On Sunday afternoon the Eagles will be facing a familiar rival with a new name as they head down to Washington. At the helm for the Commanders will be a QB who played a very important role in getting the Eagles to the Super Bowl. This will be the first time that Carson Wentz will face off against the Eagles since the trade to Indy.
Unfortunately for Wentz, his stint in Indy did not last more than a season and his overall in-game ability has fallen off a bit since his injury back in 2017. With Wentz gearing up to take on his old team, I’ve taken a look at how former Eagles QBs have fared against Philly in their first matchups.
Here’s an interesting look at how most revenge games have fallen short for the team’s past QBs.
Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham retired from football in 1995 after spending his entire career with the Philadelphia Eagles. While the assumption was that Cunningham was done with football, he returned in 1997 to play for the Minnesota Vikings. Cunningham didn’t have a great first season back but finished the 1998 season with a 13-1 record and even made First-Team All-Pro at age 35.
He didn’t face Philly until the 2000 season when he found himself playing QB for the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles and Cowboys opened up that season facing off with Philadelphia coming out on top in a blowout win as they won 41-14. Cunningham finished the game going 13 for 16 with 135 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
Doug Pederson
Mr. Haagen Dazs himself spend the 1999 season with the Philadelphia Eagles as he started 9 games for them that season. Doug Pederson went 2-7 for the Eagles that season but then found himself dawning different colors during the following season. Pederson joined the Cleveland Browns in 2000 and finished 1-7 as the Browns QB.
His first game against the organization wasn’t any prettier as Philly routed the Browns 35-24 in week 15. Pederson had 40 pass attempts while completing 72% of them for 309 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. He’ll get another shot at revenge as the Eagles will host Head Coach Doug Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 2nd.
Donovan McNabb
The franchise himself. McNabb found himself in a similar situation as Carson Wentz during the twilight of his career. The team traded him to the Washington Redskins for a 2010 second-round pick and a conditional 2011 third or fourth-round pick.
In his first game against the Eagles, McNabb struggled mightily as he went 8 for 19 with 125 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Despite his struggles, the Redskins were able to pull off a 17-12 victory in Philadelphia. Don’t worry Eagles fans, we’ll always have the ”Monday Night Massacre.”
Kevin Kolb
Kolb was an interesting QB for the Eagles. The team and the fanbase always had mixed feelings about him being their guy. The Eagles traded Kevin Kolb in 2011 for the Arizona Cardinals for CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2012 second-round pick.
Kiln’s revenge game went according to plan for the former Eagles QB as the Cardinals took down the Eagles 27-6. Kolb finished the game completing 17 passes on 24 attempts for 222 passing yards and 2 touchdowns.
Sam Bradford
Sammy Sleeves. Oh, what could have been? After drafting Carson Wentz, the Eagles decided to go all-in on their rookie QB and allow Sam Bradford to find success elsewhere. They traded him to the Vikings for a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick.
The Vikings started hot that season as they were 5-0 heading into their matchup against the Eagles. When Bradford and the Vikings arrived at the Linc, the Eagles made sure to knock them off of their high horse as they defeated Bradford and company by a score of 21-10.
Bradford finished the game with 224 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and a completion percentage of 58%. That loss led to a string of losses for the Vikings as they went on to lose 6 out of the next 7 games on their schedule.
The Verdict
Not too many of the Eagles’ former QBs found much success after leaving Philadelphia nor did they find it against the franchise. If history is to repeat itself then it looks like Carson Wentz will most likely struggle than succeed as Kevin Kolb did. Time will only tell as we await the outcome of Carson’s first game against the Eagles.
Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire
