1989 Philadelphia Eagles season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Philadelphia Eagles 1989 11–5 2nd NFC East Buddy Ryan Ted Plumb Jeff Fisher Norman Braman Veterans Stadium 180px Lost Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Rams) 7–21 Eagles seasons The 1989 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Football League (NFL). This season marked the Eagles’ second consecutive appearance in the postseason, this time as a wild-card team. They would lose in the Wild Card round to the Los Angeles Rams 21–7. Tribulation struck the Eagles late in the season with the death of quarterbacks coach Doug Scovil from a heart attack. For the remainder of the season, the Eagles wore a black stripe made of electrical tape over the wings on their helmet in tribute. It was Hall of Famer Cris Carter's final season in Philadelphia as his on-and-off the field troubles led to his release the following preseason. He would then sign with the Minnesota Vikings. Offseason Draft 1989 NFL draft 1989 Philadelphia Eagles 2 49 Jessie Small LB Eastern Kentucky yes 3 76 Robert Drummond RB Syracuse yes 3 81 Britt Hager LB Texas yes 6 162 Heath Sherman RB Texas A&M–Kingsville yes The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06. Personnel Staff / Coaches 1989 Philadelphia Eagles Owner – Norman Braman President and Chief Operating Officer – Harry Gamble Director of Player Personnel – Joe Woolley Head Coach – Buddy Ryan Assistant Head Coach/Offense – Ted Plumb Quarterbacks – Doug Scovil Offensive Backs – Dave Atkins Offensive Line – Bill Walsh Assistant Offensive Line – Dan Neal Offensive Assistant – Ed Hughes Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Jeff Fisher Defensive Line – Dale Haupt Linebackers – Ronnie Jones Defensive Backs – Tom Bettis Special Teams – Al Roberts Strength and Conditioning – Ronnie Jones Roster 1989 Philadelphia Eagles  6 Matt Cavanaugh 12 Randall Cunningham  9 Don McPherson 41 Keith Byars 36 Robert Drummond gridiron football y 22 Mark Higgs KR 23 Heath Sherman y KR 25 Anthony Toney 87 Carlos Carson 80 Cris Carter 84 Anthony Edwards American football y 85 Ron Johnson wide receiver, born 1958 83 Jimmie Giles 88 Keith Jackson tight end 89 David Little tight end LS 72 David Alexander American football C 67 Steve Gabbard y T 73 Ron Heller offensive tackle T 66 Ken Reeves American football T 50 Dave Rimington C 79 Mike Schad G 68 Reggie Singletary G/T 66 Ron Solt G 61 Ben Tamburello G 99 Jerome Brown DT 90 Mike Golic DT 94 Steve Kaufusi DE 74 Mike Pitts DT 96 Clyde Simmons DE 92 Reggie White DE 56 Byron Evans MLB 54 Britt Hager y MLB 95 Al Harris defensive lineman OLB 59 Seth Joyner OLB 55 Mike Reichenbach American football OLB 51 Ricky Shaw OLB 52 Jessie Small y OLB 21 Eric Allen CB 42 Eric Everett CB 33 William Frizzell CB/S 34 Terry Hoage FS 48 Wes Hopkins FS 46 Izel Jenkins CB 37 Sammy Lilly CB 20 Andre Waters SS  7 Roger Ruzek K 14 Rick Tuten P 58 Ty Allert LB IR 49 Todd Bell S IR 78 Matt Darwin T IR 83 Gregg Garrity WR IR 57 Ron Moten LB IR 82 Mike Quick WR IR 10 John Teltschik P IR 47 active, 7 inactive, 5 practice squad 93 David Bailey defensive end y DE 24 Alan Dial S 31 Tyrone Jones defensive back y S 32 Garrett Limbrick y RB 86 John Talley American_football y TE Regular season Randall Cunningham enjoyed the second of back-to-back breakout seasons, beginning with his leading the Eagles to a 42–37 comeback victory at RFK Stadium on September 17, right after signing a contract extension. The Eagles won five of their last six games to challenge the Giants for the division lead. On Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium, the Eagles shutout their division rival Cowboys 27–0, amidst accusations that certain defensive players were rewarded with bounties to take out several Dallas players, including kicker Luis Zendejas. Less than two weeks later, back in Philadelphia, Eagles fans pelted the Cowboys and game officials with snowballs packed in ice thanks to freezing temperatures and snowfall from the previous day. The two matchups between the Cowboys and Eagles became known as the Bounty Bowls. