An In-Depth Look at Historic Battles Against the Packers That Date Back to 1933 – Philly Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers have a rich history dating back to their first meeting in 1933. The two franchises will face off Friday night in a game that will go down in NFL history. The first NFL game in South America will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday, September 6.

Friday night’s opener will be the 47th regular-season meeting between historic NFL teams. Green Bay leads the all-time series 28-18, while Philly has a 2-1 advantage in their all-time postseason series, including the 1960 NFL championship.

Green Bay dominated the season opener with a 5-1 record against Philadelphia. The Eagles’ only win came in 1991, when Rich Kotite’s team took Lambeau Field to a 20-3 season-opening victory. The last NFL season opener between Philadelphia and Green Bay ended in a 27-20 Packers victory in 2010. That same Packers team sent Andy Reid’s team home in the 2010 postseason, before Green Bay won Super Bowl XLV.

Early history favors Green Bay Packers

The early history of the series between these two iconic franchises may have been kinder to Philadelphia. The Eagles lost the first nine games of the series in the decade between 1933 and 1946. The legendary Eagles running back was determined to end that streak with nine games remaining in the following season.

On December 14, 1947, Football Hall-of-Famer Steve Van Buren ran for three goals and 96 yards against Earl “Curly” Lambeau’s Packers in a 28-14 win at Shibe Park. The Eagles improved to 8-4, ending the regular season on a high note. In the postseason, Philly crushed the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-0, breaking a tiebreaker in the Eastern Conference and advancing to the 1947 NFL Championship Game. The Eagles lost to the Chicago Cardinals by touchdown, 28-21, in that title opportunity.

Although the 1947 victory was great for Van Buren and company, Green Bay continued to dominate the series, going 13-1 against Philadelphia until the 1958 NFL season.

Philadelphia vs. Green Bay Postseason History

In the 1960 postseason, the Philadelphia Eagles reached the NFL Championship Game for the first time since 1949. Philly faced an incredibly difficult test in its first postseason game against a Green Bay team it had beaten only once in fourteen tries. Green Bay, meanwhile, had begun the postseason era in 1959 with a one-win disaster.

IN Just Defeating Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi in the postseason, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 17–14 in the 1960 NFL Finals to win their third NFL championship.

In that 1960 NFL title game, Lombardi struggled to score when he could have settled for field goals with four opportunities in the red zone in the first half. Instead, Green Bay was stopped several times by a stiff Eagles defense that allowed only two field goals. Philadelphia had a slim lead, 10-6, at halftime. According to New York Times writer Jere Longman, Vince Lombardi always blamed himself for that defeat, according to David Maraniss’s book ““When pride still mattered.” “When you get there, leave with something,” Lombardi said. “I lost the game, not my players.”

Packers quarterback Bart Starr gave Green Bay the lead in the fourth quarter. But a 5-yard touchdown run by Philadelphia’s Ted Dean put the final points on the board, securing the Eagles’ victory. It was the Eagles’ last championship for more than 50 years until Nick Foles came to Super Bowl LII and defeated the New England Patriots in 2018.

Fast forward forty-four years after the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers battled it out in the 2004 postseason. David Akers’ 31-yard field goal led the Eagles to a 20-17 victory over the Packers in overtime of the NFC Divisional Playoffs en route to a Super Bowl appearance. McNabb finished with 248 yards and 2 TDs, while Brett Farve finished with 180 yards, 2 TDs and an interception.

The Green Bay Packers finally got their revenge in the 2011 postseason against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card game. Aaron Rodgers had three touchdown passes to secure the Packers’ 21-16 victory over Michael Vick and the Eagles in Philadelphia. Green Bay went on to win Super Bowl XLV, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 less than a month later.

Eagles’ unstoppable running attack highlights final meeting

Philadelphia and Green Bay have not faced each other in the postseason since losing to Philly in 2011. The Eagles and Packers have played each other six times in the regular-season series, and the series has been split 3-3 since the start of the NFL regular season in 2012.

The last meeting took place halfway through the 2022 regular season, when the Eagles and Packers clashed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on November 27, 2022. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles won a thrilling 40-33 victory over the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love duo.

Green Bay couldn’t keep up with the dynamic running game the Eagles showcased in 2022 between Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders. Hurts and Sanders combined for 300 yards on the ground. Sanders scored twice while running the ball, while receivers Quez Watkins and AJ Brown each secured touchdowns via the air from Hurts.

As we prepare to kick off the 2024 NFL regular season, Jalen Hurts will go head-to-head with Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers will fly to New York for the offseason. Will NFL fans in Sao Paulo, Brazil witness the same kind of offensive fireworks between these two top quarterbacks that Eagles fans at the Linc saw in mid-November 2022?

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher – USA TODAY Sports