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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Charlie Garner, Philadelphia Eagles (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) /

3. player. 54. . . . The 1994 Philadelphia Eagles

This just might be the biggest collapse in Philadelphia Eagles history.

In 1993, the Miami Dolphins completed the greatest mathematical collapse in NFL history, starting 9-2 before dropping their last five games to fall to 9-7 and miss the playoffs. It was a team that ironically had Doug Pederson on the roster. One year later, in 1994, the Philadelphia Eagles looked to do the Dolphins one better.

The 1994 Eagles came firing out of the gates to start the season at 7-2. That stretch included a 40-8 demolition of the team that would win the Super Bowl that season, the San Francisco 49ers (Steve Young would be benched in that one). Rich Kotite was the Eagles’ coach, a guy no one bought into despite the hot start. He was seen as someone who had taken over Buddy Ryan’s team and asked to not crash the Porsche. Owner Norman Braman didn’t help matters, refusing to play the free agency game during the advent of the concept, allowing for much of the core of the team Buddy built to leave, including Reggie White.

There were some holdovers, like Randall Cunningham, Calvin Williams, and Fred Barnett on the offense and Eric Allen and Byron Evans on the defense. When Braman did decide to play the free agency game, veterans were brought in for quick-stops in the City of Brotherly Love like tight end Mark Bavaro and defensive tackle William Perry aka The Refrigerator. They also had a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield with rookie Charlie Garner and veteran Herschel Walker.

Once the term reached the 7-2 mark, Kotite started making noise about a new contract, and once it became apparent that the Eagles brass didn’t want to give him one, his entire staff gave up and the wheels fell off of the wagon.

In week 10, the Eagles hosted Bill Belichick’s Cleveland Browns. Byron Evans got hurt. The Eagles lost that one by a score of 26-7, and the collapse was on. Kotite benched Cunningham for Bubby Brister. The Eagles still had a puncher’s chance in Week 16 when they hosted the New York Giants. Brister threw an awful-looking interception to Thomas Randolph late, and the season was over. A 7-2 Eagles team finished at 7-9.

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