The Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) and the Green Bay Packers (11-6) are finishing their final preparations for the upcoming NFC Wild Card Playoff at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia enters the postseason as the NFC’s second-best seed after winning 12 out of 13 games and an NFC East Division Championship. Green Bay arrives in the final Wild Card position following a 2-game losing streak.
Both squads enter with lingering questions surrounding the starting quarterback – Jalen Hurts missed the last 17 days (…whose counting?) following a concussion, while Jordan Love deals with an elbow injury that caused numbness in his hand last weekend.
The Sunday afternoon NFC Wild Bard battle in South Philadelphia marks the fourth postseason meeting between these iconic franchises. In all three games, the team that emerged victorious in the battle between cream cheese and American cheese won by a one-score margin.
Related: NFL Playoff Preview: Pampering with Predictions, Previews, Postulates
Eagles Claim the 1960 NFL Championship
The first postseason clash between the Eagles and Packers occurred on December 26, 1960, at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia claimed the NFL Title with a 17-13 win following a dramatic game-saving, red-zone stop by Chuck Bednarik at the nine-year line as the last seconds ticked off the clock. It is the only playoff loss in the decade-long careers of Head Coach Vince Lombardi and Quarterback Bart Starr.
Ray Didinger, a 14-year-old attendee at the 1960 Championship game, claims Eagles fans had high hopes against Green Bay heading into the matchup. “Everyone was scared to death of the (Baltimore) Colts,” Didinger told the New York Times in 2011. “The Packers were going to be a walk in the park.” Philadelphia barely survived with a win.
Eagles QB Norm Van Brocklin earned MVP honors after a 9-for-20 performance with a touchdown and an interception. Philadelphia’s defense limited Starr’s offense to 21-for-34 for 178 yards and a touchdown – a 7-yard, fourth-quarter strike to Max McGee that gave Green Bay a 13-10 advantage. Philly responded with a 58-yard kick-off return from Ted Dean, who would score a 5-yard touchdown run for the game’s final points, 17-10.
According to David Maraniss’ book When Pride Still Mattered, Lombardi told broadcaster Ray Scott later that evening he shouldered responsibility for the loss after four red zone trips resulted in only six points. “When you get down there (in the red zone), come out with something,” Lombardi said. “I lost the game, not my players.”. The Hall-of-Fame coach would never make the same mistake in the postseason as Green Bay dominated the NFL with five championships between 1961 and 1967, including the first two editions of the Super Bowl.
“Fourth-and-26” Lead to Akers OT Winner in 2003 Playoffs
Philadelphia rolled into the 2003 Playoffs with the top seed in the NFC after a 12-4 season, while Green Bay won the NFC North at 10-6 to grab the fourth seed in the postseason grid. The Packers outlasted Seattle, 33-27, in overtime at Lambeau Field the week before traveling to Philadelphia for the Divisional Round.
Brett Farve and the Packers sandwiched two touchdown drives around a missed 30-yard field goal from David Akers to take a 14-0 lead into halftime. Donovan McNabb led a pair of comeback drives, leading to a game-tying pass to Todd Pinkston on the first play of the fourth quarter. Green Bay settled for a 21-yard field goal to reclaim the lead, 17-14.
With 1:12 remaining on the clock, one of the most memorable plays in Eagles history occurred on South Broad Street – “4th and 26” – NFL’s 69th Greatest Play in NFL History. Needing an improbable first down play to keep the postseason alive, broadcaster Joe Buck set the play up with, “Certainly, they can’t pick up a first down on 4th and 26.”
McNabb threaded a deep slant pass to Freddie Mitchell through a seam in the Packers’ defensive coverage, leading to the mind-bending Eagles first down. Philly almost fumbled the clock away, a rookie coach Andy Reid special at the time, but Akers connected on a 37-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, 17-17.
Philadelphia received the first possession in OT, but a three-and-out put the ball back in Farve’s hands. Brian Dawkins intercepted a pass on the drive’s first play, setting up Philadelphia in prime field position to secure the playoff win. Akers drilled a 31-yard, game-winning kick to send Green Bay back to Wisconsin with a 20-17 loss. The good vibes ended a week later when the Carolina Panthers ended Philly’s Super Bowl dreams with a 14-3 NFC Championship victory.
Vick’s Interception Ends Eagles Season in 2010 Wild Card
The Eagles’ next home playoff game six years after that letdown to Carolina would be equally deflating. Philly claimed the NFC East with a 10-6 record, leading to another showdown with the Packers, who were also 10-6 on the season. Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers opened up a 14-0 first-half lead on the road. Akers inched the Eagles closer with a 29-yard field for a 14-3 Philly halftime deficit.
Mike Vick located Jason Avant for a 24-yard touchdown in the third quarter to trim the lead to 14-10. Rodgers responded with a 16-yard scoring pass to Brandon Jackson to take those points right back. Vick capped off a fourth-quarter scoring drive with a 1-yard TD with four minutes remaining in regulation, 21-16.
Philly received the ball back at 1:45 to play when Vick flipped the field on a 28-yard pass to Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson, which put the Eagles inside the Packers’ territory. Five players later, a deep pass intended for Riley Cooper was intercepted at the Green Bay 5-yard line to send the Packers to the NFC’s top seed, Atlanta, following a 21-16 win over Philly.
Green Bay defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 48-21, in the NFC Divisional playoffs before stunning the Chicago Bears, 21-14, in the 2010 NFC Championship Game. The Packers would finish their magical season hosting the Lombardi Trophy following a 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Super Bowl XLV.
REUTERS/Carla Carniel
