Atlanta Falcons: Top 5 Rivalries Entering 2015
By John Buhler
. . Previous: . Philadelphia Eagles. 5. team. 54
Perhaps it has to do with the fact that half of my family are diehard New York Giants fans but I don’t particularly care for the Philadelphia Eagles. I liked Donovan McNabb when he was their quarterback and I had a ton of respect for the Andy Reid era in Philadelphia. Though he didn’t win a Super Bowl in Philly, his teams were always a competitive, contending team in the NFC East.
It all started to change in 2004 for when the Eagles acquired WR Terrell Owens from the San Francisco 49ers. TO put himself ahead of the team, which was odd because it was McNabb’s team and a darn good one at that matter. The Atlanta Falcons met the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2004 NFC Championship in the first year of the Jim Mora era in Atlanta. Philly bested the Falcons and went on to the Super Bowl, only to lose to the New England Patriots.
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To me, it felt like the Falcons and Eagles played about every season in the Michael Vick era of the Atlanta Falcons. After the Dogfighting Scandal abruptly ended Vick’s tenure in Atlanta and shattered our franchise, where did Vick sign when he returned to the NFL? You guessed it Philadelphia!
One game in particular stands out to me against the Philadelphia Eagles that I still struggle to shake. It was our matchup in 2008 where then Head Coach Mike Smith botched his challenges earlier in the game only to need it to overturn a horrible muffed punt call that stayed in Philly’s favor, only Smitty had no challenges left.
Add in Chip Kelly, Mark Sanchez, Sam Bradford, Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow and there is a lot of reason for me to not like the Philadelphia Eagles. I cannot wait to flex our talons against the Eagles in Week 1 at the Georgia Dome on Monday Night Football. How this secondary rivalry has gone, expect either elation or extreme frustration for our Atlanta Falcons.
Next: Go Walk the Plank, Bucco Bruce!