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 10, 1989 Seattle Seahawks W 31–7 1–0 64,287 2 September 17, 1989 at Washington Redskins W 42–37 2–0 53,493 3 September 24, 1989 San Francisco 49ers L 38–28 2–1 66,042 4 October 2, 1989 at Chicago Bears L 27–13 2–2 66,625 5 October 8, 1989 New York Giants W 21–19 3–2 65,688 6 October 15, 1989 at Phoenix Cardinals W 17–5 4–2 42,620 7 October 22, 1989 Los Angeles Raiders W 10–7 5–2 64,019 8 October 29, 1989 at Denver Broncos W 28–24 6–2 75,065 9 November 5, 1989 at San Diego Chargers L 20–17 6–3 47,019 10 November 12, 1989 Washington Redskins L 10–3 6–4 65,443 11 November 19, 1989 Minnesota Vikings W 10–9 7–4 65,944 12 November 23, 1989 at Dallas Cowboys W 27–0 8–4 54,444 13 December 3, 1989 at New York Giants W 24–17 9–4 74,809 14 December 10, 1989 Dallas Cowboys W 20–10 10–4 59,842 15 December 18, 1989 at New Orleans Saints L 30–20 10–5 59,218 16 December 24, 1989 Phoenix Cardinals W 31–14 11–5 43,287 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 Seahawks 7 0 0 0 Eagles 7 10 7 7 September 10 Veterans Stadium Gordon McCarter Joel Meyers and Paul Maguire NBC Week 2 Eagles 7 7 7 21 Redskins 20 10 0 7 September 17 RFK Stadium Gene Barth Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw CBS Week 3 49ers 7 3 0 28 Eagles 9 3 6 10 September 24 Veterans Stadium Dick Jorgensen Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw CBS Week 4 Eagles 0 0 3 10 Bears 0 13 7 7 October 2 Soldier Field Pat Haggerty Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf ABC Week 5 Giants 3 10 0 6 Eagles 0 7 0 14 October 8 Veterans Stadium Tom Dooley Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS Week 6 Eagles 0 0 14 3 Cardinals 0 5 0 0 October 15 Sun Devil Stadium Jerry Seeman Steve Zabriskie and Hank Stram CBS Week 7 Raiders 0 0 0 7 Eagles 0 0 10 0 October 22 Veterans Stadium Dick Hantak Joel Meyers and Paul Maguire NBC Week 8 Eagles 14 0 7 7 Broncos 0 7 10 7 October 29 Mile High Stadium Jim Tunney Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw CBS Week 9 Eagles 0 7 0 10 Chargers 7 0 10 3 November 5 Jack Murphy Stadium Dick Jorgensen Tim Brant and Dan Jiggetts CBS Week 10 Redskins 3 7 0 0 Eagles 0 3 0 0 November 12 Veterans Stadium Dale Hamer Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw CBS Week 11 Vikings 6 0 3 0 Eagles 3 0 0 7 November 19 Veterans Stadium Johnny Grier Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw CBS Week 12 at Cowboys Philadelphia Eagles 1989 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Twelve: Philadelphia Eagles (7–4) at Dallas Cowboys (1–10) November 23, 1989 Thursday 4:00 p.m. Eagles 0 10 14 3 Cowboys 0 0 0 0 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 54,444 42 F C Gene Barth CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Box Score, Box Score First quarter No scoring Second quarter PHI – Cris Carter 6-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick), 13:37. Eagles 7–0. PHI – Roger Ruzek 36-yard field goal, 2:46. Eagles 10–0. Third quarter PHI – Cris Carter 18-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick), 11:27. Eagles 17–0. PHI – Keith Byars 1-yard run (Roger Ruzek kick), 6:52. Eagles 24–0. Fourth quarter PHI – Roger Ruzek 38-yard field goal, 14:56. Eagles 27–0. Top passers PHI – Randall Cunningham – 21/33, 234 yards, 2 TD DAL – Troy Aikman – 7/21, 54 yards, 3 INT Top rushers PHI – Randall Cunningham – 5 rushes, 46 yards DAL – Broderick Sargent – 3 rushes, 44 yards Top receivers PHI – Keith Byars – 8 receptions, 90 yards DAL – Derrick Shepard – 3 receptions, 25 yards "The Bounty Bowl" Reggie White won the Turkey Leg Award Week 13 Eagles 14 3 0 7 Giants 7 0 10 0 December 3 Giants Stadium Gordon McCarter Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS Week 14 autocollapse December 10 1:00 p.m. Cowboys 0 3 7 0 Eagles 0 17 3 0 Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia 24 F, wind 9 mph on Jerry Seeman CBS Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw Pro-Football-Reference.com Second quarter PHI – Cris Carter 