There’s nothing like Philadelphia Eagles’ football in the winter time, especially in January. It’s been a week since the holiday season ended and many of us went home to share the time with loved ones and friends. Perry Como made famous the Christmas song (There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays. Dorothy saying, “There’s no place like home,” in the classic film The Wizard of Oz is one of the most recited lines of any movie. In sports, playing home games is an event in itself. Whether it’s a fan’s first ever game or their 100th, being home is special.
Being home gives you that sense of comfort, safety and familiarity. Whether it’s heading back to your childhood home, to your house after a long day at work, or even your home away from home…say the parking lots outside of the Linc with 75,000 “family” members grilling food, enjoying beverages, playing games with friendly “GO BIRDS!” greetings. Home is a place we all want to be.
Despite the Eagles not having home field advantage throughout the entire playoffs, they have a chance to have at least two more contests in their friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Stadium if they take care of business Sunday. A home where they have been pretty special in their own regard.
Home Cookin’
The Linc is an extraordinary “home” and if you’ve been to games, you know what I’m talking about. It has also been quite the sanctuary over the years for the Eagles and a very daunting place for visitors.
This season, the Eagles enjoyed some home cooking, posting a near flawless home record at 8-1 at the Linc, (their first “home” win was in Brazil) with the only loss coming, ironically, in their home opener against the Atlanta Falcons. We all know how they were a drop away from winning and being unblemished at home. Regardless, the Eagles were just one of six teams to win seven or more games at home this season with the Chiefs and Bills going a perfect 8-0 at their respective stadiums and the Vikings going 8-1.
Since Nick Sirianni took over in 2021, the Eagles are an impressive 24-10 in regular season home games. That’s nearly a 71% winning clip for the Birds which is tied with Green Bay for the best winning percentage during that stretch in the NFC and trailing only the Bills at 28-5 (85%) and the Chiefs at 27-7 (79%) overall.
Take it back even further to that magical 2017 season, the Eagles are 44-21-1, winning 65% of their games in South Philly.
The fans are a big part of the team’s success. There are only a few places and fan bases that you could try and argue that match the passion, fanfare and volume that the Eagles’ fan base brings on a weekly basis when their beloved Eagles are taking the field at home.
Jordan Mailata’s family experienced that passion first hand back in 2022.
Eagles Soar at Home in Postseason
This 2024 team has the makings of winning the franchise’s second Super Bowl. There are always connections from previous championship teams to future teams when it comes to numbers and stats. Well, for you number lovers out there, here’s one for you.
The 7-1 mark in games played at Lincoln Financial Stadium this season is also the best home record for an Eagles squad since…2017.
Philadelphia also went 7-1 in their friendly confines that season and went on to win the coveted Super Bowl.
The Eagles went a perfect 2-0 in the playoffs that year dispatching the Atlanta Falcons before dismantling the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game where at the halfway point of the third quarter, fans were dancing, singing and buying rounds celebrating the inevitable trip to Minneapolis.
Just three seasons ago, they crushed the Giants and steamrolled the 49ers on their way to Super Bowl LVII. So, for those keeping score at home, that’s an impressive 4-1 record over the last five playoff games played at the Linc with those four wins leading the team to the big game. If you want to go back even further, dating back to the 2001 Wild Card win against Tampa Bay, the Eagles are 10-5 over their last 15 home games.
Heading into Sunday’s first round game against Green Bay, it’s safe to say that there is no place like home for the Eagles.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
