1992 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
---|---|
Owner | Norman Braman |
Head coach | Rich Kotite |
Home field | Veterans Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 11–5 |
Division place | 2nd NFC East |
Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Saints) 36–20 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Cowboys) 10–34 |
Uniform | |
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The 1992 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 60th in the National Football League (NFL). The team fought through adversity from the outset and improved upon their previous output of 10–6,[1] winning eleven games and returning to the playoffs after a year out.
This was the first season the team was sponsored by the Russell Athletic brand until the 1996 season.
After winning four in a row and five of their last six regular-season games, the Birds kept the momentum going and posted their first playoff victory since the 1980 NFC Championship Game, topping the Saints in New Orleans in the Wild Card playoffs. It was also their first playoff win on the road, since the 1949 NFL Championship Game. Season highlights included: the first 4–0 start since going 6–0 to begin the 1981 campaign, a home shutout of the Denver Broncos on September 20, a memorable seven-play goal-line stand in a 7–3 win over the Cardinals on October 25, a come-from-behind 47–34 win over the New York Giants at the Meadowlands (which included a Vai Sikahema punt return for a touchdown and his iconic boxing with the padding at the base of the goal posts), and cornerback Eric Allen batting away a Mark Rypien pass at the goal line to seal a playoff-spot-clinching 17–13 decision against the Washington Redskins on December 20.
The entire season was the focus of Mark Bowden's best-selling book "Bringing the Heat", which also dealt in great detail with prominent recent-term figures who were not with the 1992 Eagles, including tight end Keith Jackson who became the first prominent NFL player to use his newly-granted rights of full and unrestricted free agency and signed a deal with the Miami Dolphins several weeks into the season, and former coach Buddy Ryan who struggled through a TV commentator's role two years after he was fired as the Eagles coach but remained a huge (and not always positive) influence on the 1992 Eagles (particularly through the defensive players who loved Ryan and remained loyal to him, and who were lukewarm at best about Rich Kotite's leadership). Bowden's book also described the personal issues that Eagles players faced, the friction between how injuries should be (or were) treated by the team's medical staff, and the story of hugely successful but haunted then-team owner Norman Braman.
The last remaining active member of the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles was punter Jeff Feagles, who retired after the 2009 season.