4-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick) – Eagles 7–0 PHI – Cris Carter 13-yard pass from Matt Cavanaugh (Roger Ruzek kick) – Eagles 14–0 DAL – Luis Zendejas 47-yard field goal – Eagles 14–3 PHI – Roger Ruzek 29-yard field goal – Eagles 17–3 Third quarter PHI – Roger Ruzek 46-yard field goal – Eagles 20–3 DAL – Daryl Johnston 18-yard pass from Troy Aikman (Luis Zendejas kick) – Eagles 20–10 Cowboys Troy Aikman 17/30, 152 Yds, TD 6 Rush, 60 Yds James Dixon 6 Rec, 69 Yds Eagles Randall Cunningham 17/31, 170 Yds, TD Anthony Toney 17 Rush, 49 Yds Keith Jackson 3 Rec, 57 Yds Week 15 Eagles 0 10 10 0 Saints 7 9 0 14 December 18 Louisiana Superdome Indoors (dome) Ben Dreith Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf ABC Week 16 Cardinals 7 7 0 0 Eagles 7 14 3 7 December 24 Veterans Stadium Red Cashion Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw CBS Standings Postseason 1989–90 NFL playoffs Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card December 31, 1989 Los Angeles Rams (5) L 7–21 0–1 Veterans Stadium Recap Game summaries NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (5) Los Angeles Rams text-align:center; Philadelphia Eagles 1989 2 NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (5) Los Angeles Rams at (4) Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary Rams 14 0 0 7 Eagles 0 0 0 7 Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania December 31, 1989 12:30 p.m. EST CBS Pat Summerall (play-by-play) and John Madden (color commentator) Gordon McCarter 65,479 First quarter RAMS – Henry Ellard 39-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Lansford kick). Rams 7–0. RAMS – Damone Johnson 4-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Lansford kick). Rams 14–0. Second quarter No scoring plays. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter PHI – Anthony Toney 1-yard run (Roger Ruzek kick). Rams 14–7. RAMS – Greg Bell 7-yard run (Mike Lansford kick). Rams 21–7. Top passers RAMS – Jim Everett – 18/33, 281 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT PHI – Randall Cunningham – 24/40, 238 yards, INT Top rushers RAMS – Greg Bell – 27 rushes, 124 yards, TD PHI – Heath Sherman – 9 rushes, 44 yards Top receivers RAMS – Henry Ellard – 4 receptions, 87 yards, TD PHI – Keith Byars – 9 receptions, 68 yards The Los Angeles Rams, ignoring the weather, the fans, and the Eagles mighty defense, rode a quick start to defeat the Eagles at Veterans Stadium, 21–7 on New Year's Eve, 1989. The Eagles came into their first home playoff game in 8 seasons against the Los Angeles Rams with injury concerns. Several players came limping into the game, but perhaps the most concerning injury was that of Eric Allen, whose ankle had been injured a few weeks prior. Allen was an outstanding cover corner and without him, the Eagles would be forced to start reserve cornerback Izel Jenkins. The Rams at the time had a potent and versatile offense, especially in the passing game. Quarterback Jim Everett, running back Greg Bell and wideouts Henry Ellard and Willie "Flipper" Anderson rounded out the Rams offense. However, none of this seemed to concern head coach Buddy Ryan, who reportedly was asked the week leading up the game his impression of Rams running back Greg Bell. Ryan gave a curious vanilla answer to the reporter then turned and walked away saying, "Greg Bell my ass." Most of the media that had gathered exploded in laughter. Eric Allen, as it turned out, did not start the game, which was played on an overcast, drizzly New Year's Eve. The Rams immediately attacked Allen's replacement, cornerback Izel Jenkins. Jenkins was burned on the Rams first touchdown; a 39-yard touchdown pass from Jim Everett to Henry Ellard on the Rams first possession. Jenkins was again burned for another long pass, this time to Willie Anderson and by midway through the second quarter, head coach Buddy Ryan had all but no choice to insert the limping Allen with the Rams already leading 14–0. The Eagles offense, led by All-Pro quarterback Randall Cunningham had no answers for a