Are the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles a Top-5 all-time team?
Last week, on the “Exciting Mics” podcast, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley made a bold claim: Philadelphia’s 2024 team, which won Super Bowl LIX in resounding fashion over the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, deserved to be mentioned as a Top-5 team in NFL history.
Initially, Barkley’s proclamation made me scoff. Sure, the Eagles played great in the playoffs, hanging 55 points on the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game before throttling the Chiefs. But I didn’t remember them being particularly dominant throughout the season. For curiosity’s sake, I began to dig through the archives to see whether Philly measured up with some of the all-time greats. And the thing I found is… they kind of do.
Here’s a list of some of the teams who are mentioned most often among the greatest ever, and where Philadelphia stands in comparison.
1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0, won Super Bowl VII)
This is the gold standard for all-time great NFL teams, because they’re the only one to go undefeated from start to finish. They were not the most dominant team in history, though. Miami beat up on a weak schedule — only one of their fourteen regular season games was played against a team with a winning record — and they eked out their three playoff wins by a combined 17 points. The Dolphins found a way to win each and every week, though, which makes them unique in the Super Bowl era.
1978 Pittsburgh Steelers (17-2, won Super Bowl XIII)
The ’78 Steelers won the third of four Super Bowls Pittsburgh would claim in a six-year span. They went 14-2 in the regular season, losing only to Houston and the Rams by a combined ten points. They then drubbed Denver (33-10) and Houston (34-5) in the playoffs before knocking off Dallas, 35-31, in a memorable Super Bowl XIII. Whereas the Steel Curtain defense had carried Pittsburgh to its first two Super Bowl titles, what made the ’78 team special was that the offense had caught up. This was the most complete Steelers team of their 70s dynasty.
1984 San Francisco 49ers (18-1, won Super Bowl XIX)
The ’84 Niners went 15-1 in the regular season, losing only to Pittsburgh by a field goal. Head coach Bill Walsh had his West Coast offense running to perfection, and few defenses in the league could figure it out. Led by quarterback Joe Montana, receivers Jerry Rice and Jon Taylor, and tight end Dwight Clark, the Niners steamrolled to the title, winning three playoff games by an average of 19 points per game.
1985 Chicago Bears (18-1, won Super Bowl XX)
Many have called the ’85 Bears the best team of the Super Bowl era. They lost just one game — a Monday Night Football shootout to Dan Marino and the Dolphins in November — and won their three playoff games by a combined score of 91-10. Chicago, coached by the great Mike Ditka and famous for its “46” defense orchestrated by Buddy Ryan, was so dominant that sixteen of their eighteen wins were by double-digits.
2007 New England Patriots (18-1, lost Super Bowl XLII)
This Patriots team is tough to rank. They are the only team in NFL history to complete a 16-0 regular season, and they did so in dominant fashion. New England, led by Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Randy Moss, was unstoppable on offense, averaging 36.8 points per game (second-best in league history) and winning eleven games by 17 points or more. But they were shut down by the Giants in the Super Bowl, losing 17-14. This was arguably the most dominant regular-season team in modern history. But without the ring, where do they rank?
Which brings us to the 2024 Eagles. They started slowly and were 2-2 after four games. But they closed the season by winning 16 of their last 17 games, including the post-season, with their only loss in that stretch a 36-33 defeat to Washington. They were more dominant in terms of point differential than most of the recent champs, including Kansas City and New England. You have to go back to the 2000 Ravens, who gave up just 23 combined points in four playoff wins, including Super Bowl XXXV, to find a more convincing post-season run. Barkley turned in an all-time season, becoming one of just nine running backs in league history to rush for over 2,000 yards. Their drubbing of the Chiefs in the Super Bowl was epic as well. No team defending its Super Bowl title had ever trailed by more than Kansas City did (40-6) in Super Bowl LIX. The 95 points Philadelphia scored is the most ever for a championship game and Super Bowl combined.
There you have it. Are the 2024 Eagles an all-time great team? It might not be as far-fetched as it sounds.