The prime-time Thursday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) and the Washington Commanders (7-3) is the biggest matchup between the two NFC East rivals in almost 30 years. The all-time series between the two American Football clubs is tight with Philadelphia trailing 88-84-5 over 177 regular season meetings. Philly also trails the all-time series at home with a 43-44-2 record against Washington in Philadelphia. Washington scored the victory in the only NFL postseason contest with Philly in NFL history, which was also a Philly home game at Veterans Stadium.
In this article, we will cover that lone NFL playoff matchup as we take a look at the series history between 1934 and 1999. Before the NFL Week 16 road rematch for the Eagles, we will complete our series boomerang looking at contests between 2000 and 2024. But before we can get into the games between these two long-time enemies, let’s recap how we got to the current-day matchup of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
From Boston Braves to Washington Commanders
The history of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders dates back to the start of the franchises for both clubs. Outside of the 1943 Steagles single-season merger due to World War II, the Philadelphia Eagles have had the same bird-themed identity since Bert Bell formed the team from the remaining assets of the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets in 1933. The same cannot be said for the Commanders organization which originated in a different state in 1932 before moving to its current Washington D.C. home later in the decade.
After one season as the Boston Braves, team owner George Preston Marshall changed the Braves’ nickname to “Redskins” intended to honor the Native Americans and standout amongst the likes of other teams in the 1933 NFL like the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, …and the Pittsburgh Pirates? Yep! Those same cross-state rival Pittsburgh Steelers started as the Pittsburgh Pirates before a name change in 1940 to the current-day NFL nickname, the Steelers.
When Boston relocated to D.C. in 1937, the nickname successfully made the trip to Washington. The franchise would play under the term until the 2020 season when it was named the “Washington Football Club” amid a year-long rebranding effort. The result of that revision is the current-day Washington Commanders franchise.
Boston/Washington Dominates Early Series
Despite being in the same NFL Eastern Division in 1933, the Philadelphia Eagles never battled the Boston Braves during that NFL season. Therefore, their first meeting was the following October after the nickname swap to the newer Native America-themed logo. Between 1934 and 1936, Philly was 1-5 against the Boston Redskins before the team moved to Washington. Fun fact, the first road game in Boston for the Philadelphia Eagles was at Fenway Park in 1934. The Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers have all played at the iconic baseball stadium in their histories.
In October 1937, the Eagles were flying high following a 14-0 shutout win at their new southern road destination. It would be the last time the Eagles would celebrate against Washington for the next six years as the D.C.-based franchise tallied an 11-game win stream between 1937 and 1942 against its’ northern rival. Washington claimed its first NFL championship in 1942.
Once the Steagles split apart and Philly stood on its’ own talons once again in 1944, the series pendulum swung in Philadelphia’s favor for the first time. The first tie in series history occurred at Shibe Park in Philadelphia following a 31-31 deadlock in October 1944. Following that tie, Philly claimed its first winning streak in the series with a 13-4 record over the next 17 games between 1944 and 1952, including eight straight wins at one point.
The Philadelphia Eagles celebrated back-to-back NFL Championships in 1948 and 1949. Those two shutout victories are the only time in NFL history that a franchise has repeated a title win with another shutout celebration. Thanks to the readership base (Allen via email) for that awesome statistic!
Series Balance in the 1950s
The first 20 years of the series history between Philadelphia and Washington were streaky with each side possessing an extended winning streak over its divisional opponent. Philly looked to continue the streak in the 1950s winning four-of-five games to start the decade. The teams alternated wins and losses for the next few seasons.
The Eagles started a new winning streak over Washington that spanned six straight games between 1959 and 1961. In Philadephia’s only playoff appearance between 1950 and 1977, the Eagles claimed the 1960 NFL Championship game 17-14 over the Green Bay Packers.
Three Ties Over Five Years
Three of the five ties in the series occurred over a handful of years between 1967 and 1971. The first two games in the series were high-scoring affairs too! In December 1967, a pair of sub .500 teams battled to a 35-35 finish. In his only season leading the Washington Redskins in 1969, Vince Lombardi’s Washington club battled the Eagles to a 28-28 tie during Week 8. Lombardi led Washington to its first winning season in over a decade as a coach, general manager, and part-owner of the team. The legendary NFL coach passed away from cancer before the 1970 season.
The final of the five ties in series history occurred in October 1971 during another Week 8 tie between the two NFC East rivals. This contest at RFK Stadium saw neither team break 200 yards in the 7-7 stalemate.
It was not a fun time for the Philadelphia Eagles against Washington during 1968 and 1978. Those three ties were the closest Philly got to exiting a game against the division-mate with a victory with a 0-12-3 record during that time against Washington.
Washington Dominant Again in the 1980s
Between 1978 and 1981, Philly scored a 5-2 record before Washington took over the NFL. However, Washington won the ultimate prize at the end of the 1982 season at Super Bowl XVII after sweeping the season series with the Eagles during a 12-1 regular season.
From 1981 until 1990 it was always overcast in Philly when they saw Washington on the schedule as the Eagles were 5-14 against the division rival. During this steak, Washington claimed its second Super Bowl Championship at Super Bowl XXII in 1987.
Rivalry Heated Up in the 1990s
After a ton of losing, Philadelphia fought back at Veterans Stadium on Monday Night Football in November 1990. The Eagles 28-14 win was dubbed “The Body Bag Game” after Philadelphia injured multiple Washington players in the contest. In a move that would make CJ-GJ proud, Eagles safety boldly asked the Washington bench, “You need any more body bags?” Overall, Philly injured two QBs, a running back, a kick returner, a wide receiver, and a linebacker in the contest.
Two months later, the Eagles and Washington met for the only time in NFL postseason history during the 1990 NFC Wild Card Game. Philadelphia posted the first two scores of the game on a pair of Roger Ruzek field goals. Washington’s defense would shut the Eagles offense down after that and NFL Hall-of-Famer Art Monk led four unanswered scoring drives in the 20-6 win for the road squad. The 20-6 home playoff loss at the Vet cost Buddy Ryan his head coaching position following an 0-3 playoff record in Philly. Meanwhile, Washington head coach Joe Gibbs and his football team captured Super Bowl XXVI the following season in 1991.
Following Washington’s title in 1991, Philadelphia turned the tables on their division counterpart. Between 1992 and 1999, the Eagles went 11-6 against Washington. The Andy Reid head coaching era started near the new millennium, but we will cover that action later this season before the Week 16 rematch in Washington against the Commanders.
The Philadelphia Eagles host the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field for a prime-time Thursday Night Matchup tonight in NFL Week 11. The game is available exclusively on Amazon Prime with a scheduled kickoff for 8:15 pm EST.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