unique zone implemented by Rams defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmer, who at times during the game only rushed two defenders and dropped everything back in coverage. Cunningham, while completing 24 of 40 pass, only threw underneath the zone for the majority of the game and simply was unable to get anything downfield. It certainly did not help matters not having All-Pro receiver Mike Quick unable to play due to a season-ending injury earlier in the year. The Eagles had less than 100 yards of offense at halftime, and did not have a single first down till midway through the second quarter. The Eagles first four possessions where three (3) three and outs and an interception. When the Eagles finally did score on a one-yard Anthony Toney touchdown plunge to make the game 14–7 with just under 11 minutes to go, there was hope. The Eagles defense, after their shaky start, had by and large held the Rams in check. Indeed, after the Eagles only touchdown of the afternoon, the Eagles defense held the Rams twice and gave the Eagles good field position on their next two possessions, which began at their own 31- and 40-yard lines. However, the Eagles would manage just one first down on those two possessions. The Rams finally put the nail in the coffin with just under three minutes left, when Greg Bell ran for a 7-yard touchdown for the final score of 21–7. This touchdown run came a few plays after Bell ran 54 yards down to the 10-yard line. The Eagles defense, especially the front four, had finally collapsed after keeping the Rams in check for so long during the game. Statistics Defense Player Games Sacks Int Yards TD Forced Fumbles Fumble Recovery Tackles Byron Evans 16 2.0 3 23 0 0 3184 Clyde Simmons 16 15.5 1 60 1 3 0135https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1989.htm 1989 Philadelphia Eagles Statistics & Players Offense Passing Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions Player Games Comp Att Yards TD INT Rating Randall Cunningham 16 290532 3400 21 15 75.5 Matt Cavanaugh 9 35 33 1 1 79.6 Roger Ruzek 5 1122 1 0 158.3 Receiving Note: ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions Player Games Reception Yards TD Long Keith Byars 16 68721 0 60 Keith Jackson 14 63648 3 33 Cris Carter 16 456051142 Ron Johnson 1420295 134 Anthony Toney 14 19124 015 Robert Drummond 16 17180121 Jimmie Giles 16 16225266 Gregg Garrity 9 13209231 Mike Quick 6 13228240 Heath Sherman 15 885017 Gizmo Williams 13 432011 Mark Higgs 15 3908 Anthony Edwards 9 274066 Dave Little 16 2817 Carlos Carson 6 112012 Rushing Note: ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions Player Games Att Yards TD Long Randall Cunningham 16 1046214 51 Anthony Toney 14 172582 3 44 Keith Byars 16 133452 5 16 Mark Higgs 15 49184 0 13 Heath Sherman 15 40177 237 Robert Drummond 16 32127016 Mike Reichenbach 16 130030 John Teltschik 16 123023 Cris Carter 16 216011 Special teams Kick returns Player Games Returns Yards TD Long Yards per return Keith Byars 16 1 27 0 27 27.0 Mark Higgs 15 16 293 0 30 18.3 Dave Little 16 2 14 0 12 7.0 Heath Sherman 15 13 222 0 45 17.1 Gizmo Williams 13 14 249 0 28 17.8 Punt returns Player Games Returns Yards TD Long Yards per return Anthony Edwards 9 7 64 0 28 9.1 Gizmo Williams 13 30 267 0 24 8.9 Kicking Note: FGA = Field goals attempted; FGM = Field goals made; FG% = Field goal percentage; XPA = Extra points attempted; XPM = Extra points made; XP% = Extra points percentage Player Games FGA FGM FG % XPA XPM XP % Steve DeLine 3 7 3 42.9% 3 3 100.0% Roger Ruzek 5 11 8 72.7% 14 14 100.0% Luis Zendejas 8 15 9 60.0% 23 23 100.0% Punting Player Games Punts Yards Long Block Yards per Punt Randall Cunningham 16 6 319 91 0 53.2 Max Runager 417 568 52 0 33.4 John Teltschik 10 57 2245 58 0 39.4 Rick Tuten 27 256 45 0 36.6 Awards and honors Keith Byars, Led all NFL running backs in receiving yardage Keith Jackson, Pro Bowl selection References External links 1989 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Philadelphia Eagles seasons Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles