1984 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1984 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 52nd in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved upon their previous output of 5–11, winning six games.[1] Despite the improvement, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season.

1984 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerLeonard Tose
Head coachMarion Campbell
Home fieldVeterans Stadium
Results
Record6–9–1
Division place5th NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Whatever outside chance the Birds had to make the playoffs was sunk on November 25 at St. Louis, when starting quarterback Ron Jaworski suffered a broken leg and missed the remainder of the season. It was the most serious injury the "Polish Rifle" ever suffered in his long career. Joe Pisarcik took over under center for the final three-plus games.

This would be the final season for the Eagles under the ownership of Leonard Tose; as following rumors that the team might end up moving to Phoenix, Tose would eventually sell the team in 1985 to Norman Braman.

Offseason

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NFL draft

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The 1984 NFL Draft was held May 1–2, 1984. It was 12 rounds held over two days and televised by ESPN in great detail. A month later a draft was held for college seniors who already signed with either the CFL or USFL prior to the May 1984 draft. While the Eagles finished the 1983 NFL season with a record of 5–11 and in fourth place in the NFC East Division they would always get the 4th pick in the 12 rounds of the draft. Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Oilers at 2–12 and the New York Giants at 3–13 would have a worse record. It would be one of the most power balanced years.

1984 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 4 Kenny Jackson  WR Penn State
3 60 Rusty Russell  T South Carolina
4 88 Evan Cooper  DB Michigan
5 116 Andre Hardy  RB St. Mary's (CA)
6 144 Scott Raridon  T Nebraska
7 172 Joe Hayes  RB Central State (OK)
8 200 Manny Matsakis  K Capital
10 256 John Thomas  DB TCU
11 284 John Robertson  T East Carolina
12 312 Paul McFadden  K Youngstown State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

NFL supplemental draft

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This draft was held on June 5, 1984. These were players that were not drafted by an NFL team. In an attempt to head off a bidding war in its own ranks for USFL and CFL players. NFL teams chose 84 players from 224 available during the three-round selection meeting. Many of the big name USFL players were ineligible for the draft because their rights were already owned by NFL clubs. Still 3 of the first 4 players selected would become NFL Hall Of Famers. These players signed with the USFL before the NFL could draft them. Some teams took a chance and drafted players still so they had their NFL rights, The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, suspecting that the USFL was not going to last, acquired Walker's NFL rights by drafting him in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft.

Round Pick Player Position School USFL / CFL Team
1 4 Reggie White Defensive end University of Tennessee Memphis Showboats
2 32 Daryl Goodlow Linebacker Arizona Oklahoma Outlaws
3 60 Thomas Carter Linebacker San Diego State Oakland Invaders

Personnel

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Staff

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1984 Philadelphia Eagles staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Marion Campbell
  • Defensive Line – Chuck Clausen
  • Linebackers – George Hill
  • Defensive Backs – Fred Bruney

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Frank Gansz



Roster

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1984 Philadelphia Eagles roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 4 at Detroit Lions L 14–17 0–1 Pontiac Silverdome 46,055
2 August 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–20 (OT) 0–2 Three Rivers Stadium 46,696
3 August 18 at Minnesota Vikings W 31–10 1–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,743
4 August 23 Cleveland Browns W 20–19 2–2 Veterans Stadium 40,030

[2]

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 2 at New York Giants L 27–28 0–1 Giants Stadium 71,520 Recap
2 September 9 Minnesota Vikings W 19–17 1–1 Veterans Stadium 55,942 Recap
3 September 16 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–23 1–2 Texas Stadium 64,521 Recap
4 September 23 San Francisco 49ers L 9–21 1–3 Veterans Stadium 62,771 Recap
5 September 30 at Washington Redskins L 0–20 1–4 RFK Stadium 53,064 Recap
6 October 7 at Buffalo Bills W 27–17 2–4 Rich Stadium 37,555 Recap
7 October 14 Indianapolis Colts W 16–7 3–4 Veterans Stadium 50,277 Recap
8 October 21 New York Giants W 24–10 4–4 Veterans Stadium 64,677 Recap
9 October 28 St. Louis Cardinals L 14–34 4–5 Veterans Stadium 54,310 Recap
10 November 4 at Detroit Lions T 23–23 (OT) 4–5–1 Pontiac Silverdome 59,141 Recap
11 November 11 at Miami Dolphins L 23–24 4–6–1 Miami Orange Bowl 70,227 Recap
12 November 18 Washington Redskins W 16–10 5–6–1 Veterans Stadium 63,117 Recap
13 November 25 at St. Louis Cardinals L 16–17 5–7–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 39,858 Recap
14 December 2 Dallas Cowboys L 10–26 5–8–1 Veterans Stadium 66,322 Recap
15 December 9 New England Patriots W 27–17 6–8–1 Veterans Stadium 41,581 Recap
16 December 16 at Atlanta Falcons L 10–26 6–9–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 15,582 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Washington Redskins(2) 11 5 0 .688 5–3 8–4 426 310 W4
New York Giants(5) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–7 299 301 L2
St. Louis Cardinals 9 7 0 .563 5–3 6–6 423 345 L1
Dallas Cowboys 9 7 0 .563 3–5 7–5 308 308 L2
Philadelphia Eagles 6 9 1 .406 2–6 3–8–1 278 320 L1

Game summaries

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Week 4 (Sunday, September 23, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers

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[3]

Week 4: San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers (4–0) 7 7 0721
Eagles (1–3) 0 6 309

at Veterans StadiumPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

Team Category Player Statistics
SF Passing Matt Cavanaugh 17/34, 252 YDS, 3 TDs
Rushing Wendell Tyler 21 CAR, 113 YDS
Receiving Dwight Clark 3 REC, 84 YDS, 1 TD
PHI Passing Ron Jaworski 16/40, 187 YDS, 1 INT
Rushing Wilbert Montgomery 12 CAR, 51 YDS
Receiving Wilbert Montgomery 7 REC, 46 YDS
  • Point spread: 49ers by 4½
  • Over/Under: 44.0 (under)
  • Time of Game:
49ers Game Statistics Eagles
23 First downs 15
37–177 Rushes–yards 20–72
252 Passing yards 187
17–34–0 Passes 16–41–1
4–31 Sacked–yards 2–18
221 Net passing yards 169
398 Total yards 241
173 Return yards 51
7–39.1 Punts 7–40.0
2–0 Fumbles–lost 0–0
12–141 Penalties–yards 4–30
34:31 Time of Possession 25:29

Awards and honors

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  • Mike Quick, 1984 Pro Bowl selection
  • Paul McFadden, All-Rookie Team, Second team All-NFC, UPI Rookie of the Year

References

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  1. ^ 1984 Philadelphia Eagles
  2. ^ "1984 Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  3. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jun-22.
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