Former Eagles Players who Added to Franchise History Books
This season has been pretty phenomenal for Philadelphia Eagles fans, and it’s understandable that the fans would be getting a little bit excited about the prospect of lifting the Lombardi this season. Apart from a Super Bowl in 2017, the Eagles have kind of been dry since the 1960s at this point, but they destroyed the 49ers this past weekend 31-7 to book their place in the Super Bowl, where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 12th. The Chiefs had a little bit of a harder time claiming their place as they edged out a 23-20 win over the Bengals.
The 2023 Super Bowl will be played at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale Arizona between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs
Source: SN
Today, we’re going to take a brief detour on the path to the future and take a look behind us. The history books are full of big names when it comes to people who have represented the Philadelphia Eagles, so we’re going to look at some of the biggest names to pull on that jersey and take a little bit of time to go into what made them such important figures for the Eagles, etching their names in the history of this franchise forever.
- Reggie White – Defensive End
- Chuck Bednarik – Linebacker
- Steve Van Buren – Running Back
- Brian Dawkins – Safety
- Pete Pihos – Tight End
Pete Pihos
When it comes to players from deep in the history books, between 1953 and 1955, Pihos led the league in receiving, was outstanding for a tight end, and was a very physical player once he received the ball, to the point where defenders would genuinely consider whether tackling him was a good idea. He would go on to make the Pro Bowl six times in a row, which is an incredibly impressive feat.
Brian Dawkins
There are few names loved more by Eagles fans than Brian Dawkins; he was picked up in the second round of the 1996 draft. He’s a member of the fairly exclusive “20/20” club, being one of very few players to ever post both 20 sacks and 20 interceptions, which is impressive. But when it comes to Dawkins, it wasn’t just his stats that made him so good; he put his body on the line like a human wrecking ball, making huge plays, taking games by the scruff of the neck, and changing the momentum with his own hands.
Steve Van Buren
Steve Van Buren led the league in rushing yards in four of his eight years playing professionally, and while he may not be one of the “greatest” running backs of all time in terms of stats, for the Eagles he was fantastic. He built up a reputation as a terrifying returner, adding five touchdowns to his career stats from returning kicks and punts. Even though he represented the Eagles way back in the 40s and 50s, it’s fair to say he is still one of the greatest Eagles of all time.
Chuck Bednarik
Chuck Bednarik is a player who will go down in history as one of the most brutal men to make tackles. He would shut down the most bold and stupid players who dared challenge him. He came to the Eagles in 1949 as the first pick in the draft and stayed with the Eagles for a pretty staggering 14 years. Bednarik is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and fully deserves that status.
Reggie White isn’t just one of the greatest Eagles of all time; he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game.
Source: Sportscasting
Reggie White
Reggie White is arguably everyone’s number one pick here; he was picked up by the Eagles in the 1985 supplemental draft, recording 11 sacks in his rookie season and not posting numbers below that in his time in Philadelphia. But, as one of the greatest players in history, it’s insane to put him anywhere other than first on this list. Unfortunately, some poor decisions by the top brass had him slip away to the Packers in 1993, but he was absolutely incredible for the Eagles and everywhere else he played, really, earning him a spot in the pro football hall of fame.
With that being said, it’s time to look forward. The Eagles are scheduled to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 on February 12th at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. We’ve examined how experts believe this one will play out, who the favorite is, what the over/under is, and brought you the best odds on the big game. For fans located in sports betting regulated states like Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Ohio, there are also plenty of betting promotions that are currently available for the Super Bowl. Sadly, Massachusetts punters won’t be able to take advantage of the betting specials offered by MA online sportsbooks this time around because the state won’t be allowing online gambling until after the Super Bowl this year. However, bettors can visit retail bookies instead, as they became legal on January 31st of this year.
So, without further ado, here are the odds you’re looking at! Firstly, the favorite for this game is the Philadelphia Eagles; you’ll be looking at odds in the region of -125, which will see a return of $9 from a $5 stake. For the “underdogs,” you’ll be getting around +105, which will net you $10.25 from the same stake, so it’s a tight one to call. Of course, these are two teams that have put everything on the line all season to get here, and it all boils down to this.
When it comes to individual lines, here are some of the big ones: if you’re looking to bet on the spread, you’re looking at -110 for either +1.5 or -1.5, which is a return of $9.54 from a $5 stake. If you’re looking at the over/under, they’re also putting up odds of -110 on an over/under of 50.5 points. We found a pretty good parlay that comes in at +500 and returns $30 from $5; the lines are the following: Chiefs to win, Travis Kelce to score a TD in the match, and Patrick Mahomes to get 300 or more passing yards in the match! Not too bad, really.
That’s just about it for this one. What do you think about the players we’ve mentioned here? Are there any big names you think we’ve missed? I think when you properly look over the history books when it comes to players that have represented the Eagles, there are countless names you could put here, but with a limited amount of time here, we could only talk about so many, and we personally think we’ve picked the best of the best.
So, Eagles fans, how are we feeling ahead of the Super Bowl? I imagine the nerves have fully kicked in now, and you’re all chewing your fingers to the bone. But in my opinion, you have nothing to worry about. Your team has had a phenomenal season and has looked absolutely brilliant throughout, even on the few occasions where they haven’t gotten the result they were after. It’s time to push on and cap off the season with a bit of gold, right?
