The Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers have a storied lore dating back to their first meeting in 1933. The two franchises will match up for some NFL history on Friday night with the NFL’s first matchup from South America in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday, September 6.
Friday night’s season opener will be the 47th regular season meeting between the historic NFL football teams. Green Bay leads the all-time series 28-18, while Philly has the advantage, 2-1, in their all-time post-season series matchups, including the 1960 NFL Championship.
Green Bay has dominated season openers with a 5-1 record against Philadelphia. The Eagles’ only win came in 1991 as Rich Kotite’s squad invaded Lambeau Field walking away with a 20-3 season-opening victory. The last NFL season-opener between Philadelphia and Green Bay was a 27-20 win for the Packers in 2010. That same Packers squad would send Andy Reid’s team home in the 2010 postseason which was followed by a Green Bay win in Super Bowl XLV.
Early History Favors Green Bay Packers
The early series history between these two iconic franchises could have been more sunny for Philadelphia. The Eagles lost the first nine games in the series over a decade between 1933 and 1946. A legendary Eagles running back was determined to end that streak at nine games entering the matchup the following season.
On December 14, 1947, Football Hall-of-Famer Steve Van Buren scored three times while rushing for 96 yards against Earl “Curly” Lambeau’s Packers in a 28-14 win at Shibe Park. The Eagles improved to 8-4 ending the regular season on a major high note. In the post-season, Philly shut out the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-0, to solve a tie-breaker in the Eastern Conference and reach the 1947 NFL Championship game. The Eagles lost to the Chicago Cardinals by a touchdown, 28-21, in that title opportunity.
While the victory in 1947 was great for Van Buren and Co., Green Bay continued to dominate the series with a 13-1 record against Philadelphia through the 1958 NFL campaign.
Philadelphia vs. Green Bay Post-Season History
During the 1960 post-season, the Philadelphia Eagles reached the NFL Championship Game for the first time since 1949. Philly faced an incredibly tough test in their first post-season meeting against a Green Bay franchise they had beaten only once in fourteen attempts. Meanwhile, Green Bay began the era the season before in 1959 following a 1-win disaster of a season.
In the only postseason defeat of Hall-of-Fame coach Vince Lombardi’s career, the Philadelphia Eagles dispatched the Green Bay Packers, 17-14, in the 1960 NFL Championship to claim their third-ever NFL Championship.
In that 1960 NFL Title game, Lombardi attempted to score when he could’ve settled for field goals with four red-zone opportunities in the first half. Instead, Green Bay was stopped a handful of times by a stiff Eagles defense that conceded only a pair of field goals. Philadelphia held a slim lead, 10-6, at halftime. According to New York Times author Jere Longman, Vince Lombardi always blamed himself for that defeat via David Maraniss’s book “When Pride Still Mattered”. “When you get down there, come out with something,” Lombardi said. “I lost the game, not my players.”
Packers quarterback Bart Starr gave Green Bay a lead in the fourth quarter. However, a 5-yard touchdown run by Philadelphia’s Ted Dean put the final points on the board for an Eagles victory. It was the Eagles’ last Championship for over 50 years until Nick Foles showed up for Super Bowl LII and defeated the New England Patriots in 2018.
Fast forward forty-four years after the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers battled in the 2004 post-season. A 31-yard field goal by David Akers led the Eagles past the Packers, 20-17, in overtime of the NFC Divisional Playoffs on the way to a Super Bowl appearance. McNabb finished with 248 yards and 2 TDs, while Brett Farve finished with 180 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception.
The Green Bay Packers finally exacted post-season revenge in 2011 against the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC Wild Card game. Aaron Rodgers had three touchdown passes earning the Packers a 21-16 win over Michael Vick and the Eagles in Philadelphia. Green Bay claimed Super Bowl XLV with a 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers less than a month later.
Eagles Unstoppable Rushing Attack Highlights Last Meeting
Philadelphia and Green Bay have not battled in the postseason since that 2011 Philly loss. The Eagles and Packers have played each other six times in the regular season series with the series split at 3-3 since the start of the 2012 NFL regular season.
The most recent contest occurred during the middle of the 2022 regular season as the Eagles and Packers clashed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly on 11/27/2022. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles prevailed in an entertaining offensive display, 40-33, over an Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love combination for the Packers.
Green Bay was unable to keep up with the dynamic run game the Eagles featured in 2022 between Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders. Hurts and Sanders combined for 300 yards on the ground between themselves. Sanders scored twice rushing the football, while receivers Quez Watkins and A.J. Brown secured touchdowns via the air route from Hurts.
As we get ready to start the 2024 NFL regular season, Jalen Hurts will battle Jordan Love all alone with Aaron Rodgers jet-setting off to New York last offseason. Will NFL fans in Sao Paulo, Brazil be treated to the same type of offensive fireworks between these two top-flight quarterbacks that Eagles supporters at the Linc saw in mid-November 2022?
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
