Inside the Iggles
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5 Best Philadelphia Eagles teams to miss the NFL Playoffs

By Brandon Thornton

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Jason Babin #93 and DeMeco Ryans #59 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrate during the game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on September 30, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Eagles won 19-17. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Jason Babin #93 and DeMeco Ryans #59 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrate during the game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on September 30, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Eagles won 19-17. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty Images) /
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Philadelphia Eagles. Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport /

54. . . . The 1966 Philadelphia Eagles. 5. player

In 1966, the Philadelphia Eagles adjust to a new postseason landscape.

After beginning the 1960s with a championship, what seemed to be a promising decade turned out to be a disappointment. They came within a half-game of getting back to the NFL Championship in 1961, but thanks to a New York Giants tie in their regular-season finale, the 10-4 Eagles watched the 10-3-1 G-Men play in that game instead. There was no playoff structure, only an NFL Championship Game, but this team definitely deserves a mention.

In 1966, things changed. It would be the first season the Super Bowl would be played, a game featuring the champions of the NFL and AFL. That game would be preceded by the first-ever Conference Championship Games.

When Joe Kuharich took over as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1964, his wildly unpopular era began by trading away popular players from the 1960-61 teams such as Hall of Famers Tommy McDonald and Sonny Jurgensen. The latter was traded for Norm Snead. Simply put, Snead was no Jurgensen, and before you knew it, Kuharich’s disastrous career in Philadelphia culminated in a 1968 season that is arguably the worst in franchise history.

In 1966 however, the Eagles appeared to capture lightning in a bottle. Despite starting three wildly, mediocre quarterbacks in Snead, King Hill, and Jack Concannon, each won at least two starts. Snead would craft a 5-5 record while the other two went 2-0. The Eagles would finish at 9-5, good enough for second place behind the 10-3-1 Dallas Cowboys in the Eastern Division.

The Cowboys and Green Bay Packers played for the right to go to the original Super Bowl while the Eagles lost to the Baltimore Colts in the Bert Bell Benefit Playoff Bowl, a battle of second-place teams. While the 1966 Philadelphia Eagles team isn’t very memorable, especially as the years go on, it amazingly featured three Hall of Famers, center Jim Ringo, and running back Ollie Matson in the twilight of the careers and titan-sized offensive tackle Bob Brown, who was just beginning to take off.

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