42 John Booty FS/CB 48 Wes Hopkins FS 46 Izel Jenkins CB 38 Rich Miano SS/FS 29 Bruce Plummer CB 26 Ben Smith CB 30 Otis Smith CB 20 Andre Waters SS Special teams  5 Jeff Feagles P  7 Roger Ruzek K		Reserve lists —- Jesse Campbell FS (IR) 12 Randall Cunningham QB (IR) 45 Thomas Sanders RB 85 Mickey Shuler TE (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1991	at Green Bay Packers	W 20–3	58,991
2	September 8, 1991	Phoenix Cardinals	L 26–10	63,818
3	September 15, 1991	at Dallas Cowboys	W 24–0	62,656
4	September 22, 1991	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–14	65,511
5	September 30, 1991	at Washington Redskins	L 23–0	55,198
6	October 6, 1991	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 14–13	41,219
7	October 13, 1991	New Orleans Saints	L 13–6	64,224
8	Bye
9	October 27, 1991	San Francisco 49ers	L 23–7	65,796
10	November 4, 1991	New York Giants	W 30–7	65,816
11	November 10, 1991	at Cleveland Browns	W 32–30	72,086
12	November 17, 1991	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–10	63,189
13	November 24, 1991	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 34–14	37,307
14	December 2, 1991	at Houston Oilers	W 13–6	62,141
15	December 8, 1991	at New York Giants	W 19–14	76,099
16	December 15, 1991	Dallas Cowboys	L 25–13	65,854
17	December 22, 1991	Washington Redskins	W 24–22	58,988

Game summaries[]

Week 1: at Green Bay Packers[]

Week 3[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 7 10 0 7 24 Cowboys 0 0 0 0 0 Date: September 15 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: 81 °F; wind 13 Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Merlin Olsen

Scoring summary Q1 PHI Fred Barnett 11 yard pass from Jim McMahon (Roger Ruzek kick) PHI 7–0 Q2 PHI Roger Ruzek 42 yard field goal PHI 10–0 Q2 PHI Robert Drummond 1 yard run (Roger Ruzek kick) PHI 17–0 Q4 PHI Keith Byars 6 yard pass from Jim McMahon (Roger Ruzek kick) PHI 24–0

^[5]

Week 14[]

The Eagles defense shut down the Oilers' run-and-shoot attack with four sacks, six forced fumbles (five lost) and 21 yards rushing on 11 attempts. Jerome Brown said after the game, "They brought the house, we brought the pain."^[6]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP PHI HOU 2 Oilers 42-yard field goal by Del Greco 0 3 3 Eagles 23-yard field goal by Ruzek 3 3 3 Eagles Jackson 21-yard touchdown reception from Kemp, Ruzek kick good 10 3 4 Oilers 47-yard field goal by Del Greco 10 6 4 Eagles 29-yard field goal by Ruzek 13 6 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 6

Standings[]

NFC East
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) Washington Redskins	14	2	0	.875	6–2	10–2	485	224	L1
(5) Dallas Cowboys	11	5	0	.688	5–3	8–4	342	310	W5
Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	0	.625	5–3	6–6	285	244	W1
New York Giants	8	8	0	.500	3–5	5–7	281	297	W1
Phoenix Cardinals	4	12	0	.250	1–7	3–11	196	344	L8

Awards and honors[]

NFL Comeback Player of the Year – Jim McMahon QB

UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year – Reggie White DE

References[]

External links[]

• 1991 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro-Football-Reference.com