Inside the Iggles
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Flashback Friday: Philadelphia Eagles hammer eventual World Champions

By Geoffrey Knox

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - DECEMBER 23: An exterior view of Candlestick Park before the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers on December 23, 2013 in San Francisco, California. It is the last regular season game at the stadium. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - DECEMBER 23: An exterior view of Candlestick Park before the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers on December 23, 2013 in San Francisco, California. It is the last regular season game at the stadium. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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23 years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles played one of the greatest games in the team’s history against one of the NFL’s greatest teams.

What do you think when you hear names like former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young and their Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice? What comes to mind when coaches like Gary Kubiak and Mike Shanahan are brought up? The 1994 version of the San Francisco 49ers added Deion Sanders to a roster that included Rice and Young. Thanks to Kubiak, Shanahan, head coach George Seifert and the rest of their staff, they’d eventually send ten players to the Pro Bowl and win yet another Super Bowl by a score of 49-26. It was a phenomenal year minus a 40-8 shellacking by the Philadelphia Eagles in week five of that season.

The game was called by Pat Summerall and John Madden. It wasn’t a fluke. The Eagles didn’t get lucky. They simply traveled to the “left coast” and kicked the 49ers’ behinds that day.

Take a look:

Video provided by NFL Films and Eagles Nest. Check out the YouTube page here.

So, what happened the rest of the season?

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To some, the game was a mirage. The Eagles never again showcased the type of performance that they showed on that day. The 1994 season saw the Eagles finish 7-9. That as good for a fourth-place finish in an NFC East division that still had five teams (the Arizona Cardinals were the fifth team and the division winners that season).

Philly’s 7-2 start gave way to a seven-game losing streak to close the season. Rich Kotite‘s fate was sealed. A draft class that was actually headlined by running back Charlie Garner, who shined in San Francisco, and a punter, Mitch Berger led to nothing.

Still, one game that year showed just how good this team can be. The 1994 49ers wouldn’t lose another game that they tried to win all season. They’d lose a week 17 game in Minnesota, but the direction of their postseason and their seeding had already been decided. To get ready for a postseason run, they elected to rest their starters for the season finale.

Next: C.J. Beathard will start for the 49ers

Fast forward:

23 years have passed, and now the Eagles have a few Super Bowl aspirations of their own. They’re believed to be the best team in the NFC by many, and the San Francisco 49ers are the next step in their journey. Venues have changed, and in 2017, the 49ers travel East. Philly, unlike the case in 1994, is expected to blow the 49ers out, and if they do, they’ll take one more step towards clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. If they falter, you can imagine the types of conversations that will grow from that.

We’ll just have to see what happens.

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