The Philadelphia Eagles have been fighting New Orleans in the National Football League since the Saints entered the league in 1967. There have been 35 regular-season games between Philly and New Orleans and four critical NFC postseason meetings. While the Eagles have a 19-16 win-loss record all-time against the Saints, it has mostly heartbreak when the two teams have met in the Playoffs with a 1-3 record. Ahead of the Week 3 meeting in 2024, let’s take a look back at the history between these two historic football franchises.
Eagles and Saints were Capitol Division Opponents Before NFC East
Philadelphia and New Orleans were divisional competitors in the Capitol division during the 1967 and 1969 seasons – the first and third seasons for the expansion black and old gold franchise. For the 1968 season, the Saints and the New York Giants switched divisions with N.O. moving over to the Century division for one season before returning to the Captial division.
The initial battle between Philly and New Orleans was also a major NFL milestone in Louisiana. The first victory for the New Orleans Saints came against the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-24, on November 5, 1967. The venue was Tulane Stadium on the campus of Tulane University, which served as the home facility for the Saints during the first eight years of the Southern Louisiana-based franchise while the Superdome was being constructed.
Saints receiver Walter Roberts returned the opening kick-off 91 yards to open the scoring. It was the first of three touchdowns on the afternoon for the wideout who had missed the previous week in the NFL due to National Guard duty. Philly had a chance to tie the game following a missed field goal by the Saints in the fourth quarter, but Norm Snead and friends were denied on fourth down allowing New Orleans to celebrate an NFL win for the first time after an 0-7 start.
The Eagles smashed the Saints, 48-21, in the return meeting at Franklin Field two weeks later. Philly and New Orleans traded wins during the 1969 season as well leaving their record against each other as division rivals at 2-2. In 1970, the NFC East division was established with the four clubs currently in the division – Philadelphia, New York, Washington, and Dallas. New Orleans and Atlanta were paired with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers to form the NFC West.
The meetings became more spaced out on the calendar as the NFL expanded in the 1970s with the AFL-NFL merger. The franchises battled five times in the first three years between 1967 and 1969 and then battled the same number of times in the entire decade of the 1970s. The following decade saw six games between the Eagles and the Saints.
1992 regular season and NFC Wild Card games
The 1992 season saw Philadelphia open up with a 15-13 win at Veterans Stadium behind 306 yards and two touchdowns from Randell Cunningham. The Eagles traveled to the Superdome on January 3, 1993, for the NFC Wild Card game. If only one-half of football were played, New Orleans would’ve been partying at home. However, Philadelphia’s defense feasted on Saints quarterback Bobby Herbert with three interceptions in a 36-20 rout. Philly scored six unanswered times, including a fourth-quarter safety on a Reggie White sack and a pick-six by Eric Allen for the Eagles only postseason win against New Orleans.
On the same day in NFL history, the Buffalo Bills overcame a 35-3 deficit led by Frank Reich to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime. The 32-point comeback holds the record for the largest in NFL postseason history.
Drew Brees Eats Against Philadelphia
Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb won the first two battles against New Orleans in 2000 and 2003. The offseason of 2006 brought superstar Drew Brees to Louisiana setting up an exciting quarterback clash with Donovan McNabb in Week 6 of the NFL season. Brees led the Saints to a 27-24 win behind 275 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, while McNabb did just about everything he could to pull out the second-half comeback. Donovan finished with 247 passing yards and 2 throwing scores.
In the 2006 postseason, 3rd-seed Philadelphia had to fend off divisional-rival New York in a 23-20 in the NFC Wild Card playoffs before advancing to a rematch with Drew Brees at the Louisiana Superdome for the 2006 NFC Divisional playoffs. Earlier, I mentioned Philly was 1-3 in the postseason all-time against New Orleans… and Philadelphia won a postseason game back in 1992 at the Vet. So…. well, you see how the rest of this is going to go.
The New Orleans Saints battled the Jeff Garcia-led Eagles as McNabb suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the year. Brain Westbrook scored two touchdowns with 116 yards on 13 carries, but it was not enough as two third-quarter scores from tailback Deuce McAllister carried New Orleans to a 27-24 win.
McNabb and Brees would split a pair of starts against one another with the Eagles winning a meaningless late December game in 2007 with both teams under .500 on the year, while New Orleans smashed Philly in 2009 behind a 311-yard, 3-touchdown day from their star signal caller. Sean Payton and Drew Brees would claim Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, later that season in the Saints’ first appearance in the NFL’s biggest game.
Three seasons later, Philadelphia and New Orleans met in the wild-card round of the NFL postseason tournament. The 6th-seeded Saints marched right on into Lincoln Financial Field claiming a 26-24 in the 2013 NFC Wild Card Game victory on a clock-expiring 32-yard field goal off the foot of Shayne Graham. Drew Brees passed for 250 yards and a score, while Nick Foles threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first playoff road win in Saints history.
Foles and Brees would battle again in the 2018 NFC Divisional Playoff game resulting in another one-score loss for Philadelphia at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Eagles jumped all over the Saints on the road with two first-quarter touchdowns, but it was a New Orleans party after the final whistle with a Saints win, 20-14. Drew Brees once again torched Philadelphia’s defense for 300+ yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Nick Foles was stifled in the second half finishing with 201 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.
Only 2 games since 2020
In 2020, a 4-7-1 Eagles squad led by Jalen Hurts would stun a 10-2 Saints team in Week 13. Jalen Hurts passed for 167 yards, rushed for 106 yards, and completed a touchdown strike to Alshon Jeffrey. Miles Sanders added 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns leading Philadephia to a 24-21 win over Taysom Hill, who was replacing an injured Drew Brees. Jalen Hurts bested New Orleans, 40-29, during in mid-November 2021 contest at Lincoln Financial Field.
The last meeting between Philadelphia and New Orleans occurred on New Year’s Day 2023 as the 7-8 Saints (7-8) defeated the Eagles (13-2) squad in South Philadelphia. Despite the stellar record, Philly was dealing with injury issues with Gardner Minshew thrust into the starting role. There was no Mindhew magic in the 20-10 loss at the Linc although there was some hope for a comeback.
Trailing by 13 points at halftime, Minshew engineered an early drive for a 56-yard Jake Elliott field goal before a late-third quarter strike to A.J. Brown for a 78-yard celebration. The party ended when Saints defensive back Marshon Lattimore scored a 12-yard pick-six to put the final points on the scoreboard and hand the Eagles an incredibly disappointing first loss in the 2023 calendar year.
This ends our look back at the history between Philly and New Orleans have battled on the NFL stage for over 50 years as the series continues this weekend. Philadelphia (1-1) travels to New Orleans (2-0) for an important early-season battle between these two legendary NFL champions. Can Jalen Hurts pick up a third win against the New Orleans Saints this weekend, or will it be the Saints fans dancing in the streets once again in the Big Easy?
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
